Facilitators and Barriers to SMS Use among the Low-income Mobile Users in Asia

Mobile communication has recently experienced an exponential growth in developing countries. The scope of mobile diffusion is unprecedented as no other media technology in history has reached such a wide population, even to the poor at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) (Castelle et al. 2007; Prahalad 2004). The mobile phone is, in many cases, the first and the single modern technology personally owned by the poor. Although these new users in developing countries are often constrained in economic and social resources, their mobile use is increasing with falling prepaid prices (ITU, 2011) as well as expanding with the invention of new use behaviors such as ‘beeping’ on missed call signs (Donner, 2007) and phone-sharing (Sey, 2009). This newly introduced connectivity at the BOP invites a hope that development intervention services can be delivered directly to the hands of the poor. Indeed, many development agencies and NGOs are exploring the potential of mobile phone as a cost-effective platform to carry development services such as education, healthcare, financial, agricultural programs. Spurred by the evidence of the mobile phone’s positive impact on economic activities (Jensen, 2007; Abraham 2007; Aker, 2008), and the successful cases like mobile banking service in Kenya (Hughes and Lonie, 2007; Morawczynski, 2009), mobile phones are increasingly perceived as a smart catalyst to development. Numerous m-service projects (i.e. m-health, meducation, m-government, m-banking, m-agriculture, etc.) are currently in trial across the world (UNDP, 2012; IFC 2011; GSMA mWomen, 2012). Short Messaging Services (SMS) is currently the most popular method employed by such m-services. Various reasons support its popularity. SMS is available on all mobile phones