Today's news covers a new Android app development contest in Sub-Saharan Africa, Libya's rebel-created cell network, a look at how Android has become the fastest-growing mobile OS, a study on how mobile owners listen to music on mobile devices, and the growth of mobile Internet in South Africa.
Are you an app developer in Sub-Saharan Africa? Google has launched an Android Developer Contest – there are three competition regions (West and Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa) and three categories (Entertainment/Media/Games, Social Networking/Communication, and Productivity/Tools/Lifestyle). Check out the competition's page to learn more – submissions open on June 1st and are due by July 1st.
After Libyan government forces disabled mobile and Internet services in March to cut off rebels' communication, a group of expatriates set up a new cell network outside of government control. Read the Wall Street Journal's in-depth coverage of the creation of the system here.
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on African technology use, an interview with txteagle's Nathen Eagle, the 155 millions tweets that are posted on Twitter each day, a look at why technology isn't a panacea, and the future of near-field communication applications for smartphones.
Movirtu's services provide leading mobile operators with the means to connect base of the pyramid shared mobile users to their own mobile identity without the need to own a handset or a SIM card. Users can now bank, make and receive calls and SMS, and reach/be reached with critical NGO and other information services. Movirtu aims to reach more than 4 million users in more than 10 countries by 2013, primarily in Africa and South Asia.
Mobile Africa Report 2011: Regional Hubs of Excellence and Innovation data sheet 2787 Views
Author:
Rao, Madanmohan
Publication Date:
Mar 2011
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
According to industry estimates, there are more than 500 million mobile phone subscribers in Africa now, up from 246 million in 2008. In 2000, the number of mobile phones first exceeded that of fixed telephones. Africans can accelerate development by skipping less efficient technologies and moving directly to more advanced ones.
The telecommunications sector continues to attract a flurry of public and private investment from foreign sources and local banks, but the investment should be in software and services, not just cabling infrastructure.
What's happening in the world of mobiles? Check out the MobileActive event calendar for the best conferences, events and developer meetings happening this month!
1 April, Mobile Security Hackday (New York City, USA): It's no joke, MobileActive is hosting a hackday in our new digs. This casual, day-long event will help you better understand mobile and digital network security as we discuss tools for enhanced security, profile open-source tools and allow time to talk about security needs and issues.
6-8 April, The Mobile Learning Experience (Phoenix, USA): Interested in learning how apps and mobile devices can be used in K-12 classrooms? The Mobile Learning experience is a three-day event that focuses on everything from using apps to improve writing to incorporating mobile devices into traditional teaching.
6-7 April, M-Commerce World Summit 2011 (Singapore): The M-Commerence World Summit looks at mobile money transfers and payments, mobile remittances, mobile banking (including among unbanked populations) and microfinance services.
8-9 April, National Conference for Media Reform 2011 (Boston, USA): This conference brings together experts in the fields of media, technology and democracy to look at how all three can be used to create better, more open systems. Themes include: Policy and Politics, Social Justice and Movement Building, Journalism and Public Media, Media Makers & Culture and the Arts, and Technology and Innovation.
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on smartphone security and malware, the struggle for mobile money systems in Africa to reach the level of M-PESA in Kenya, Facebook's move toward feature phones, the success of messaging-specific feature phones, and a guide to mobile donations for Japan.
After more than 50 Android apps were discovered to be carrying malware in early March, the BBC took a look at mobile security. From the risks involved in keeping a lot of personal data on mobiles to ways in which malware can be used to manipulate phones, the article explores the need for mobile security around smartphone applications.
In Africa, mobile banking has certainly garnered a lot of publicity and press. But All Africa looks at some of the drawbacks of mobile banking in specific countries where mobile banking systems are active; specifically, the article focuses on the "walled garden" system which makes it expensive to transfer funds between different mobile operators (sometimes with fees from five to 20 percent higher than a transfer between two users on the same mobile operator).
Facebook recently bought Snaptu, a company that develops applications for feature phones. Snaptu developed Facebook's first feature phone app, and Facebook has now reportedly acquired the company for close to $70 million dollars. The purchase could indicate that Facebook plans to focus on reaching non-smartphone users around the world.
Cellular-News reports that by 2015, messaging-specific feature phones will grow to encompass 1/3 of all shipped feature phones. Feature phones make up 75% of the handset market, and feature phones that are optimized for messaging services (such as "SMS, MMS, mobile email, and mobile IM") are expected to increase in popularity.
Want to send a mobile donation to a specific cause for tsunami relief in Japan? Into Mobile has a roundup of shortcodes and the organizations that use them so that you can easily find the best way to donate.
