Mobile internet can help boost income levels: Vodafone

A recent study by Vodafone concludes mobile internet access can help boost incomes and offer more economic opportunities in developing markets.

Authored by independent experts, the report titled ‘Towards a more equal world: the mobile internet revolution’ looks into the changing dynamics of the shift to smartphones and data services in emerging markets across the world. It argues internet access for disadvantaged groups can address inequalities in societies.

The report said education affects how people use their devices and the value they get out of mobile internet access. Access to information is pivotal in reducing information asymmetries and equalizing access to wider social networks and opportunities.

“Access to communications services and networks plays a vital role in enabling individuals and businesses to tap into opportunities. Mobile is important for people in marginal groups with low incomes or status, especially in emerging markets,” said Howard Williams, professor Emeritus at the University of Strathclyde.

While developing locally-produced information and apps can help improve the utility of mobile internet access, it’s also a challenge in disguise as there are high costs in creating ‘hyperlocal’ apps.

This calls for serious investment if access to reliable, high-quality broadband networks as well as 2G networks has to be guaranteed. Incentives will need to reflect increasingly competing and collaborative infrastructure solutions. The report also says access to enough spectrum at affordable rates is also critical to continued investment in mobile broadband networks.

The impact of information and mobile access on yields of small farmers in India was said to have a 50% increase in a small farmer’s revenue. A 1% increase in yields leads to a 0.6 – 1.3% reduction in poverty, having a greater impact than prices alone.

Women were found to place greater emphasis on the importance of smartphones in connecting to their family and the world beyond. Over two-thirds of business women experienced an increase in income due to a smartphone.

This comes at a time when smartphone ownership is growing around the world. By 2016, there were 3.7 billion unique mobile users globally and smartphone sales had reached 1.2 billion. The number of mobile internet subscriptions has been growing globally by around 20% year-on-year. McKinsey has predicted that between 2015 and 2018, an additional 500 million to 900 million people will go online, the vast majority in emerging markets via mobile broadband. Ericsson forecasts that driven by smartphone use, global mobile data traffic will rise eigh-tfold between 2015 and the end of 2020.

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