Mobile Phones: Changing Lives Across Asia

Mobile phones are not just communication devices for Asians who now the handsets as a revolutionary product that has enabled them to grow economically. This is a feeling that is experienced by not just people who work in Asian metropolitan areas, but also by those who live in the region's rural areas. The latest mobile phone models provide features that make the device easy to use. This coupled with advanced technology that provides robust services at reasonable rates has made mobile phones accessible to people in every economic sphere throughout the Asian continent.

 People living in Asia have certainly benefitted a lot by the introduction of cell phones. Mobile phones are a quick and cost effective communication medium. This has brought speed in communications, something that was not present in this region prior to the arrival of the cell phone. Before mobile phones came into such widespread usage, Asians limited themselves to land lines, sending postal letters or sending a wire or a telegram. Though these were effective communication methods, none gave the kind of comfort experienced as seen in the use of mobile phones.

 With the arrival of mobile phones, people all across Asia could communicate with just a touch of a button to someone else located in a far off place within their own country. The advantage of hearing the other person's voice is a definite plus in effective communication. While this is the general benefit seen in the use of mobile phones, there is also an economic benefit that has come about by the use of mobile phones in the office. It is much easier to call a support officer or a banking person. You can reach them through their mobile phone number. In the office itself, meetings can be held through a mobile phone conferencing facility, including video conferencing. Applications such as Skype can be installed and used in smartphones for quick and easy communication.

 The widespread availability of mobile phones in Asia means a device is available to fit every budget. It is possible for someone owning a small shop to use a cell phone and it is no longer limited to high-end customers such as a company CEO. The affordability has ensured that the communication facilities through mobile phone are available throughout the region. 

 Mobile phones have brought about cost effective communication methods. With the introduction of prepaid card services it is possible for people to add only what they actually need and afford. The calling rates in Asia are quite nominal and a small recharge can give the necessary amount to make just those absolutely necessary phone calls. This enables people to use their cell phone only for specific purposes and not all the time. It is also possible to restrict cell phone usage to receiving calls only and this feature enables people to have even more controlled cell phone usage.

 Mobile phones have brought the facility of quick communication through SMS. Prior to the use of mobile phones, people across Asia had to send a telegram or a post card when they wanted to send small queries or perhaps even enter a contest. Now all this is done through a quick SMS that is widely used now as an effective advertisement method by many organizations and businesses across Asia. Since people typically use their mobile phones every day, the advertiser can be sure that each advertisement message will be read. A short, brief description alongside the contact address is enough for people to get their small business going. SMS costs are minimal, but the effect is far reaching.

 Mobile Phone Usage in India

 In 2007, it was noted in the essay "Meanwhile: India's cell phone revolution" in the Op-Ed section of the International Herald Tribune by Shashi Tharoor that nearly 7 million Indians subscribed to mobile phones each month. This was a record at that time for mobile phone service subscription.  The author notes the many differing situations in India in which mobile phones are being used. He mentions a Sadhu looking every bit just that - a Sadhu, but in his hand is a personal mobile phone, which completely transforms the look and effect. This is indeed an overall picture of the kind of transformation that is happening in Asia as a result of using mobile phones.

 Another essay titled "For the rural poor, cell phones come calling," by Heather Timmons published on May 6, 2007, describes the dramatic increase in cell phone usage in India. The author goes on to explain that there are 6 million new mobile phone customers every month. In major Indian cities as well as smaller towns there is an extensive use of mobile phone devices and, as a result, there is stiff competition amongst mobile phone manufacturers.

 It has to be noted that most of the Indian population lives in rural areas. The widespread use of mobile phones started coming to villages through initiates taken to spread awareness about mobile phone usage and its benefits in those areas. One such initiative was taken by cell phone manufacturer Nokia. Nokia sent caravan-like vans to rural villages across the country and they explained to people about the importance of using mobile phones. The vans stopped at various vantage points in a village area and when enough people gathered close to it, Nokia representatives would explain to them how the mobile phone worked. They showed how uniquely helpful it can be in their everyday lives. According to Suresh Sundaram, Nokia's national retail marketing manager in India, the aim behind Nokia's initiative was to make people aware of what mobile phones are and how they can be useful in rural life.

 Mobile Phones: Changing Lives Across Asia

 In Asia mobile phones are also used in educational institutions for various purposes. According to a recent report published on the Digital Review of the Asia Pacific, new communication technologies are increasingly being used in the field of education. What's more, this percentage has risen rapidly over the past few years. 

 For instance, the schools and colleges in the Philippines are making use of the SMS service and cell phones for imparting interactive learning to the students. Mobile phone usage is not restricted to just this, it is also used to inform students of any changes in schedules for classes or examinations, deciding deadlines for projects, promoting the use of library resources, news and much more.

