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Nature Guidance for the Mobile Industry

London: GSMA (2025), 76 pp.

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The price of the world in your pocket: A price only some can afford. 2024 Device Pricing

Sonia Jorge, Onica Makwakwa

Alexandria, VA: Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (2024), 9 pp.

"The median price for a smartphone globally is US$92.59. The lowest regional median price is in Africa, at $60.23, while the highest is $101.88 in the Americas. The median global affordability (defined as price as a percentage of average monthly income) for a smartphone is 11%. Europe has the greate ... st regional affordability, at 4.5%, while Africa has the least, at 41%. The median smartphone price among low-income countries is $36.62, rising in line between price and income groups, with the median smartphone price among high-income countries at $121.49. Feature phones offer a lower price point. The global median price for an internet-capable feature phone is $25, at 5.53% affordability. This data is not a measure of all prices in all contexts. For example, we know that second-hand markets are thriving and typically offer lower prices than buying new devices. We also know that many retailers not affiliated with a mobile network will sell unlocked devices that are able to function on multiple networks. However, given the widespread and consistent nature of operators selling phones through their website, this data assumes that the prices set by operators are not without context: they will be responsive to the competitive pressures of other retailers in the markets in which they operate. While these prices are not definitive on what the cost of a smartphone is in each country, they are certainly indicative of the range of prices that customers have in several parts of the world. [...] Across the three years of data collection, the median device price did not vary more than $15 between each period. At the same time, device affordability grew, with the highest median price – $92.59 in 2024 – corresponding to the greatest affordability at 10.99%. This is because average incomes rose globally across these four years, meaning that while the price of the device might be similar as before, it represents, on average, a smaller fraction of how much someone has to spend from their income to afford it. This trend, if it remains, will indicate continued progress towards greater affordability for all. However, the slow pace of progress means that devices will remain unaffordable for millions without responsive action from policymakers and industry." (Pages 3-5) more

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Mobile Net Zero 2024: State of the Industry on Climate Action

London: GSMA (2024), 50 pp.

"Climate action continues to be a key priority for the mobile industry. In 2019, the mobile industry set a goal to reach net zero by 2050, becoming one of the first sectors in the world to set such an ambitious target. This report is the fourth annual assessment of the industry’s progress towards ... more

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Cero emisiones netas en el sector móvil: América Latina. La acción por el clima en la región 2024

London: GSMA (2024), 26 pp.

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Error 404, farmer not found: Why agricultural information services must consider how smallholders use their phones

Jonathan Steinke et al.

Alliance of Bioversity International;International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT);CGIAR (2024), 7 pp.

"Numerous barriers hinder mobile information services in delivering information effectively to smallholder farmers. Many of these barriers can be explained by farmers’ habits in using their phones. Therefore, carefully considering how exactly farmers use their phones in specific local context is c ... more

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The Mobile Economy Pacific Islands 2023

London: GSMA (2023), 44 pp.

"Mobile technologies underpin digital transformation in the Pacific Islands as authorities take steps to help economies recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and manage threats from climate change and natural disasters. Mobile is the first (in most cases only) form of internet connectivity for many con ... more

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Energy challenges for mobile networks in Sub-Saharan Africa: The need for clean and reliable energy for universal connectivity and digital transformation

London: GSMA (2023), 48 pp.

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Strategy Paper for Circular Economy: Mobile devices

London: GSMA (2022), 51 pp.

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Le Smartphone Global: Au-delà d’une technologie destinée aux jeunes

Daniel Miller, Laila Abed Rabho, Patrick Awondo et al.

London: UCL Press (2021), xxvii, 311 pp.

"[...] 11 anthropologues ont passé chacun 16 mois dans des communautés en Afrique, en Asie, en Europe et en Amérique du Sud pour analyser l’utilisation des smartphones par les personnes âgées. Leur recherche montre que les smartphones sont une technologie pour tous, qui n’est pas seulement ... more

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2021 Mobile Industry Impact Report: Sustainable Development Goals

London: GSMA (2021), 61 pp.

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The Global Smartphone: Beyond a Youth Technology

Daniel Miller, Laila Abed Rabho, Patrick Awondo et al.

London: UCL Press (2021), xxiv; 295 pp.

"The smartphone is often literally right in front of our nose, so you would think we would know what it is. But do we? To find out, 11 anthropologists each spent 16 months living in communities in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, focusing on the take up of smartphones by older people. Their r ... more

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El smartphone global: Más allá de una tecnología para jóvenes

Daniel Miller, Laila Abed Rabho, Patrick Awondo et al.

London: UCL Press (2021), xxvii, 313 pp.

