Evidence that mobile communications, and in particular the mobile phone, can make a positive difference to the lives of people in emerging markets, has arisen in recent years. Governments, mobile operators, aid organizations and users all recognize that the mobile phone has become an important tool, and can be used for much more than simply talking.
 

Kojo Boakye, program manager at the CTO, says: “We have undertaken this research to better understand current and future m-content needs. The most important concern for respondents was to reduce their vulnerability to shocks, whether they are financial, social or environmental, and improve their education, health and security. Nevertheless, only a minority of these issues are met by m-content services that are currently available.”
 

Boakye says that in India, most content is for entertainment. Games top the list, followed by ringtones, music and wallpaper downloads. The picture in Uganda is slightly different. Airtime transfer – a service that allows subscribers to send and receive mobile phone airtime credits – is the most important, with games, news and sports updates close behind.
 

“It is interesting to see the relevance of airtime transfer, as it is not an entertainment-based feature and actually is more related to users’ socio-economic needs,” Boakye says.
 

The study shows that users from government institutions in both countries are not currently thinking of ways to use m-content for government purposes. They think of it mainly for entertainment.
 

However, in the future, it is possible that healthcare and job-related services will top the list of in-demand services in Uganda, while music, exam results, and watching television are likely to be popular in India. Financial services such as remittances and m-banking have great potential, together with mobile internet offerings.
 

“This future looks positive but also presents some challenges, mainly small screens, the lack of content in the local language, and how to use the mobile services,” Boakye says. “The perceived high costs and poor copyright enforcement are also barriers to future use, especially in Uganda.”
 

The report calls for measures to increase both the demand and supply of m-content. Some of the opportunities to increase availability include leveraging the expertise of civil society organizations for livelihood-related content and persuading regulators and policy makers of the need to focus not only on voice services, but also on content. Mobile advertising can also help create a sustainable business model for the supply of services.
 

Monika Byléhn, senior analyst at Ericsson with focus on emerging markets, says that Ericsson’s launch of a mobile Innovation Center in Africa will help drive the development of mobile applications in health, education, agriculture and small business development. One of the remaining challenges is to encourage governments, institutions and operators to collaborate, invest and provide m-content services that will increase efficiency and develop society.
 

“The opportunities for the industry are obvious, with as much as 96 percent of respondents expressing intent to use mobile content services in the future”, Byléhn says.