Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries
Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries
Demand for telecommunication services in developing countries
Telecommunications Policy
Mobile phones and economic development: Evidence from the fishing industry in india
Information Technologies and International Development
Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, the: eradicating poverty through profits
Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, the: eradicating poverty through profits
Competing Platform Models for Mobile Service Delivery: The Importance of Gatekeeper Roles
ICMB '08 Proceedings of the 2008 7th International Conference on Mobile Business
Research Approaches to Mobile Use in the Developing World: A Review of the Literature
The Information Society
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Four billion people at the base of the economic pyramid live on incomes below $3000 a year in local purchasing power, and more often than not, lack consistent access to services, such as water, healthcare, banking or agricultural know-how. Rapid advances in mobile technology offer the potential to mediate access to essential services. Through this research, the answers to the following question were explored: will mobile service platforms bridge the gap between service providers and people living at the base of the pyramid in developing countries? Anchored in interviews with 31 experts in the field of mobile and ICT, qualitative analysis starting from platform leadership to explain the role of mobile service platforms is presented: how operator, device and service provider centric platforms compete, collaborate and open up (or not) for delivering scalable services to the poor. Based on the analysis in this paper, it is portended that although operator centric platforms are in pole position, device centric platform providers, being astute innovators, are positioned to close the lead by presenting alternatives to bridge the gap in developing countries. This paper frames the current debate on M4D through the lens of platform theory, and aims to provide guidance to policy makers to improve access to services for the poor.