As Mobile Phone Adoption Grows, Societies Benefit Worldwide

Pretty much around the world, everybody loves their mobile phones. You can look no farther than "The Mobile World Briefing" publication for proof. The report projects that, worldwide, 1.3 billion handsets will be sold in 2008. Access to mobile phones may be improving as well, as prices are reported to be declining for mobile handsets. It is, however, interesting to note that in the U.S. the amount that a consumer is willing to spend on a mobile phone has increased, according to a J.D. Power and Associates survey. In the last six months, U.S. consumers have been willing to shell out on $9 more per mobile phone, putting the average payment for a mobile phone at $101. Much of that behavior is being attributed to the growing prevalence of Smartphones such as the iPhone as well as the increasing desire to receive data to handsets.

But what are really interesting are the social and economic benefits that developing countries are receiving from the growing prevalence of mobile phones. A BusinessWeek story reviewed a recent report from the GSM Association that correlates macroeconomic growth and general social improvement in countries with cell phone penetration. Here are some of the findings:

· Farmers, tradesmen, and fishermen bring their products to the markets that need them, subsequently making more money and producing less waste.

· It's easier for people to transfer money to friends and relatives and also to maintain social bonds over long-distances.

· (And this is my favorite) In Bangladesh, the status of women has risen in villages where a phone business is established.

There are several more indicators, and you can sign up for the GSM report in case you're interested. While some of this is soft data, I think there's quite a bit of logic around the reported effects of mobile phones. The power of communication is a key driver in economies. If you don't know where people want to buy your product (fish for instance), then a lot of your product will be wasted, you won't make as much money, and your living circumstances will be jeopardized. Hanging out at jaxtr in Silicon Valley or in most developed nations for that matter, it can be easy to forget just how thin the line for survival is around the world. But reports like this just go to show how important facilitating mobile communication can be. At the end of the day, mobile phone and telecommunication services may just be helping the world be a better place after all.

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