The Pacific Institute of Public Policy has completed the first two stages of its research into the social and economic impact of telecommunications liberalisation in Vanuatu.This is a multi-year research project carried out in partnership the Vanuatu Government and funded by the Australian Government.The research explores how people exploit access to telecommunications, and how the use of mobile phones impacts livelihoods. The study was first undertaken in 2008 at a time when the telecommunication sector had just opened up for competition and a second mobile service provider had commenced operation.
Increased Productivity
The 2009 study demonstrates a clear link between economic productivity and access to mobile phones. 81% of the women in the Port Vila market are using mobiles for pre-arranging transport, contacting suppliers, communicating with clients, confirming payment and more.This is a sharp contrast with the 2008 study where the vast majority of women had just acquired a mobile phone, which they were still learning to use or wereusing merely to contact friends and families.
Approximately 60% of those surveyed in rural and urban areas in the 2009 study said they will find it difficult to continue their economic activity if they no longer had access to mobile phones. From a situation where the vast majority of the individualsliving in Vanuatu rarely had access to a phone, mobile telephony is being perceived as indispensable to economic wellbeing. The PiPP study showcases awide range of examples of how mobile phones are expanding business opportunities and reducing costs of doing business in four archetypical small and medium enterprises – kava, handicrafts, agriculture & fishery, andretail stores.
Explosion of mobile use
There is close to universal access to mobile telephony in all the research areas, including in areas that are currently outside of networkcoverage. “We have to walk up to three hours to catch network signal. But it isstill better than using tele-radio” says Anna Abel in Port Narvin, Erromango. Accessto mobile telephony has increased from 81% in 2008 to 92% in 2009. 80% of ruralrespondents first acquired a mobile phone in 2008. Furthermore, the average numberof mobile phone is 1.6 per household in rural areas and 2.8 in urban areas. Inother words, Ni-Vanuatu citizens are opting to own a mobile phone rather thanto share one.
Competition between the serviceproviders
The findings suggest that thereare significantly more people using Digicel than TVL.Exclusive use of TVL has decreased from 57% in 2008 to 7% in 2009. Exclusiveuse of Digicel has increased by 29% since 2008 (to 72%).This is likely to be because Digicel has wider network coverage throughout the countryand is the only option for the vast majority of users in Vanuatu who reside inrural areas.Urban users also prefer to use Digicel to contact their friends and families in rural areas.
The number of individuals usingboth TVL and Digicel in combination, although only 8% of total respondents atpresent, is likely to increase. The study found that individuals in urban areasin particular are increasingly monitoring the destination of calls, cost percall, and type of promotions that are being offered by the two serviceproviders in order to minimise expenditure on mobile credit.
Spending on mobile phones
The cost of using mobile phones has decreased significantly since the advent of competition.62% of urban users and of rural users spend1000 Vatu or more per month on mobile telephony.Rural users are spending disproportionately high on mobile phones relative to their urban counterparts. For example, the study found that the majority of the rural users do not have access to electricity and must pay additional costs for charging their mobile phones, which can amount to their total expenditure on credit.The study findings suggest that rural users may choose to forgo other household basic goods (such as sugar andsoap) to pay for mobile use in the short term. But in the long term, mobile telephony is helping households increase earnings; users are experimenting withinnovative ways of paying for credit; and features such as ‘plis call me’ and‘kredit me’ are transferring the costs of using mobile telephony to urbanrelatives with steadier income.
Social concerns: modern villain or decaying ethics
The study finds that access to mobile telephony is highlighting the social anxieties triggered by Vanuatu’s exposure to modern technology. There was a variation in social concerns acrossgender and levels of access to network coverage. Individuals who were livingoutside of network coverage were concerned about ‘being left behind’ while those in areas with coverage were worried about the social costs of using mobile phones.
Women appeared to be more concerned about the impact that mobile telephony was having on the family such as on children’s health and well-being, extra-marital affairs, and teenage pregnancy. Men were worried about its effects on kastom, authority of the chief, communal harmony, self-sufficiency of the rural economy, and land disputes. A Chief from a village in Middle Bush, Tanna observed: “many seasonal workers returning from are bringing home pornographic photos stored in their mobile phones and are passing these to other villagers, including to children. This is breaking down the moral fabric of the community”.
The quantitative research drew on a detailed household level survey adapted from a study commissioned by the British Department for International Development (DFID). The qualitative research included semi- structured interviews and focus groups to better understand the use of telecommunications by small and medium enterprises in Vanuatu; the gender dimensions of telephony access and use; and the role of telecommunications on household income.
Copies of the research findings for 2008 and 2009 can be downloaded here.
In early 2011 we will again return to the field to track changes and trends.
