Teleuse@BOP Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka: Implications for telecenters Rohan Samarajiva...

Teleuse@BOP

Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka: Implications for telecenters

Rohan SamarajivaRohan SamarajivaTelecenter National Alliance

Sarvodaya HQ, August 31, 2007

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Plan of presentation

Methodology and background Almost everyone has access but not ownership Who owns and uses phones? Not getting connected So where do telecenters fit in to the picture?

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

*excluding FANA/FATA – Tribal Areas; **excluding N&E Provinces

Bottom of the Pyramid defined

Many definitions of poverty, but this study uses SEC D and E; between ages 18-60

SEC does not take into account income, but it is closely related to income levels

Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand

Population (million) 165 1,095 20 89 64

Target population of study (million)

77* 260 4** 41 15

SEC D & E

SEC A, B & C

Bottom of the Pyramid

Almost everyone has access, but not ownership

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Overall access is very high

South Asia South East Asia


Used phone in last 3 months

98% 94% 92% 93% 95%

Most have used a phone in the last 3 months

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Time it takes to reach nearest phone

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


% o

f n

on

-ow

ne

rs a

t th

e B

OP

>60 minutes

45-60 minutes

30-45 minutes

15-30 minutes

10-15 minutes

5-10 minutes

3-5 minutes

< 3 minutes

Phones are close at the BOP

Most can get to a phone in less than 30 mins

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Even in rural areas in Sri Lanka

A small number (6%) in rural areas incur up to USD 0.50 (LKR 50) to get to a phone

Time to nearest phone: urban vs. rural: Sri Lanka

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Urban Rural

Sri Lanka

% o

f n

on

ow

ner

s at

BO

P Betw een 45 - 60 minutes

Betw een 30 - 45 minutes





Less than 2 - 3 minutes

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Ownership and GDP per capita (USD, PPP)

23%

9%

22%

60%

11%

23%

7%

14%

64%

81%

59%

38%

23%

76%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% a

t b

ott

om

of

pyr

amid

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

GD

P p

er c

apit

a, U

SD

(P

PP

)

Own a mobile Own a fixed phone (household)

Own nothing (but use something) Per Capita GDP PPP (USD)

But phone ownership was low in mid 2006, when survey was done

Just 41% of BOP own their own phone in Sri Lanka 22% own mobiles; 23% own fixed; few have both

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Most frequently used mode

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%%

at

BO

P

Public phone 35% 71% 30% 8% 7%

Relative / friend's phone 10% 1% 12% 14% 6%

Neighbours phone 8% 7% 14% 7% 1%

Mobile of another householdmember

12% 4% 6% 11% 5%

Household fixed phone 14% 9% 21% 4% 8%

Own mobile 21% 9% 17% 56% 73%


BOP in South Asia mainly used public phones

30% of BOP in Sri Lanka used public phones most frequently

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Why did they use their most-frequent mode?

Convenience and lack of other options override cost

Reason for selecting primary phone (use): Sri Lanka

Accessibility at any time

35%

Lack of other options30%

Lower cost18%

Accessibility in any location

2%Other6%

Privacy7%

Quality of connection

2%

Users of public phones?

Not users of public phones?


Who owns phones? Why?

41%of BOP in Sri Lanka owned a phone

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Why own a mobile phone?

Convenience is key; privacy is more of a concern for higher-income countries (highest in Sri Lanka)

Primary reason for choosing to own a mobile

64%71% 66% 68%

92%

11%6%

9% 5%

7% 4%

20%17%

18% 16%

4%10%

3%7%

1%1%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


% o

f mob

ile o

wne

rs a

t the

BO

P Other

It is cheaper

For privacy

So I don’t depend onothers

Convenience: accessibileat any time

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Growth in mobile phone ownership at BOP since 2001

23%

9%22%

60%

76%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

before2001

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006(Q1&2)

Year during which connection was obtained

%(c

um

ula

tive

) at

BO

P

Pakistan India Sri LankaPhilippines Thailand

92% of mobiles at Sri Lankan BOP are prepaid

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Mobiles used more often as the primary phone by males at BOP in South Asia

30%

12%

22%

56%

76%

11%5%

12%

55%

70%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


Male Female

% o

f m

ob

ile o

wn

ers

at

BO

P

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Who decides female ownership of phone at BOP? (patriarchy lives in South Asia!)

74%

9%

26%

91%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

South Asia South East Asia

Male Female

% o

f fe

male

mob

ile o

wn

ers

at

BO

P

Who makes the decision to obtain a mobile

(among female mobile owners)?


