A Message Oriented Phone System for Low Cost Connectivity

Although mobile phone usage has proliferated in urban areas of developing countries, many rural or poor users remain completely unconnected, particularly in Africa. In this paper, we advocate an alternative “voice message mostly” mobile phone architecture to reach the next billion users. Using initial analyses of mobile phone usage and rural power data, we outline the potential benefits of switching to an asynchronous model including improved utilization, increased effective coverage, better perceived service, and (most significantly) cost reduction. By leveraging these benefits, we believe a system based on voice messaging can make remote rural villages and the urban poor viable telecommunications markets.