I came across an article from last year in the NY Times that documented some of the travels of User Anthrologist for Nokia, "Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropology-t.html?ref=magazine
The article confirmed many of the things we hear anectdotaly that most of the innovation in wireless is happening in the developing world, not in the established markets. with over two thrids of the cell phone subscriptions in the developing world, the most interesting applications are aimed at customers making less than $4/day. Yet a recent McKinset report indicates that cellphones could provide up to $300-420B of economic impact. A simple example of this is eChoupal, where Indian are able to call multiple markets before making the long trek to take their goods to a single market. This results in better profits for the producers and lower prices for customers due to marker efficiencies. Microfinancing is another example where cellphones enable a more efficient business model for the provider and the borrower. The User Anthropoligist role may be something that not only developed carriers should consider but also enterprises as 4G hits the market. As wireless networks become more "user-centric", it will be critical that all new services and applications start first by understanding the behavior of the user.
The article confirmed many of the things we hear anectdotaly that most of the innovation in wireless is happening in the developing world, not in the established markets. with over two thrids of the cell phone subscriptions in the developing world, the most interesting applications are aimed at customers making less than $4/day. Yet a recent McKinset report indicates that cellphones could provide up to $300-420B of economic impact. A simple example of this is eChoupal, where Indian are able to call multiple markets before making the long trek to take their goods to a single market. This results in better profits for the producers and lower prices for customers due to marker efficiencies. Microfinancing is another example where cellphones enable a more efficient business model for the provider and the borrower. The User Anthropoligist role may be something that not only developed carriers should consider but also enterprises as 4G hits the market. As wireless networks become more "user-centric", it will be critical that all new services and applications start first by understanding the behavior of the user.
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