This is an incredibly exciting time for the mobile industry. We're finally getting around to the next billion users. As the bulk of the market still chases the next big data services play for the developed, urban markets, a growing minority of us are thinking a bit differently.

These next billion users won't be easy to reach. The obstacles are formidable (power, accessibility and lack of local engineers for starters) and the consumer's ability to pay is greatly reduced. Clearly, current network technology and current thinking is not appropriate for this challenge.

About a year ago, we coined the term microtelecom to describe the new technologies, techniques, business processes and ideas that address the rural opportunity. We're gratified to see this term gradually being taken up by the industry and humbled by all the attention VNL has received in the media and the market.

At VNL, we're focused entirely on microtelecom and we feel we've made huge advances in crossing the gap between GSM and the rural villages so eager to benefit from it.

But this isn't a promotional piece for VNL. We’d like it to be a service to the emerging rural industry — a place to go for a snapshot of the state of microtelecom and a survey of what people are saying, writing and blogging about it.

A few quick thoughts from two events we attended recently:

• e-INDIA 2008, India’s largest ICT Rural Event, presented an excellent program that highlighted the major rural challenges as well as some new ones, including the challenge of marketing to 60,000 villages!
• The Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid conference looked at rural markets across all industries. To Anil Dua of Hero Honda Motors 'BoP' stands for Basket of Plenty. His five key elements of BOP marketing ring true for microtelecom: Product Innovation, Consumer Connect, Physical Access, System Delivery and Relationship Building.

Enjoy Issue #1 of Microtelecom Now, and by all means send us a line to contribute your own thoughts or to point out any interesting papers or articles.

/ Anil Raj, CEO

P.S. If you're new to the market, a good place to start might be our white paper Bringing Telecom to Rural India »

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HIGHLIGHTS: India's Department of Telecom aims to assist rural connectivity, but the project is hampered by delays. Meanwhile, IFC just granted a US$100 million loan to Idea, to increase connectivity in Bihar. And rural india just set a world record for new bank accounts...

• DoT kick-starts second phase of rural mobile project

The Department of Telecom has invited bids for the second phase of rural cellular infrastructure build using the Universal Services Obligation fund.

The Government plans to roll out 11,000 towers across 2.5 lakh (250,000) villages as part of this project. Another 275 million people are set to come under mobile coverage area over the next year. In the first phase, nearly 8,000 towers were set up.

Hindu Business Line, 7 August

...But delays in rural rollout

Even as phase two bids are solicited, The Hindu Business Line reports that the Universal Services Obligation program is behind schedule, with operators so far meeting only 50 per cent of the targeted coverage 15 months after launching the project.

Hindu Business Line, 22 September

• Mobile phones to provide banking services to rural India

Obopay, a payment services provider and Grameen Solutions have entered into a tie-up to provide mobile-banking services to the poor in India and Bangladesh — once the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines are issued.

Only 34% of the Indian population currently has access to banking services. The microtelecom and microfinance revolutions proceed hand in hand!

Economic Times, 6 August

• Power shortages on the road to electrification

The Hindu Business Line summarizes the fitful progress of the Rural Electrification Programme:

"Power shortages are worsening, hardly an encouraging sign for a country aiming to take electricity within reach of over 80 million more households within the next four years."

Hindu Business Line, 13 August

• Tata plans $1.5bn GSM spend

The Business Standard reports on a major investment in GSM by Tata, which has received GSM spectrum in five of twenty-two telecom circles.

Business Standard, 10 August

• Quippo aims for 21,000 new towers

Quippo, one of India's biggest telecom equipment rental companies plans to add 21,000 towers in India by 2011. The company rents its towers to all telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular.

Economic Times, 12 August

• DoT to dial 50k villages

The Department of Telecom is set to sign an agreement with state-owned BSNL to provide telephones to 50,000 villages newly-identified by the 2001 census.

These include villages with populations below 100 — all part of the village telephony target under the Bharat Nirman programme.

Economic Times, 27 August

• World Bank helps connect Bihar

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is providing a US$100 million loan to Indian GSM network operator, Idea Cellular to increase penetration in Bihar from less than 8 percent in 2008 to more than 20 percent by 2012.

Financial Express, 25 September

• Rural India sets world record for new bank accounts

Close to a crore (10 million) savings accounts have been opened in banks and post offices in rural areas across India according to the Ministry of Rural Development.

Financial Express, 1 August

• "The New Hot Spot" indeed

"Our rural telecom seems to be ready for a bull run," says this front page story from India's Financial Express, "...a majority of the next 500 million telecom customers will be from rural areas."

Financial Express eFE, 4 August

• Ghana goes solar

Our last news snippet for this issue: a short video on Ghana's push into solar power for rural communities.

Watch video at YouTube »

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HIGHLIGHTS: VNL's award shortlisting, two new videos about the impact of mobile phones and how microtelecom will help, in-depth white papers, and selected stories from the blog...

Visit the complete Resource Library
at www.vnl.in/resources »

• Shortlisted

WorldGSM™, our solar-powered GSM system has been shortlisted in the "Best Technology Foresight" category of the World Communications Awards. Learn more »

• Covered

The Wall Street Journal and Business Week put VNL in the global spotlight in July with these excellent reports. Read more »

• "We Are Ready!"

We visited the rural village of Deorhi to document the impact of mobile phones. Check out this compelling short video »

• Raj on Rural

Anil Raj, VNL's CEO, talks about the challenges of rural coverage and how microtelecom can rise to them in this short video »

• Bringing Telecom To Rural India

The microtelecom story in one short white paper »

• The Microtelecom Business Model

The power of integrating local entrepreneurs into the value chain. Read the white paper »

• "Green Power for Mobile" initiative — good news for off-grid telecom

GSMA's latest initiative pushes for the use of renewable energy sources for mobile networks. But green power is only one side of the rural story »

• Eradicating illiteracy and innumeracy with mobile education

In rural India, mobile phones hold the potential of revolutionizing education »

• Mobile Banking helps fight poverty

A mobile connection will be the first connection to financial services for millions »

• The Indian mobile market breaks a new record

9.22 million new Indian GSM and CDMA subscribers added in July »

• The Telemedicine Promise

Just one of the social benefits that follow when mobile comes to the village... »

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• Documenting the microtelecom revolution. If you enjoy reading it — tell a friend »

• Mailed to you from VNL — the company that makes a solar powered GSM system which helps mobile operators reach rural markets profitably. Learn more at www.vnl.in »

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