Tag: GSMA

Mobile technology helps the U.K. government fight poverty

| March 1, 2016

The government of the United Kingdom has partnered up with the GSMA to use tech to help.

The U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) has now funded a project that will be conducted by the GSM Association (GSMA), a mobile operator group, which will use mobile technology in order to help to combat poverty among people living in developing nations.

The purpose of the use of these mobile devices will be to help to enhance the quality of life in areas of extreme poverty.

The DFID will be funding the effort as the GSMA creates and implements mobile technology that will help to batter the response in catastrophes such as natural disasters. It is also meant to help to ensure that people have access to safe drinking water and that women will be able to have access to the use of financial services. This new partnership, says the U.K. government, will be important in overcoming extreme poverty as well as gender inequality. It is also meant to “promote decent work and economic growth, innovation and infrastructure.”

The United Kingdom has been battling extreme poverty for a decade and is now adding mobile technology to boost its effectiveness.

Mobile Technology - PovertyNick Hurd, the international development minister, explained that the United Kingdom has placed itself “at the forefront of bringing the battle against extreme poverty into the digital era,” over the last decade. He also went on to add that “With more people in developing countries using mobiles than ever before, this partnership with the GSMA and its members will increase access to banking services, especially for women, bring access to energy to many for the first time and even vital health information.”

The hope is that this opportunity for boosting the development of mobile tech in these areas will both change and save lives, while giving women the opportunity they need to take hold of their own potential. This will allow those economies to experience meaningful growth and will make it possible for Britain to establish trade with them.

Mobile technology provides an affordable way to bring communication and tools within reach of those who need it most.

Mobile broadband numbers hit new record as 4G connections break 1 billion mark

| February 25, 2016

The developing world has been boosting its speeds and improving the experience for smartphone users.

According to the results of a recent study conducted by the GSMA, the number of global 4G mobile broadband connections has now reached the point that it has broken the 1 billion mark, for the first time.

In fact, the GSMA is now predicting that, by the year 2020, 4G will represent one in three mobile connections.

The results of the study were shared within this year’s global edition of the “Mobile Economy” report series from the GSMA. It suggested that there is currently a rapid change in technology as 3G mobile broadband shifts in favor of 4G networks. Moreover, it pointed out that this trend is occurring in both developed and developing economies. The outcome is that there is a greater drive in smartphone adoption, digital innovation, and in the growth of mobile data.

The report indicate that 2015 saw mobile broadband growth and acceleration that was unprecedented.

4G Mobile BroadbandData from the study suggested that the world economy saw a $3.1 trillion shot in the arm from the mobile industry. This indicates that the share of the global GDP representing that industry is a massive 4.2 percent.

By the close of last year, 4G was behind more than one billion of the total 7.3 billion mobile connections. In fact, that figure means that there was a doubling of the number of 4G connections that were made, last year, greatly because of the expansion of mobile networks at this level, within developing economies. By the time 2015 came to an end, there were 151 different countries with a total of 451 live LTE networks.

According to the GSMA director general, Mats Granryd, “Our new report reveals that mobile broadband is now a truly global phenomenon, extending high-speed connectivity and services to citizens in all corners of the world.” He went on to say that last year’s growth in mobile technology connections was greater than it had ever been, before and was a “testament to the billions of dollars that mobile operators have invested in next-generation networks, services and spectrum in recent years.”