Not getting connected

1.2 millionfrom BOP in Sri Lanka will not get connected between mid-2006 & mid-2008

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

The biggest barrier to ownership at the BOP is affordability

31% plan to get connected between mid-2006 and mid-2008

Potential primary

market for telecenters

BUT, 28% will not

1.3 million (31% of BOP)



Don't own and don't

plan to buy a phone

Plan to buy a phone between mid-2006 & mid-

2008

Already own a phone

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

What do we know about this group?

The majority in Sri Lanka will be females

36%48%

39%47% 44%

64%52%

61%53% 56%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand% o

f non-o

wners

at

BO

P w

ho d

o n

ot

pla

n t

o b

uy

a

phone

FemaleMale

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Among those not planning to buy phones, males are more dependent on public phones, while women are more dependent on other peoples’ phones

78%

32%

88%79%

51%

36%

13%17% 14% 17%

22%

68%

12%21%

49%

64%

87%83% 86% 83%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female


% o

f th

ose

not

pla

nnin

g t

o b

uy

a p

hone

Other peoples' phones

Public phones

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net


The large majority will be rural

42%53%

14%

46%

8%

58%47%

86%

54%

92%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


f non-o

wners

at

BO

P w

ho d

o n

ot

pla

n t

o b

uy

a

phone

Rural

Urban

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

50%

67%

45%57%

16%

13%

19%

39% 22%

79%

25%

12%15%

13% 14%4% 7% 6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


f non-o

wners

at

BO

P w

ho d

o n

ot

pla

n t

o b

uy

a

phone Above 3rd quartile

Median-3rd quartile

1st Quartile-median

Below 1st Quartile


Poorer. The large majority will have monthly household incomes below USD 75.81 (median) (~ LKR 7500)

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net


Older The mean age of this group will be 40 years of age

compared to mean age of mobile owners at BOP of 33 years

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net


Make fewer calls They make and receive a total of 8.65 calls per month

Compared to the average for the Sri Lankan BOP of 23.2 (compared to those who plan to buy a phone who make and receive a total of 15.05 calls per month)

Non-owners

Do not plan on buying phone by mid-2008

Plan on buyingphone by mid-2008

Mean monthly number of calls

(incoming + outgoing)8.65 15.05

Source: diary


So where do telecenters fit in to the picture?

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Currently few at the BOP use the Internet; even fewer know what it is


Use the Internet 1.9% 0.3% 1.5% 8.8% 10.4%

36.0%

71.9%

28.6%

14.3%

35.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% o

f bott

om

of th

e p

yra

mid

Not heard of Internet

Internet ‘un-awareness’

Next to the Philippines, highest level of knowledge. . .

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

Even less so in rural Sri Lanka

23.8%

67.0%

23.5%

9.3% 9.6%

48.7%

77.9%

29.6%

19.8%

42.8%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%


% a

t B

OP

Urban

Rural


Use the Internet Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural

3.0% 0.7% 0.2% 0.1% 2.1% 1.4% 12.8% 4.3% 22.0% 2.3%

Internet ‘un-awareness’

Not a massive urban-rural gap in knowledge

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

In sum, telecenters should…

To attract the phone-owners Provide affordable services, especially international

At ~USD 0.20 (LKR 20), LK international calls are now overpriced Planned decreases since 2003 have not occurred because

of cartel behavior in the international market But to make Internet-PSTN calls, telecenter operators will

need to have international credit/debit cards Can operators offer discounted prices to

telecenters/bureaus? Collectively, we should develop more services that people can

use on the Internet (more useful e-gov, . . . ) And publicize them broadly

Provide more than Internet, more than voice Teach people how to use new services

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

In sum, telecenters should…

To attract the non-owning segment Provide a welcoming, caring environment

Be female-friendly Cater to the needs of an older clientele Provide settings where conversations cannot be overheard; Internet

activity cannot be observed by others Different from conventional telecenter user profile

Difficult, but not impossible, to run these two marketing strategies in parallel Women are interested in international calls, so some overlap This group also wants to learn how to use new services

Can the telecenter become an “EZbuddy” (mobile payphone)? Take the phone to the non-owning women? Can telcos offer “Super 5 +2” type international prices on

“EZbuddy”?

ww

w.li

rnea

sia.

net

International calls

71% of international calls at the BOP in Sri Lanka are made by women

88% are made by rural people

29%

71%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Sri Lanka

% o

f int

erna

tiona

l cal

ls

FemaleMale

Source: Diary

12%

88%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Sri Lanka

% o

f int

erna

tiona

l cal

ls

RuralUrban

Teleuse@BOP Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka: Implications for telecenters Rohan Samarajiva...

Documents

Transcript of Teleuse@BOP Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka: Implications for telecenters Rohan Samarajiva...