[Mobile Minute Disclaimer: The Mobile Minute is a quick round-up of interesting stories that have come across our RSS and Twitter feeds to keep you informed of the rapid pace of innovation. Read them and enjoy them, but know that we have not deeply investigated these news items. For more in-depth information about the ever-growing field of mobile tech for social change, check out our blog posts, white papers and research, how-tos, and case studies.]
SMSall is a service in Pakistan that enables mailing-list style interaction over SMS. It serves over 2.1 million people, and an average of 300 million SMS messages are sent every month (follow the total SMS count on the website). It is Pakistan’s largest SMS social network.
The founder of the service, Umar Saif, refers to it as “Twitter for SMS,” or as “Twitter for the 4 billion,” referring to the 4 billion people in the world who have access to mobile phones but not the Internet.
SMSall formed in response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan. Like most Pakistani’s, Saif said, he tried to help during the aftermath but realized that although there were many rescue workers, there was no way to coordinate activities. “You would travel to a remote region with medicine, only to realize that there is plenty of medicine and all they needed were tents and warm clothing,' he said.
So Saif took action. On his laptop, he hacked together a basic response service, connected a mobile phone, and set up a broadcast group for all the rescue workers in the area. Those who subscribed to the “rescue group” would then receive SMS messages and information from the entire group.
From this grew the current-day SMSall service, the largest SMS social network in Pakistan. MobileActive.org spoke with Saif to hear more about the growth and next steps for the SMS service.
How does it work?
With the Kashmir earthquake, people could send an SMS to the service and ask to subscribe to the rescue group. Subsequently, they would receive SMS messages from everyone who posted to the rescue channel. This way, rescuers could keep in contact, in real-time, with only a basic mobile phone.
Now, SMSall users can create a group, join a group, follow a group, and broadcast to a group. The service has been used to spur blood donations, to communicate emergency responses, and to mobilize citizens in political protests. The service is used both by NGOs and more informally by people to keep in touch with friends and build communities around common interests.
SMSall became a popular platform for communication during media bans at the end of Musharraf’s rule. Political activists and members of civil society used SMSall to coordinate protests and activities. “One of the biggest groups on SMSall was run by an NGO setup by families of “missing persons” -- people who disappeared without trace during the political upheaval that gripped Pakistan in 2007 and 2008,” Saif said.
When a disaster or breaking news event occurs, specific groups form almost organically. An SMSall user will first notify an established group of friends and family, and from these many simultaneous chats, specific disaster or emergency groups are often formed, Saif said. The service resembles Twitter in that messages are being “pushed” out and viewed by any number of followers. Currently, there are over over 150,000 established groups on SMSall in Pakistan.
During the early days of SMSall, it was used to coordinate class quizzes and exams and communicate course schedules at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Saif worked with several students to tweak the system and used it in a course he taught. Other professors followed his lead, students started using it, and “before we knew it, the system went viral, very quickly,” Saif said. SMSall is currently used by over 180 colleges and universities in Pakistan. And from this grew the “SMS mailing list” in Pakistan.
Mobiles for Development is a research study commissioned by UNICEF to help the organization understand the global mobile telephony landscape as it relates to advancing development, and as an area of significant future opportunities. Evidence for the report comes from UNICEF operational staff and representatives of mobile operators in 14 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Kosovo, Lao PDR, Malawi, Mongolia, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uganda, and Zambia). The report suggests that mobile tools can identify the most deprived children and communities, provide cost effective iinterventions, overcome bottlenecks to services, and enable communities to maximize the impact of available resources.
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on Cameroon's ban on mobile Twitter access, NielsenWire's new smartphone statistics, a $650 million loan to Etisalat Nigeria to grow its mobile network coverage, the possible expansion of BlackBerry Messenger to non-RIM operating systems, and an investment in the company that makes the Angry Birds mobile app. (Disclosure: We are partial to Angry Birds)
The Information and Communication Technology Revolution: Are We Facing a New Development Era For and In Africa? data sheet 2508 Views
Author:
de Bruij, Mirjam
Publication Date:
Nov 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
In NGO circles today there is a great deal of hope about economic growth in developing countries and the development of an information society as a result of the growing presence of technological possibilities in communication. At first sight, African cities (and the countryside now too) seem to be flooded with different ICT possibilities that are expected to bring ‘development’. Studies in ICT development have indeed shown some social change: economic development is visible in local markets, youth are increasingly being connected and there are possibilities for social relating that were never there before.