 Additionally and very interestingly, mobile phones are largely used by students for campaigning and voting in student elections, advertise social activities that are currently taking place, along with sharing information about job fairs and discounts on books being offered by different publishers. Mobile phones are also frequently being used by college administrations for their vital communication needs.  This medium is used for circulating emergency information such as the closing of the institute due to bad weather conditions to students across the country. It is also a fair medium for coordinating admission procedures, advertising various new courses introduced in the current session, circulating information about grants and announcing scholarships.

 Not only are the mobile phones being used for performing general tasks as specified above, but they are also the center stage for all eLearning development and research. According to a research carried out by the industry working in the information and communication technologies domain, all developing countries including India, Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines are enhancing the scope of ICT-related policy development, planning, research and implementation.

 According to the findings of the research, though a large number of people in the developing countries have computers to work on, they don't have access to the Internet. As a result, distance education is not widespread in these areas. However, with mobile phone usage being widespread and affordable, it can be used as a potential medium for Internet research too.

 One of the main reasons why the mobile phone is so popular in Asia is its low cost. It is easy to find mobile phones at very low prices with some of the most innovative devices coming from the Chinese market. The low prices of these devices means more people can afford to buy a mobile phone. Some say that these days even the low-income people in Indian villages have mobile phones, which they use to connect with their friends, relatives and family. Similarly around 100 million Chinese migrant workers use mobile phones to connect to their families left behind in rural areas. This helps them stay in touch with their families for a low cost. They can now use mobile phones to exchange information instead of travelling long distances.

 According to a report published by the mobile phone industry body, GSMA mobile phone companies get around 1 million new subscribers every day. Out of these, a majority of people - as many as 85 percent - live in emerging markets. This fact can be further established by the rising sale of mobile phone devices in all of the developing parts of the world from Kampala to Mombasa. What's more, these handsets are being sold in even the most bizarre of places such as small kiosks, small shops. You can also see small-time vendors selling mobile phones in the blazing sun under large, colorful umbrellas.

 Increasing Dependence on Mobile Phone

 Mobile phone usage has increased in Asia also because of the increasing dependence of all consumers for fulfilling their daily needs. For example, most of us order our daily supplies on mobile phones. What's more, we can even place an order for a taxi using this medium of communication.

 Apart from providing convenience, mobile phones are of enormous benefit to the entrepreneur. Once again, it is not just big businesses that are benefitting from this technology; the small level businesses are also leveraging the mobile phones to stay connected and address their customers' needs at all times. An interesting example of business booming through the use of mobile phones is the Village Phone Programme in Bangladesh. This program enables women to earn money by renting mobile phones to people who need it in their own villages.  The result of this kind of innovative use of cell phone has actually turned ordinary people into micro-traders.

 As we view the use of mobile phones in Asia today, we can only see that more and more people will be making use of mobile phones in the future. This means professionals, farmers, entrepreneurs, people in the entertainment industry, politicians and many more people from different walks of life will depend on these devices. Industry experts also say that in the future, we will see more and more different types of usages coming into effect through advanced mobile phone applications. A step in this direction has already been implemented by the introduction of M-Banking.

 M-Banking is banking through mobile phones. This means instead of going to the bank to carry out banking transactions, these transactions are carried out through using a mobile phone device account. It's quite a revolutionary concept and when implemented in large scale, it can have far-reaching effects on some of the poorest sections of the Asian community.

 M-Banking, if properly implemented, will enable Asians who do not have access to financial services to send money using their mobile phones to whomever they want. The problem with certain Asian communities is that that they earn money the hard way, but they do not have the means to keep that money safe. All this can change with M-Banking and this concept is expected to change the status of the economically poor in Asia. It is currently being promoted by Gautam Ivatury, the head of technology at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). This organization is part of the World Bank and it seeks to bring M-Banking trial services to people from Mongolia to Pakistan. More use of M-Banking services will enable poor workers to send money using a safe money transmit mechanism to their families in their village. Their family members can redeem cash from a mobile airtime seller in their areas whenever they want.

 Mobile Phones and the Non-Resident Community

 Mobile phones also impact the non-resident community. Students and working professionals from India and other Asian countries who work and live abroad find it much easier to communicate with their loved ones through mobile phones. They can speak to their family members at any time of the day using their phones. It has made accessibility a whole lot easier than before when people had to visit calling booths to make a short five-minute phone call to their family member working in a far away geographic destination. Earlier, the call charges in such situations were really high, but now they have come down to a minimal rate, wherein everyone is able to communicate affordably. Mobile phones have made long-distance communication much easier and quicker in Asia. Prior to the advent of mobile phones, long distance communication was costly and time consuming, as it could be done only through land phones that were specifically activated to carry out such calls. Thanks to mobile phones, people can instantly connect with each other from any destination across the globe.