Poor countries require cheap mobile

"In developing countries easier than one person has access to a mobile to a toilet." The phrase is from the GSMA, the association of operators around the world and the vast sums off of mobile telephony in the poorest countries and its popularity, beyond any basic service.

As an example of that push, over the next five years, Internet traffic through IP will be multiplied by seven in Latin America, with the highest global rate of annual growth (+48%). Developing countries have surpassed developed countries in number of smart phones (smartphones), advanced today as President of Telefónica Latin America, Santiago Fernandez Valbuena, who participated in the roundtable strategy operators in developing markets, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

 Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, an Indian company in 19 countries in Asia and Africa, said it is imperative to find ways to prover low cost smartphone to emerging markets to ensure that development does not stop.

 In the same vein, Fernandez Valbuena said the availability of these terminals at prices around $ 100 is a challenge that will further open the market, and in which Telefónica is already taking steps. The company believes that in these countries may be better segmented products and packages for use in place of unlimited flat rates.

Telefonica, which is leading the revolution in Latin America data business with more than 24 million broadband connections in the region, estimates that the average growth technology market expected to remain nearly 8% per year (over GDP) . "Broadband (fixed and mobile) will be the main source of growth in the coming years," said Fernandez Valbuena.

The manager believes that the current competitive environment in the ICT sector in the world will change dramatically with the explosion of emerging markets. The data support this "revolution" in emerging countries. In fact, Latin America an estimated 10% increase in penetration of broadband generates increases of 3.2% in GDP and productivity growth of 2.6%. Telefónica has set a goal in 2013 to almost triple the current BAM access and mobile data involving one third of mobile service revenues.

Meanwhile, Jo Lunder, CEO of VimpelCom, a Dutch company that operates in many developing countries from former Soviet republics to Pakistan and Burundi, insisted on the same forum that investment in the mobile industry has a multiplier effect on growth and employment in poor countries than in developed ones.

Lunder said that, contrary to what is happening in the West, emerging markets the mobile screen and not the computer let alone that of the tablet is the first Internet access. So, agreed with Mittal that the phone is the opportunity to develop mobile financial services, especially targeted to unbanked segments or the e-Health solutions in these countries who otherwise could not have banking or health care.