Societies in Africa that were very mobile of old are now integrating these changes in specific ways. This may result in these societies joining the world at large but it might also lead to Africans becoming part of the so-called Fourth World (Castells), a world disconnected from others and experiencing new inequalities but without a specific geographical location. The changes in communication technology are transforming societies both in the North and in the South and are blurring the divisions between the two.
Thinking on technology and society has gone far beyond the technological determinism that often informs discourses in development circles. The mobile phone has become a symbol of the new communication era and is challenging societies and creating new forms of relating between the North and the South. This paper uses the mobile phone and its introduction in Africa as an example of how the new wave of ICT is leading to cultural, social and economic dynamics that could take societies in unexpected directions that may not, as such, open up society but instead close part of it off.
Futures of Technology in Africa data sheet 2323 Views
Author:
Grosskurth, Jasper
Publication Date:
Jan 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Technology holds many promises as a driver of positive changes, as a tool to address the problems and as an enabler to fulfil the potential. Economic development requires modern technology and technology plays an important role in most strategies for alleviating hunger and poverty. Technology can reduce transaction costs, save lives, facilitate education, strengthen entrepreneurship, provide access to markets and help to deliver basic services, ranging from water and sanitation to public administration. However, the same technology can also be destructive and a cause of problems. Some technological developments can be facilitated or managed, others happen and require an adequate response.
It is this manifold interrelation of technology with its environment that makes exploring the future of technology so interesting and valuable. There is a need to explore how technology in Africa will or might evolve; to discuss the drivers and the obstacles, the issues technology might resolve and the problems it might cause; to identify how technology changes society and how African societies might change global technology. These are big and complex questions and the STT foresight project, which ends with this publication, is a contribution to this discussion that is still in its infancy with respect to Africa.
Beyond Markets for Mobiles: The Development Sector and Pro-Poor Impacts of ICTs data sheet 1729 Views
Author:
Garside, Ben
Publication Date:
Dec 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
The supply/demand nature of market-based models (led by the private sector and consumer level uptake) is argued by some as being a better form of introducing new technologies that benefit the poor than direct interventions from development actors. This so called passive diffusion view is based on the way mobile telephony has spread so rapidly. The approach holds that if ICTs do have developmental value for the poor, a combination of private firms’ search for profit plus the poor’s search for value will make it happen. Development money is best spent elsewhere.
A long history of failures in national government rollout of telecentre networks across Africa to the village level along with a spike and lull in donor driven ICT projects is perhaps reason and evidence for the passive diffusion view becoming popular. Particularly evident is how a top-down supply push for perceived ICT ‘needs’ of the poor does not always match on the ground demands and realities.
Today services delivered via mobiles that have widespread availability and use at the base of the pyramid are predominantly left to market forces to deliver. There are of course a number of notable and innovative exceptions to this and it is certainly true that private sector mobile based services have often been less ambitious in terms of pro-poor outcomes than development sector pilots – as might be expected. Yet many of the innovative case studies involving development interventions have remained niche, difficult to replicate, and have often not been sustainable over time.
This paper seeks to give a brief overview of the history of development sector interventions of ICTs and where this positions ‘ICTs for development’ going forward. A key question to ask as we move into the second decade of the 21st century is how the impact of ICTs on the poorest can be improved – and the role of the development sector and government in achieving this in what is today a predominantly market-driven approach to mobiles and more broadly to ICTs.
The Cell Phone and the Nigerian Immigrants in Anglophone Cameroon data sheet 1955 Views
Author:
Fonchingon, Tangie Nsoh
Publication Date:
Dec 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
As an instrument for connecting people near and far, the cell phone is crucially related to mobility, that is, spatial mobility in particular migration. Irrespective of the distance, one can still stay connected with kith and kin back home through the cell phone. In this way the feeling of absence is mitigated. Though important, staying connected does not seem to be the only way in which the cell is related to or impacts on migration/migrants. What, for instance, is the relationship between the cell phone and the migrants’ survival strategies. Put differently, is the cell phone an asset or a liability to the migrants in the host society?
This study considers the impact and appropriation of the mobile phone by the Nigerian immigrants in Anglophone Cameroon. The thrust of the argument is that the cell phone is an indispensable assert to the Nigerian migrants in Anglophone Cameroon. They appropriate the cell phone in solving a number of migrant-related problems.
