Every freedom counts - Village Phone
In rural areas, where isolation and poor infrastructure services are often the norm, telecommunications can play an extremely important role in enhancing social and economic development. The Village Phone (VP) initiative has made tremendous social and economic impact in the rural areas of Bangladesh, creating a 'substantial consumer surplus' for the users. On the other hand, it has created an income-earning opportunity for the VP operators, mostly poor women and borrower members of Grameen Bank, who are now able to make their opinions count.
Launch Date:
26 March, 1997, the same day commercial service of Grameenphone was launched.
How It Works:
Grameen Telecom supervises the village phone activities in cooperation with Grameen Bank and Grameenphone.
The Village Phones work as an owner-operated pay phone. A member of Grameen Bank takes a loan to buy a handset and a GP subscription and she is trained by Grameen Telecom on how to operate it. The VP operators then retails the mobile phone service among her fellow villagers, thus earning an income.
Project Milestone:
→ 270,000 Village Phone Operators in 50,000 villages.
→ Replicated in a number of countries including Uganda and Rwanda.
→ Received 'GSMA in the Community Award' in 2000.
→ Received 'Commonwealth Innovation Award' in 2003.
→ Received "Petersburg Prize" awarded by the Gateway Foundation in 2005.