Access to mobile and digital technology is an important driver of social and economic development, both in the developed and the developing world. This has been shown by a major study into the relationship between access to mobile technology and development 'The Impact of Mobile Phones in the Developing World'.

Mobile phones offer far more than the ability to make calls. Billions of people in the developing world live in remote and rural communities without access to healthcare or education, transport and up to date news - let alone banking or financial services. Mobile phone networks have the potential to transform the delivery of these services and make them available to many more people.

Our business model enables us to reach billions of people, and thus create real change on a wide scale.

We commissioned the Centre for Knowledge Societies (CKS) to carry out a study into the effect of mobile phones on economic and social life in rural areas, The Mobile Development Report. The study identified several service areas which could be transformed by mobile technology to improve people’s quality of life. These include transport, micro-commerce, finance, healthcare, governance, education and infotainment.

We are currently preparing to help develop these services and the CKS research supports our belief in the potential of the work we are undertaking. In 2007 we collaborated with the non-for profit research institute INdT to set up R&D teams in the Amazon which will investigate technology applications. In 2008 we plan to create R&D teams in India and Kenya to explore how mobile technology can serve people in these markets. These teams will operate over a timeframe of five to ten years.

Collaboration

We are committed to multilateral cooperation to find ways to use mobile technology to meet development needs. This year we sponsored a conference in the US, Pop!Tech, which explored how technology can be used to transform lives in the developing world. We also sponsored the MobileActive conference in Brazil, which looked at the role of mobile communications in civic engagement and activism.

In mid-2007, we launched a new wiki website www.ShareIdeas.org in partnership with Vodafone, encouraging people to share ideas on how to use mobile communications to address social and environmental challenges. The site features case studies from around the world in six areas - civic engagement, economic empowerment, education, the environment, health and safety, and humanitarian relief. It has 900 registered users, any of which can post a story or edit existing content.

We have also conducted research into barriers to access.

See total cost of ownership research for more information.