Cell phone use yet to pick up in third world in absence of non-voice services
Monday, 3 May 2010
Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan Back from Islamabad, Pakistan
While it is an undeniable fact that the use of cell phones for voice services have started to reach a saturation level in some parts of the developing world, the use of the same for non voice services in third world grassroots level is yet to pick up.
This is quite contrary to the actual need for the developing regions where, it has been observed that the lack of prompt market access and banking facilities could make way for cell phone value added services to pioneer the trend of m-commerce and m-payment in those undeveloped parts of the world.
Against this backdrop, some recent studies conducted by a leading think tank in Asia revealed that the actual remedy to this scenario lies in the adoption of innovative business models for fair revenue sharing among the content developers and the telecom providers while assuring a greater access to localized content solutions to the grass root level people of the area.
Simultaneously, the studies, carried out by some prominent ICT researchers in the developing world, also called for a balanced regulatory environment that would assure fair partnership between the telecom operators and the relevant stakeholders while not discouraging innovations of value adds services in the telecom sector.
The observations came at the two day long Mobile 2.0 Expert Forum held in the Pakistan capital last week where leading researchers from a number of countries in South and South East Asia as well as Africa came together to discuss the various dimensions of value added services offered by cell phones these days.
Hosted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in joint collaboration with Lirneasia- the leading ICT think tank who conducted the research, the forum also discussed the potential avenues for 'more than voice' services at the Bottom of the Pyramid level of the world's developing spheres.
"However, with the budget telecom network business model growingly squeezing their profit margin, Value Added Service now have come to represent additional revenue streams in a market where voice has become highly commoditized", said Sriganesh Lokanathan, a leading research associate with the LIRNEasia who conducted studies on agricultural value added service through Mobile 2.0 platforms.
Focusing on the revenue sharing between the content developers and telecom service providers, researchers pointed that while the operators have a competitive advantage in terms of distribution and sales, in most cases they have to rely on outside developers for providing content of their value added services.
"So, the nature of the relationship between the two parties must involve fair revenue sharing and therefore it is vital to select the business model which can be most appropriate for the service being offered," Puree Sirasoontorm, who has done extensive studies on ideal business models for delivering value added services in developing markets remarked.
Speakers at the event also focused extensively on the prospect of the burgeoning mCommerce and mPayment platforms in the developing world, while assessing the need for clear policy frameworks and guidelines in this regard.
Drawing examples of CellBazaar mobile commerce platform in Bangladesh, researchers showed that although such services are limited in functionality, their potential is vast and therefore it is vital to address issues of secured payments, infrastructure and trust.
Referring simultaneously to the Telenor experience with EasyPaisa in Pakistan or the Safaricom initiative for MPESA in Kenya or the ongoing mobile bus-ticketing scheme in Sri Lanka, speakers also hailed them as successful experiment with m-payment schemes in different parts of the developing world.
Panelists at the forum also focused extensively on e-delivery services that can be offered through mobile phones through its wider reach at the Bottom of the Pyramid, while underlining the need for standardization and appropriate policy framework
While it is an undeniable fact that the use of cell phones for voice services have started to reach a saturation level in some parts of the developing world, the use of the same for non voice services in third world grassroots level is yet to pick up.
This is quite contrary to the actual need for the developing regions where, it has been observed that the lack of prompt market access and banking facilities could make way for cell phone value added services to pioneer the trend of m-commerce and m-payment in those undeveloped parts of the world.
Against this backdrop, some recent studies conducted by a leading think tank in Asia revealed that the actual remedy to this scenario lies in the adoption of innovative business models for fair revenue sharing among the content developers and the telecom providers while assuring a greater access to localized content solutions to the grass root level people of the area.
Simultaneously, the studies, carried out by some prominent ICT researchers in the developing world, also called for a balanced regulatory environment that would assure fair partnership between the telecom operators and the relevant stakeholders while not discouraging innovations of value adds services in the telecom sector.
The observations came at the two day long Mobile 2.0 Expert Forum held in the Pakistan capital last week where leading researchers from a number of countries in South and South East Asia as well as Africa came together to discuss the various dimensions of value added services offered by cell phones these days.
Hosted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in joint collaboration with Lirneasia- the leading ICT think tank who conducted the research, the forum also discussed the potential avenues for 'more than voice' services at the Bottom of the Pyramid level of the world's developing spheres.
"However, with the budget telecom network business model growingly squeezing their profit margin, Value Added Service now have come to represent additional revenue streams in a market where voice has become highly commoditized", said Sriganesh Lokanathan, a leading research associate with the LIRNEasia who conducted studies on agricultural value added service through Mobile 2.0 platforms.
Focusing on the revenue sharing between the content developers and telecom service providers, researchers pointed that while the operators have a competitive advantage in terms of distribution and sales, in most cases they have to rely on outside developers for providing content of their value added services.
"So, the nature of the relationship between the two parties must involve fair revenue sharing and therefore it is vital to select the business model which can be most appropriate for the service being offered," Puree Sirasoontorm, who has done extensive studies on ideal business models for delivering value added services in developing markets remarked.
Speakers at the event also focused extensively on the prospect of the burgeoning mCommerce and mPayment platforms in the developing world, while assessing the need for clear policy frameworks and guidelines in this regard.
Drawing examples of CellBazaar mobile commerce platform in Bangladesh, researchers showed that although such services are limited in functionality, their potential is vast and therefore it is vital to address issues of secured payments, infrastructure and trust.
Referring simultaneously to the Telenor experience with EasyPaisa in Pakistan or the Safaricom initiative for MPESA in Kenya or the ongoing mobile bus-ticketing scheme in Sri Lanka, speakers also hailed them as successful experiment with m-payment schemes in different parts of the developing world.
Panelists at the forum also focused extensively on e-delivery services that can be offered through mobile phones through its wider reach at the Bottom of the Pyramid, while underlining the need for standardization and appropriate policy framework