The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight objectives to eliminate extreme poverty by 2015. The UN has identified telecommunications as a sector with enormous capacity to support these aims. “The mobile phone is the single most transformational tool for development in Africa,” says Jeffrey Sachs, advisor to the UN Secretary General and Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

The Earth Institute is the driving force behind the Millennium Villages (MV), an innovative model to help rural communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Their selected villages are hunger hotspots located in different ecological zones in sub-Saharan Africa. There are currently 14 MV clusters across 11 countries, impacting the lives of more than a half million people.

Ericsson joined this unique, public-private partnership between the UN, governments, businesses, universities and NGOs in 2007. Together with mobile operators Zain and MTN, we are rolling out cutting-edge mobile communications and Internet capabilities to the residents of all Millennium Villages. Tailored to local conditions in each village, our end-to-end communications solutions are contributing to improving livelihoods, health and education (It takes a village).

Key to the project’s success is scalability. Connectivity is an important ingredient, since it enables communication across borders, bridging the digital divide.

For Ericsson, involvement in the MV represents an opportunity to fulfill our commitment towards the MDG. It also serves as a valuable incubator for sustainable business models in a market with huge potential for growth.

Meeting the communications needs of sub-Saharan Africa is complex. Merging the MV partnership with our business strategy reinforces Ericsson’s long-term commitment to this region. Public-private partnerships enhance our understanding of how to better serve these markets in sustainable ways and build trust within these communities.

To help measure our contribution, in 2009, Ericsson and Columbia University will define a system to monitor the impacts of mobile phones for each village and analyze the interlink between connectivity and tailored village programs. Quantitative and qualitative performance indicators will be designed to show the impact of telecom and ICT services on individuals, businesses, villages and society overall, including;

• Transport trends.
• Access to health information and facilities.
• Local business or agricultural practices.
• Household and village incomes.
• Completion of primary level schooling.

Under the MV project, Ericsson has provided telecom infrastructure, mobile applications and expertise to connect approximately half a million people. Roll-out of networks to all village clusters is currently ongoing. By Q1, 2009, 60 percent of the villages had been connected, covering 55 percent of the Millennium Village population.

Our engagement includes:

• Mobile communication technology to provide voice and Internet access. Where regulations and spectrum allow, 3G technology is deployed.
• Establishing the Innovation Center (p. 26) to develop tailored mobile phone applications.
• Providing Fixed Wireless Terminals at local schools and health centers. They provide broadband data and voice coverage through Internet or wireless LAN.
• Toll-free emergency numbers.

Key objectives: 

• With operators, identify and develop customized applications for the MV.
• Stimulate business opportunities.
• Develop medical applications to enable improved understanding of community health.
• B ring Internet access to schools.
• Prioritize deployment of green site solutions where feasible.
• Evolve innovative business models to make mobile communications more affordable.