The Mobile Phone Revolution and its Impact on International Development

April 3, 2023 • 10:30 – 11:30 am EDT
This event was pre-recorded on April 3, 2023 and will be uploaded to this event page and available for public viewing by close of business.

Please join the Project on Prosperity and Development for this event on the mobile phone revolution and its impact on developing countries. With the 50th anniversary of the first mobile phone call on April 3, there is no better time to assess the positive impact of the mobile phone revolution on international development. 

With costs declining and performance rapidly improving, the mobile phone contributes approximately $1 trillion to annual global income. As of 2015, an estimated 94 percent of people in low- and middle-income countries now have mobile phone access, helping facilitate a dramatic expansion in access to finance through mobile banking, digital services for smallholder farmers, improved healthcare response, and more.

On the anniversary of the first mobile phone call made, please join CSIS Senior Fellow Romina Bandura in welcoming author Philip Auerswald and founder of Grameenphone Iqbal Quadir for a discussion on the impact of the mobile phone revolution on international development and featuring remarks by Martin Cooper, the inventor of the first handheld cellphone . 

This event was made possible by the support of the Templeton World Charity Foundation. 

Contact Information

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Romina Bandura
Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development, Project on U.S. Leadership in Development