Why Buy the Cow When You Can Get the Milk for Free?

Nov 09, 2009

Is it possible to experience the core benefits of mobile phone ownership without having a mobile phone?

In contexts where income is highly variable people living on the poverty line are more likely to be forced to sell off assets in order to buy essentials such as food. The mobile phone is such an asset. The net result is that there are people with a sufficient technological literacy to understand what a phone can do, a nuanced understanding of the communication norms, own an active SIM card but no mobile phone and most likely live in a community where people understand the variability of income and ownership. In these contexts it can be socially acceptable to ask peers, even strangers to borrow their phone, take out their SIM, insert their own and send off text messages or make calls - since the monetary costs are passed on the SIM card owner.

The increasing prevalence of dual-SIM card supporting mobile phones and the tools to manage current calls costs make this an interesting space to watch since it lowers the barriers to sharing, whether for personal or profitable reasons.