Mobile Phones in Rural Africa Insights from A Village in Western Kenya

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Mobile Phones in Rural Africa Insights from A
Village in Western Kenya
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Cellular Wireless, Kenya, c. 2005-6
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Cellphone landscapes 2007
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Cellphone landscapes 2007
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• Everyday technologies in a village 2007

Amaranth and other local plants
Hand hoes, Pre WWII
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• Technology change
• around HIV/AIDS
• Changing livelihoods

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What and Where?

• Hybrid Technologies
• Mobile Phones,
• Kitchen Gardens HIV/AIDS
• Case study of social and technological change in
  a village

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Village Case Study
Household survey (census), in-depth interviews
with owners, group discussions
Population of 5100 in 15 square kilometers (890
households)
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• Who owns phones?

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Findings (I) Village phone ownership 3/2007

• Households with gt1 MP 15
• Ever used MP 38
• Year first phone acquired 1999
• Owner is male head 78
• Has high school educ or more 59
• Male head is working away 21

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What and how used, 2007

• Ultra-low-cost handsets (ULCH) lt30
• Prepaid Safaricom, Celtel/Zain
• Sharing of phones share and swap SIM card,
  battery, handset
• Sambaza (send) airtime
• No games, internet, email, alarms

Brand New Moto F3 handset
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Scratch card tally

• Cheap prepaid scratch cards (Ksh 20 30 cents)
• Spending (prepaid only) lt1 to 100/mo
• Airtime use, all owners 1,200/mo
• 6 of owners account for 20 of airtime spending

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Phone uses

• Voice gt SMS
• Greetings Personal, family, and community
• vs. business
• multi-residence family
• Existing networks
• vs. new

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Rural User 1. Farmer/Community Health Worker/
Long-Distance Housewife

• R got a phone in 2003 (used Nokia 3310).
  Manages a small farm, raises 6 children (
  grandchildren). Husband lives in Mombasa, sends
  airtime
• HIV , active volunteer,
• Death disease, knowing about people
• Text messaging amazing, you just write a
  message!
• Expensive, but you Cant starve to communicate!

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Rural User 2 Grower/Trader

• E (24) eldest son, still living at home, uses
  phone for trading
• Voice better than texting you talk Ear to Ear
• Phone must be shared it is not mine alone, but
  changing SIM cards is frustrating!
• (In July 2008 his old line now out of service)

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Findings (II)Significance to rural lives

• freedom, privilege, and connections
• Without phone, I was in total darkness!
• Convenient, replaces costly transport and
  telecom foot, bus, landline
• People of Posta have no market!
• Save money, time and uncertainty
• Communication (vs. information)

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Problems for residents

• Lack of cash 1 barrier
• Access, quality, poor consumer support
• Demands of sharing

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Most common

• There was a time I wanted to call a friend it
  just made a funny sound there was etaa ye
  lichumuni (a lantern lamp) and writings saying
  slow (low) battery. I was told that it meant
  that kumulilo kwa welemo (the charge was
  finished)...
• (W, age 60)

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Charging those batteries

• Cash, travel time uncertainty
• Batteries ruined through generic chargers
• Locals with access to an electrical outlet only
  18 (teachers, etc.)

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Solar ? Maybe!
R- testing Ksh 5000 (70) portable charger.
Repair? Ksh 650
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Phone update 2008

• Follow-up difficult
• Only 44 (35/84) reached by original phone number
• 24 line out of service
• 31 temporarily out (call diverted, out of
  signal, switched off)

Phone survey over 5 consecutive days (Fri-Tues)
in July 08
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Findings (4)

• Poorest do not own or use mobiles Expensive, no
  electricity
• SMS not that popular
• technical, social reasons
• Privacy, targeted messages vs. sharing, turnover
  of lines

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Contrast (1)mobile phones in developing countries

• impacts on
• national GDP,
• fish trade,
• farming,
• small business,
• transactions

Source Economist
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Contrast (2)Pilot applications for health
development in SSA

• Monitoring (emergencies, by NGOs)
• Health information systems
• Medical diagnoses
• Village phone for income generation
• Jobs through SMS
• Exam grades (secondary education)
• Interactive educational TV (Makutano Junction)

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What next?
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Mobile phones/ICT4D

• Kiwanja.net (mobiles 4D)
• Tacticaltech.org
• JanChipchase.com
• Nokia Innovation Challenge
• GSMA (gsmworld.com)