Rural villagers in Africa will soon have access to a staple of modern society. One that'll leave them asking the proverbial question, "Can you hear me now?" Enter the cell phone.



India-based telecom VNL has gone and reengineered the cellular standard GSM to use just 50 watts of power on a solar-charged battery. The system is simple and quick to install. In fact, it can be assembled and online in under six hours with just two people on the job.

"We've scaled down the cost, the energy, and the equipment so that almost anybody can deploy it," says Rajiv Mehrotra, VNL's CEO. "It lends itself to many business models that can serve the bottom of the pyramid," a reference to the roughly 1.5 billion rural people who do not have access to electricity grids around the world.

Fifty of these stations have already been deployed in India, introducing thousands to cell phone service. And while the stations support both voice and data transmissions, text messaging was not initially available. It's a bit like owning an iPhone.

One advantage of having these mobile services in rural areas is financial opportunity. More than half of India's 1.1 billion people lack access to basic financial services and therefore fall victim to the rates of local loan sharks. Having mobile programs tied to financial services aimed at the rural poor could change that .

And surprisingly, there is a profit to be made. One station - called the "village station" - handles hundreds of users and even turns a profit on customers spending only $2 a month.

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Source: Technology Review