Technology and the Rise of the African Entrepreneur data sheet 1684 Views
Author:
White, Ben
Publication Date:
Dec 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Recently the World Bank reported that 43 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is between the ages of 0 and 14. That African countries will likely face an increase in job creation pressure is an understatement. Put more simply by the New Vision in Uganda, we are essentially looking at a ticking time bomb. But it would be short-sighted to lump Africa’s youth as part of a growing problem. If anything, this young African generation is part of a new process that breaks down historical barriers and harnesses a new potential to drive solutions.
With every passing minute thousands upon thousands of young people gain access to mobile phones and the Internet. Imagine starting in primary school where you had to share a five year old text book with three other students to ten years later getting instant access to the worlds combined intelligence? These individuals are eager to connect, establish new contacts, exchange information and quite simply learn at a faster rate then ever before possible. Africa now represents the second fastest growing region for the worlds largest social utility Facebook, Asia being the first. Africa’s youth are addicted to information and they guarantee a frightening leap into the information age.
Today's Mobile Minute features mobile app revenue, context around ICTs and revolutions in the Middle East, an infographic of the top mobile operating systems around the world, new funds for telecommunications in Iraq, and malware in the Android app store.
A new report from Forrester Research estimates that revenue from mobile apps will reach $38 billion by 2015. The New York Times looks at the data from the report and examines what it means for the future growth of the app market.
With close to 6 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, two thirds of the world's population now has access to mobile phones. The ubiquity and widespread use of mobile technology presents a unique opportunity for civil society organizations and communities by increasing access to information for and interaction with people in countries around the world.
Our mission - to provide resources to and connect a global network of people who use mobile technology for social change - has been the core of our work during 2010. We've built up our comprehensive mDirectory, hosted more than a dozen events worldwide, conducted bottom-up mobile surveys in multiple countries, and ran several large technical assistance projects.
We've received attention along the way, both from the press and in the form of contracts and grants, while expanding our portfolio and adding (finally!) paid staff to our team of now four hard-working people and two amazing m-interns.
Regulatory Independence and Wireless Market Development: A Comparative Analysis of Two African Nations data sheet 1451 Views
Author:
van Gorp, Annemijn F. & Carleen F. Maitland
Publication Date:
Jan 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This study analyzes the nature of regulatory independence and its influence on wireless market development in Tanzania and Botswana. The study finds that the level of regulatory independence is associated with improved market conditions. The research has implications for theories of regulation and market development in low income countries.
In particular the Tanzania case suggests that the independence of regulation can have secondary effects such as diversity of technologies and faster transitions to advanced technologies, while the reversal of independence in Botswana highlights the need for greater insights into the under-theorized dynamic nature of regulatory independence.
Women & Mobile - A Global Opportunity: A Study on the Mobile Phone Gender Gap in Low and Middle-income Countries data sheet 3169 Views
Author:
GSMA Development Fund
Publication Date:
Jan 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Mobile Phone ownership in low and middle-income countries has skyrocketed in the past several years. But a woman is still 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than a man. This figure increases to 23% if she lives in Africa, and 37% if she lives in South Asia. Closing this gender gap would bring the benefit of mobile phones to an additional 300 million women. By extending the benefits of mobile phone ownership to women, a host of social and economic goals can be advanced.
Mobile phone ownership provides distinct benefits to women, including improved access to educational, health, business and employment opportunities. Women surveyed across low and middle-incoome countries on three continents believe that a mobile phone helps them lead a more secure, connected and productive life.
Going Mobile: Technology and Policy Issues in the Mobile Internet data sheet 1862 Views
Author:
Bennet, Richard
Publication Date:
Mar 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This report examines changes that must be made to the Internet and to the mobile network to make the Mobile Internet a pervasive and universal reality in the United States and the rest of the world. Some of these changes are purely technical, but their scope affects Internet engineering as well as mobile network, device, and application engineering. The rest of the changes will take place in the policy sphere, affecting notions of network neutrality and spectrum policy. The examination of technology is quite extensive, and is illustrated with specific examples of emerging devices and applications.
Mobile Governance: Empowering Citizens to Enhance Democratic Processes data sheet 2315 Views
Author:
Poblet, Marta
Publication Date:
Sep 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This paper offers an overview of the emerging domain of mobile governance as an offspring of the broader landscape of e-governance. Mobile governance initiatives have been deployed everywhere in parallel to the development of crowdsourced, open source software applications that facilitate the collection, aggregation, and dissemination of both information and data coming from different sources: citizens, organizations, public bodies, etc. Ultimately, mobile governance can be seen as a tool to promote the rule of law from a decentralized, distributed, and bottom-up perspective.
