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Incorporated in 1995 Not - for- profit company Owns 38% share in GrameenPhone Dedicated to Development ICT in Rural

Bangladesh

Introduced Unique Village Phone System,Providing GSM Cellular Phone Services inRural Bangladesh

Grameen Telecom at a glanceGrameen Telecom at a glance

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The experiences of Grameen Telecom and its partners have clearly demonstrated that ICTcould be designed and developed to cater tothe need of the poor. It could directly raise the

income and social status of the poor in ruralBangladesh and help them overcome poverty.

I nformation Technology as aI nformation Technology as aTool to Overcome PovertyTool to Overcome Poverty

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Though misleading, microcredit and IT have a commoncapacity - capacity to empower the poor. They reinforceeach other when it comes to addressing the issue of

poverty. They lead to a path of self-employment as wellas to social and economic emancipation. GrameenTelecom and Grameen Bank have designed a packagetogether primarily to connect people in remote ruralareas through mobile phones. Grameen Bank borrowers(Village Phone Operators) who buy a cell phone with a

bank loan, can substantially earn bigger income. Thus ITand Micro Credit are complementing each other, tochange the lives of the poor in Bangladesh.

M icrocredit and I TM icrocredit and I T

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BTTB : Govt. owned fixed line operator Private Operators : GS M Operators : GP, AKTel, Banglalink

B TT B (TeleTalk) CDM A : C ity C ell Rural WLL : B RTA, Banglalink

Independent telecom regulator - B angladesh TelecomRegulatory C ommission Population : 140 million

Number of Phones : 5.7 million (cell & fixed line) Teledensity : 4 (Approx.)

B angladesh : Telecom ScenarioB angladesh : Telecom Scenario

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Phone service for the rural population Bridging the information gap between rural

and urban areas New weapon against poverty Gateway for IT based services for rural areas Empowering poor rural women, who are

borrowers of Grameen Bank A mobile community Phone/Public Call

Office (PCO)

V illage Phone ( V P)V illage Phone ( V P)

The B asic C onceptThe B asic C oncept

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Provide easy access to telephone services,all over rural Bangladesh. A new technology based income generatingoption to fight rural poverty.

Bring the potential of informationrevolution to the doorsteps of villagers.

V illage Phone ( V P)V illage Phone ( V P)ObjectivesObjectives

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Grameen Bank members obtain ownershipof the phones under basic loan programme.

S/he provides services to the people in theadjoining rural area, for both outgoing andincoming calls

Phone bills along with other dues arecollected by Grameen Bank field staff regularly

Grameen Telecom Unit Offices providetraining and required technical services

V P: The basic structureV P: The basic structure

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Role of Grameen TelecomRole of Grameen Telecom

j Training j Support for Village PhoneOperators j Village Phone Operator Network

Managementj

Service & Repair j

VillagePhone Operator liaison j Acquiring equipmentfrom suppliers j Equipment Supply to VillagePhone j System design for specific installationsj Bulk Air Time Purchasing j Village PhoneOperator Billing j Strategic Planning j VillagePhone Operator Monitoring

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Provides necessary organizational & infra-structural support

Helps in selecting prospective Village PhoneOperators from amongst the GB members

Finances borrowers intending to purchase cell phone servicesCollects the airtime bills

Role of Grameen B ank Role of Grameen B ank

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Role of GrameenPhoneRole of GrameenPhone Communications Infrastructure Technical support Bulk air time sales to Grameen Telecom Billing detail to Grameen Telecom Government licensing and regulationcompliance and liaison Government financial and taxation liaison

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Present StatusPresent Status

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V illage Phone HighlightsV illage Phone Highlights

Total VP : 1,10,323 (as of 31 March 2005)

VP CoverageGTC Unit : 18GB Branch : 1271GB Area : 134GB Zone : 21Village : 38,000+ (appx.)District : 61

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Growth Trend of V P C onnectionsGrowth Trend of V P C onnections((up to 31 M arch 2005)up to 31 M arch 2005)

28 179 1,1143,273 9,222

23,159

46,259

94,003

110,323

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

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V P Sales Trend ( M onth wise)V P Sales Trend ( M onth wise)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2002 2003 2004 2005

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Average V P B ill Trend (US$)Average V P B ill Trend (US$)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

J F r Apr M y J J l Aug S p Oct c

2002 2003 2004 2005

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Plan : 2005Plan : 2005 New VP : 1,000,000 (Total : 2,00,000) New GTC Unit

J eenidhaPabnaJ essore

Introduction of Village KiosksFaxInternetTelemedicine

Telemarketing, etc Introduction of Telemedicine:Pilot Project will launch at Faridpur (May 2005)

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TelemedicineL inking up patients in remote rural areas withspecialized doctors in Dhaka city through videoteleconference for specialized diabetic, heart, cancer related services, etc.

Institutions such as, BIRDEM, Community Hospital,Heart Foundation, Cancer Hospital, etc. have showninterests to collaborate.

Telenor having experience in Telemedicine may alsocome forward to assist GTC in this noble venture.

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V illage KiosksGTC is planning to launch information technology (IT)services in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

'Village Kiosks (VK)' project that will aim to bring moderninformation services for the people of Bangladesh.

The kiosks would also have internet connections so that people can communicate and interact with the rest of theworld.

Time scheduleTime scheduleThe pilot Village Kiosk project is expected to be launched in late April, 2005 inwhich around 3 kiosks will be operational in Mirzapur Thana, Tangail Division and2 in Savar, Dhaka Division.

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I mpact of V P Program

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General levelBridging the digital divide

Easy access of telephone services for rural people

Increasing social interaction and social uplift

Higher standard of living.

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I ndividual levelGood earning monthly average income

Change in social status

Create new business opportunity

Empowerment

Increase knowledge and confidence

Children growing with modern technology

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V illage Level

Access to unhindered information

Significant savings, consumer surplus per call: US$2.7 to US$10 (CIDA Report,2000)

Dependency on middlemen decreased

Easy communication, secured life, etc.Increased business potential from villages

Good development

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B arriersFacing competition from the other cell phone

operators in rural areas

Temptation to migrate to urban areas, and sell phones at a premium price

Women are not able to use phones in open public markets for bossiness purpose.

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E ffects to overcome thesebarriers

Offering competitive tariff rates for VP

product.Diversification of Telephone service (e.g.Village Kiosks, Telemedicine, Audiomedicine,

etc.

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C onclusion

GTC has thus contributed enormously in changing thelives of the poor and specifically the women folk in therural areas. Now after becoming a village phone ladyshe has become an entrepreneur who is contributing

financially to the well being of her family members,and had gained importance both in-house and in thecommunity where she strives!!

Grameen Telecom, thus has established that to becomesuccessful as an entrepreneur- one need not have to beliterate, but need only the right environment whereencouragement and support are provided with the right

intentions.

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Thank YouThank You

Thank YouThank You