Fifty-eight percent of low-income group do not own a telephone

NEW DELHI: Fifty-eight percent of low-income telephone users in the country do not own a private telephone, was revealed through a research by LIRNEasia today.

The survey carried out in seven locations in India revealed that 58 percent people with incomes below USD 100 per month do own a personal phone but rely on public phones or friends and neighbours. The similar study was also carried out in four localities in Sri Lanka, which yielded same result.

“This illustrates that theses consumers are essentially silent, that they are not accounted for in industry numbers. The most commonly used measure of telecom access, teledensity, only counts telephone subscribers,” said Ayesha Zainudeen, researcher at LIRNEasia.

A total of 3,199 respondents were surveyed across Sri Lanka and India, which responded that 66 percent used public access phones.

The study also revealed that Indians find mobile phones more affordable and convenient. “The survey reveals that Indians find mobile more convenient, affordable particularly the pre-paid plans. We have found out 83 percent of mobile users opt for pre-paid,” Zainudeen added.

This is the first time that LIRNEasia has come out with this survey. It is a non-profit ICT policy and regulation capacity building organization based in Sri Lanka funded by International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC). The research includes a demand-side study of telecom sector in India, Sri Lanka and some countries of South-east Asia. The research also focuses on WiFi innovations, Universal Service Funds and Access Deficit Charges. However, the organization is planning to carry out the survey every year.