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Providing affordable communications for rural villages
Half the world’s population lives in villages. For most, the communications revolution has yet to reach into their lives. That’s because the cost and difficulty of reaching remote rural locations with low population densities have been too high to be profitable for service providers.
Until now, that is.
Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection is the first solution that offers affordable access to rural villagers. This innovative solution has the potential to bring connectivity to some 3 billion people.
The benefits are far-reaching. In a typical developing country, an increase of 10 mobile phones per 100 people boosts GDP growth by 0.6%. This macro-level benefit is the result of the many improvements – both large and small – that mobility brings to the everyday lives of individuals. Easier access to information, services and people can bring benefits in terms of business, health and education.
Affordability is the key
But people in rural communities can typically spend no more than 2 or 3 US dollars per month on communications, compared with 7 to 10 US dollars for urban subscribers in growth markets. At the same time, the cost of providing conventional network coverage to sparsely populated remote areas is high. For these reasons, affordability has been the chief barrier to serving these communities.
Our Village Connection solution takes GSM networks to a wider population village-by-village. The solution was developed by analysing the issue of affordability, looking at the technology available and coming up with a business model that makes communications affordable.
The solution combines the well-established, cost-effective technologies of a GSM front end and IP backhaul with an operating model that enables a range of network and business functions at the local level.
Village Connection comprises village-level GSM access points (GAPs) and regional access centers (ACs). The link between the GAP and subscriber terminals is via GSM, while the link between the GAPs and ACs is via IP.
Villagers take control
But what makes the solution truly viable is that the village GSM Access Point maintenance and subscriber management functions are carried out locally. Operators can employ local people to manage the access point or they can franchise or sell the rights to provide village access to a local business or entrepreneur.
In short, the Village Connection model gives villagers the opportunity to host their own mobile access point. This represents a potentially lucrative business opportunity, and the village entrepreneur or franchising business is an entirely new player in the mobile communications value network.
Early success predicts future growth in connectivity
Our Village Connection business model and technology have already shown that they can provide sustainable, affordable mobile connectivity for villages in India. Khrishan Kumar, one of the first hosts of a Village Connection solution, describes the benefits: “In the past, the villagers sometimes wasted 4-5 hours solving a problem that they can now fix with a phone call.
“Village Connection provides a good network for the village and a good source of income.” He is sure that the solution will go a long way to helping to connect 5 billion people by 2015.