mobile market

Counting Mobile Phones, SIM Cards and Customers

Posted by MohiniBhavsar on Jun 29, 2010
Counting Mobile Phones, SIM Cards and Customers data sheet 1847 Views
Author: 
Sutherland, Ewan
Publication Date: 
Apr 2008
Publication Type: 
Report/White paper
Abstract: 

The GMSA reports that the mobile subscriptions worldwide is at 3 billion (2008) with 270 million subscriptions in Africa at the end of 2007. This policy paper considers the challenges faced by public policy makers in understanding the true number of individuals with mobile access.  There are many reasons why customers might have more than one phone, phone number or SIM card, which results in the double-counting of customers. As a result, it is difficult to assume that the number telephone numbers or SIM cards translates into individual customers. The author discusses the issue of ambiguity in the estimates of mobile teledensity as an indicator for the MDGs and the subsequent challenge for public policy makers in interpreting the large numbers and how they reflect the reality of their countries, cities, towns and villages. Case studies in Bulgaria and South Africa are presented.

 


CellBazaar, Bangladesh's Burgeoning Mobile Marketplace

Posted by PrabhasPokharel on Jan 12, 2010

CellBazaar, often called the "Mobile Craigslist of Bangladesh", has provided a martketplace to buy and sell goods and service to Bangladeshis for three and a half years now. We reported on the organization previously in April 2008. Since then, the service has grown and has now user base of just under 4 million. Cell Bazaar processes 1000 posts/day, and founder Kamal Qadir was chosen by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2009.

I caught up with Kamal recently and talked to him about two things that I had wondered about CellBazaar that had not been emphasized in the coverage they have received.

CellBazaar, Bangladesh's Burgeoning Mobile Marketplace data sheet 17333 Views
Countries: Bangladesh

Mobile Phones Making Money in Bangladesh

Posted by Bonnie Bogle on Jun 11, 2006

Cell phones have added $650 million to Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) and created almost 240,000 jobs in the country. On top of that, most of the jobs pay significantly more than the average job, a recent study by the international firm Ovum found. Grameen Phone, and its Village Phone program, should be given a lot of credit for this.

Phone revolution makes Africa upwardly mobile

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 15, 2006

Ken Banks's blog, photo of girl with mobile phoneGreat article in the UK Times about the mobile market in Africa and the enormous growth there. 

"This remarkable growth — the African market is expanding nearly twice as fast as Asia’s — has confounded analysts and even service operators. As recently as 2003, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) forecast that there would be only 67 million users by the end of 2005.

“Many of us underestimated the strength of the informal sector in Africa,” said Michael Joseph, chief executive officer of Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest operator, with four million customers. “And the huge need and desire for people to communicate.”