Grameen Telecom
Encyclopedia
Grameen Telecom is a not-for-profit company in Bangladesh
established by Dr. Muhammad Yunus
with a partial stake in Grameen Phone (GP). GTC has driven the pioneering GP program of Village Phone that enables rural poor to own a cell-phone and turn it into a profit making venture. The vision behind the village phone program was formulated by Iqbal Quadir
who was convinced that a mobile phone could become a source of income generation. Quadir worked with Professor Yunus and the Norwegian company Telenor
to make the program a reality. Currently Grameen Telecom provides mobile phone
s among the villagers of the country.
. The Village Phone (Polli Phone; spelling ; pronunciation ) program is the largest among them.
services to underprivileged people in Bangladesh. To become a subscriber of a Village Phone, one must first become a member of Grameen Bank
.
These mobile phones have very cheap billing rates and are also given on easy loans from Grameen Bank. Once given a phone, the subscriber is encouraged to provide the services to the people in the adjoining area, covering both outgoing and incoming calls. In this way, he or she can earn money to repay his or her debt to the bank as well as to earn a profit. Many inhabitants of the rural area of Bangladesh, particularly underprivileged women, have been able to change their lives with the help of Village Phone.
. These kiosks are set up to provide people in the villages of Bangladesh with access to information and communication technology
.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
established by Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
with a partial stake in Grameen Phone (GP). GTC has driven the pioneering GP program of Village Phone that enables rural poor to own a cell-phone and turn it into a profit making venture. The vision behind the village phone program was formulated by Iqbal Quadir
Iqbal Quadir
Iqbal Z. Quadir , founder of Gonofone and Grameenphone. He is currently the Founder and Director of the Legatum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of Advisory Board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology...
who was convinced that a mobile phone could become a source of income generation. Quadir worked with Professor Yunus and the Norwegian company Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
to make the program a reality. Currently Grameen Telecom provides mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s among the villagers of the country.
Programs
Grameen Telecom has different programs to include rural people into the world of information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. The Village Phone (Polli Phone; spelling ; pronunciation ) program is the largest among them.
Village Phone
Village Phone is a unique idea that provides modern telecommunicationTelecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
services to underprivileged people in Bangladesh. To become a subscriber of a Village Phone, one must first become a member of Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank
The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...
.
These mobile phones have very cheap billing rates and are also given on easy loans from Grameen Bank. Once given a phone, the subscriber is encouraged to provide the services to the people in the adjoining area, covering both outgoing and incoming calls. In this way, he or she can earn money to repay his or her debt to the bank as well as to earn a profit. Many inhabitants of the rural area of Bangladesh, particularly underprivileged women, have been able to change their lives with the help of Village Phone.
Information kiosks
Besides the revolutionary Village Phone program, Grameen Telecom also provides information kiosks. Initially, three pilot kiosks were set up in Tangail districtTangail District
Tangail is a district in central region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka division. The population of Tangail zilla is about 3.2 million and its surface area is 3,414.39 km². The main town of Tangail District is the district town Tangail...
. These kiosks are set up to provide people in the villages of Bangladesh with access to information and communication technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
.
Sources
- Village Phone page on Grameen Phone website
- Talk by Iqbal Quadir, TED Global talking about the Grameen Telecom program