Mobile Phones, Economic Development,and Shrinking the Digital Divide

1. Mobile phones have improved the economy of poor people

1.1. Now fishermen or farmers can check prices in different markets before selling their products at a not fair price.

1.2. Avoid wasting time on unnecessary travels.

1.3. Mobile phones are very important in places where there are no fixed-lines phones.

1.4. These devices reduce transaction costs, expand business networks and replace costly physical transportation, etc.

2. Mobile phones are used differently in low-income countries than in affluent countries

2.1. In particular, phones are widely shared

2.1.1. Example: People buy its mobile phone by using a loan. They even rent their mobile phone by the minute where, so they can earn a small profit margin that allows them to repay the loan and earn a living.

3. Yet mobile phone technologies also can be controversial.

3.1. Chinese authorities imposed a blackout on communications to ease tensions that it claims were inflamed by social networking sites and text messages.

4. Case of Mobile Phone benefits

4.1. In Zambia's capital city, Lusaka. Coca-Cola distributed bottles that were worth in 10m kwacha (2 000$), an amount hard to be carried on by the distributors, and tempting to thieves

4.2. Coca-Cola now tells its 300 Zambian distributors to pay for deliveries not in cash but by sending text messages from their mobile phones.