Results

Conclusions reached by the GSMA Development Fund are that Shared Access to Voice:

• Is sustainable and scalable: When a 'productised' approach is adopted, it is quick, cheap and easy to scale-up from pilot to a national rollout
• Creates jobs: Supervised payphones directly create jobs for payphone operators and indirectly create jobs for local communities
• Extends the reach of communications: There are on average 30 users for every shared phone
• Is not a 'one size fits all' proposition: Options range from professional 'container shop' facilities, offering large numbers of handsets and services, to individual entrepreneurs operating single, low-tech handsets
• Should comprise of a range of shared access solutions: The maximum impact in terms of market penetration and job creation only occurs when a 'diversified portfolio' approach is adopted within a market
• Should be Operator led: Shared Access succeeds when operators own projects. An operator who understands the market need is best positioned to develop a successful solution, and can then initiate government or NGO partnerships on its own terms

Outcomes

Financial analysis of the piloted countries predicts payback for the entrepreneur in approximately 6 months (where the 'Business in a Box' has been paid for in full). Operators can expect immediate profitability, assuming there is no subsidy. Some operators may choose to subsidise calls from shared phones for a limited period in order to catalyse uptake.

Shared voice services can (a) provide customers with valuable information that boosts their personal and economic welfare and (b) save people from incurring a 'Poverty Penalty' for example, making long journeys to contact relatives, search for employment or find out market prices for crops. On average, each handset in the pilot projects was shared by 30 customers, demonstrating the demand for phones even among the poorest societies. These people are prepared to pay a small fee to access information that otherwise would take them considerable time and effort to obtain. In some instances it allows a community to be heard for the first time.