"El smartphone se ha convertido tanto en un lugar dentro del cual vivimos como en un aparato que usamos para tener “oportunismo perpetuo”, pues siempre está con nosotros. Los autores muestran cómo el smartphone es más un “aparato con aplicaciones” y exploran las diferencias entre lo que l ... more

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Plans nationaux pour les télécommunications d’urgence: Catalyseurs et garanties. Guide succinct d'évaluation à l’intention des spécialistes des politiques publiques

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Ce guide a pour but d'aider à identifier les lacunes, les opportunités et les faiblesses du système afin de guider la définition d’une stratégie nationale plus cohérente et de positionner la téléphonie mobile comme appui aux activités de préparation, de réponse et de relèvement en cas ... more

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National Emergency Telecommunications Plans: Enablers and Safeguards. A Brief Evaluation Guide for Policy Practitioners

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Section 1 focuses on creating an enabling environment. Mobile network operators (MNOs) operate in a regulated environment.5 However, if this environment is not sufficiently enabling to support disaster preparedness, response and recovery, MNOs will encounter challenges when disaster strikes. This s ... more

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Mobile Technology and Social Transformations: Access to Knowledge in Global Contexts

Stefanie Felsberger, Ramesh Subramanian (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2021), xviii, 180 pp.

"This book investigates the ways in which the mobile telephone has transformed societies around the world, bringing both opportunities and challenges. At a time when knowledge and truth are increasingly contested, the book asks how mobile technology has changed the ways in which people create, disse ... more

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Smartphone Filmmaking: Theory and Practice

Max Schleser

London: Bloomsbury Academic (2021), 246 pp.

"While not every story might be appropriate to be realized with a mobile device or smartphone, if working with communities, capturing locations or working in the domain of personal or first-person filmmaking, the smartphone or mobile device should be considered as the camera of choice. The mobile sp ... more

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Smartphones: Die Macht in der Hand

iz3w, issue 376 (2020), pp. D1-D31

"Weltweit nutzen 3,3 Milliarden Menschen ein Smartphone, Tendenz weiter steigend. In nahezu allen Ländern des Südens ist die Verbreitung besonders groß. Nicht immer handelt es sich dabei um teure Topmodelle, aber gerade wegen ihrer Erschwinglichkeit sind allein in afrikanischen Ländern 700 Milli ... onen internetfähige Smartphones und nicht-internetfähige Mobile Phones im Gebrauch. Selbst in Ländern wie Somalia, wo Infrastrukturen gleich welcher Art kaum existent sind, funktioniert eines recht zuverlässig: das Mobilfunknetz. In einer High-Tech-Fabrik in Ruanda laufen seit neuestem täglich zehntausend »MaraPhones« genannte Smartphones vom Band. Die durch Smartphones und Mobile Phones entstehenden Möglichkeiten werden überall auf der Welt ausgiebig genutzt. Tiefgreifende gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Veränderungen sind die Folge. Familiäre Beziehungen werden neu gestaltet und klassische Modelle sozialer Interaktion wie »Freundschaft« neu definiert. Praktisch jeder Wirtschaftssektor ist gründlich von den Handys auf den Kopf gestellt worden. Auch in der kleinbäuerlichen Landwirtschaft in Ostafrika gehören Smartphones längst zum Alltag. Ohne dem Kulturpessimismus zu frönen: Es liegt auf der Hand, dass all diese Entwicklungen nicht nur Chancen, sondern auch große Gefahren bergen. Mit keiner anderen systemrelevanten Technologie lassen sich Manipulation und Überwachung von Individuen besser bewerkstelligen als via Smartphone. Die mit erpresserischen Methoden exekutierte Datensammelwut der großen Konzerne hat durchaus eine Entsprechung in der Überwachung durch autoritäre Regime. Dagegen klingen frühere Dystopien à la »Big Brother is watching you« harmlos. Im Bereich des Politischen wird besonders deutlich, wie groß die partizipatorischen Potenziale einer Demokratie von unten via Social Media sind, aber auch, wie schnell diese in Regression, Manipulation und Repression münden. Der Arabische Frühling galt zu Recht als »Facebook-Revolution«, das hierarchische Sender-Empfänger-Prinzip war partiell aufgehoben. Was aber vor staatlicher Verfolgung nicht nur nicht schützte, sondern sie oft überhaupt erst ermöglichte. Perfektioniert wird politische Kontrolle via Smartphone einmal mehr von der KP der Volksrepublik China. Sie hält ihre 90 Millionen Parteimitglieder via App auf Kurs – und wehe, jemand liest zu wenig Beiträge und sammelt nicht genügend »Lernpunkte«! Beim Smartphone ist es eben wie beim Beton: Es kommt drauf an, was man draus macht." (Editorial, Seite D2) more

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Communication Practices with Mobile Phones: A Collection of Essays in Mobile Media Studies in India

Krishna Sankar Kusuma (ed.)

[author] (2020), 161 pp.

"The book has covered a wide range of topics within a specific area of mobile journalism. It presents the case studies and first-hand experiences from different parts of the country. As the chapters are written by the academicians, proessionals and practitioners, it has an appropriate blend of theor ... more

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How Green is Your Smartphone?

Richard Maxwell, Toby Miller

Cambridge: Polity Press (2020), 160 pp.

"Contrary to widespread claims, consumer electronics and other digital technologies are made in ways that cause some of the worst environmental disasters of our time - conflict-minerals extraction, fatal and life-threatening occupational hazards, toxic pollution of ecosystems, rising energy consumpt ... more

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Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age: Mobile Communication and Politics in China

Jun Liu

Oxford: Oxford University Press (2020), xv, 211 pp.

"With a communication-centered framework that brings together communication studies, sociology, and political science, this book explains how people adopt and maneuver mobile technologies as tactics of contention for political mobilization in contentious moments and everyday resistance in contempora ... more