GSM payphones reach Rwandan rural communities — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Financing micro business} GSM payphones reach Rwandan rural communities

5 Mar 2005 at 06:06 GMT Timo Poropudas

MTN Rwanda says that in the past year, it has provided over 1,600 GSM based payphones for rural communities, bringing communications to areas that are often not served by landline phone networks. This project has created many entrepreneurs who are either running the business themselves or creating employment for others in turn. All this is in line with MTN’s commitment to empower the communities in which we operate, says MTN. The service called Tuvugane offers the most affordable rates for mobile and international calls in the country and is available where MTN has coverage, putting telecommunications within reach of 95 percent of the population living in rural areas. Rural entrepreneurs rely on micro-financing assistance from locally-based lenders to purchase the Tuvugane payphone and start a personal business of selling airtime units to the local community. These entrepreneurs are located throughout the country for easy accessibility by the general public. Airtime is sold for USD 36 per bundle and entrepreneurs can buy bundles of airtime for USD 31. Entrepreneurs therefore make USD 5 on every bundle of airtime that they purchase. Users of the Tuvugane payphone tell the reseller how much they are willing to spend and the reseller will enter the value into the phone, this way users will know exactly how much their conversation will cost. Tuvugane mirrors the VillagePhone initiative currently deployed through MTN in Uganda which helps connect villagers to those outside the village. Innovative phone bureau set-ups are installed in areas where electricity is unavailable, offering connectivity to poorer communities. Cellular services have become an indispensable communication tool in Rwanda; before MTN’s arrival six years ago, there were only 20,000 fixed telephone lines. MTN currently has 175,000 subscribers in Rwanda and continues to expand its network coverage in rural areas which had been considerably underserviced prior to the introduction of Tuvugane.