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on how the Egyptian government shut down the country's Internet and mobile services, work-arounds for communicating during a government-ordered Internet blackout, problems with keeping customers engaged in mobile banking and payment services, Android's new place as the top-selling mobile operating system in the world, and a prediction for huge increases in mobile data traffic by 2015.
In the aftermath of the Egyptian telecommunications blackout, ArsTechnica looked at both how the Egyptian government managed to limit the country's communications so effectively (mainly through ordering major ISPs and Telcos to shut off service) and if a government-mandated Internet/mobile lockdown could be recreated in other countries. In related news, Wired.com has created a wiki on how to communicate if the government limits/shuts down Internet access.
Vodafone announced that the Egyptian government invoked emergency powers and forced it and the other telcom providers in Egypt to send pro-government text messages to Egyptian subscribers. In a press release, Vodafone claims that the messages were not scripted by Vodafone, and that although they protested the government's involvement, they "do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content." Since then, a much-nedeed debate has begun on the responsibility of telcoms to resist this interference.
Mobile Phones for Good Governance – Challenges and Way Forward data sheet 2442 Views
Author:
Hellström, Johan
Publication Date:
Oct 2008
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
During the past ten years, we have witnessed how mobile phones and the simple functions of voice and text messaging (SMS) can empower citizens and affect the way citizens interact with each other and with the society as whole. Mobile phones are also thought to open up for a deepened democracy through citizen participation and insight into state affairs, through influencing the political decision making process, and helping in holding governments accountable. Is this the case?
So far, few East African government institutions have adopted the idea of using mobile phones as a tool for service delivery and a way to communicate with the citizens. This paper describes a few interesting cases and pilots, focusing on East Africa (mainly Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda), where mobile phones and mobile applications have been used for improving governance, either independently or as a compliment to other methods and strategies. The paper will critically examine some of the challenges as well as the main opportunities for improving good governance through mobile phones and present ideas on how these projects could effectively be scaled-up.
February is here and it's a big month for mobile technology and social development events! Read on for a roundup of what's happening this month, and please feel free to add your own events in the comments.
7-11 February, Social Media Week (worldwide) Nokia is sponsoring Social Media Week, a worldwide series of events that focuses on technology and social media. While not all the events are mobile-related, check out the website for details about events in New York City, San Francisco, Rome, Paris, Toronto, Sao Paulo, London, Hong Kong and Istanbul.
10 February, Open UN - Engagement in the Age of Real-Time(New York City) Global Pulse is participating in Social Media Week, hosting a series of panels and presentations. This event focuses on using innovative technology during crises, creating open governments, and using technology to gather and disseminate real-time information.
Towards a Design Model for Women’s Empowerment in the Developing World data sheet 2067 Views
Author:
Shroff, Geeta and Matthew Ka
Publication Date:
Jan 2011
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof argues that “in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world.” In this paper, we present a design model for empowering low income women in the developing world, in ways that cut across individual application areas. Specifically, this model characterizes a possible trajectory for NGOs and women to engage with each other and among themselves – potentially augmented by technology – to help women escape from poverty.
The fieldwork components in this study took place over 15 weeks in three phases, with a total of 47 NGO staff members and 35 socio-economically challenged women in rural and urban India. Interviews and co-design sessions with seven proof-of-concept prototypes showed that women appeared to belong to five distinct stages of “growth” in striving towards independence. We report the technology design lessons from our co-design sessions to illustrate how user readiness, relationship building at the community and family levels, and integration with state, national and international level programs, should be taken into account in the broader context of intervention design.
The Mobile Minute is back to bring you the latest in mobile and development news! Today we have coverage on what 4G really means, the rise of videos on mobile devices, Vodafone's launch of m-banking services in India, a breakdown of what sort of data and research is missing in a lot of conversations about the impact of mobile devices in the developing world, and why you should password protect and encrypt your smart phone.
NPR has an interview with Engadget's Chris Ziegler, who explains why some 3G technologies are being marketed as 4G and how these new networks differ from traditional 3G. He also covers the benefits of market competition, hindrances to fast wireless broadband access, and why 2011 will be the year of the smartphone in the U.S..
The growth of video viewing on mobile devices (Poynter reports that "more than 200 million YouTube videos are viewed on mobile devices each day") has led to a huge jump in the mobile advertising market as advertisers try to reach out to new viewer, resulting in expectations of a $1 billion mobile advertising market for 2011.
Now, SMSall users can create a group, join a group, follow a group, and broadcast to a group. The service has been used to spur blood donations, to communicate emergency responses, and to mobilize citizens in political protests. The service is used both by NGOs and more informally by people to keep in touch with friends and build communities around common interests. 
