December 6, 2003
Rickshaws connect India's poor
A regional mobile phone company in India is taking a novel approach to drive up business and help the poor at the same time, reports the BBC.
"Shyam Telecom, which operates in the state of Rajasthan, has equipped a fleet of rickshaws with a mobile phone. Drivers pedal these mobile payphones throughout the state capital, Jaipur, and the surrounding countryside.
The hand-pedalled rickshaws are equipped with a battery, a billing machine and a printer.
Through these mobile payphones, some drivers are now able to support a family of five people, says the company".
Similar projects elsewhere:
-- In Uganda, Mobile Operator MTN Uganda has embarked on a substantial project to improve access to communications services and thus reduce poverty and improve socio-economic conditions in rural Uganda. cf Mobile phones for Uganda's poor.
-- In in Bangladesh, "phone ladies" go around the the dusty villages with no other form of communication and rent out phone usage. cf The "phone ladies" of Bangladesh.
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