I need my own mobile phone : use of mobile phones and payphones in Ghana
Date
2007
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Publisher
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, US
Abstract
With each new ICT emerging in the developed world, new hope arises as to how it can transform the fortunes of the poor in developing countries. Currently, with their small size, relative ease of deployment, relative low cost and easy usability, mobile phones have become the latest champions of poverty reduction. This research project investigated uses of mobile phones by subscribers in Ghana, and concludes that the link between ICTs and poverty reduction can be found in how poor people use communication technologies to connect to those resources they consider useful in their daily activities. Mobile phones play an important role in helping people gain some level of economic and social sustainability in their livelihoods, this role being largely that of connectivity and accessibility to others, which provides users with a sense of well being, the ability to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, and a lifeline to help in times of special need. On the other hand, direct use of the mobile phone for income generation, such as providing payphone services, is a tenuous proposition for poor people because as micro-entrepreneurs they are vulnerable to shocks from changes taking place in the volatile ICT industry.
Description
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IDRC Final Report
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Keywords
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, TELEPHONE, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, GHANA