MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR 6 MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR Facilitate network expansion Recommendations A vast body of empirical research has shown many positive impacts of mobile phones and communication. The survey results from Myanmar show a small access and usage gap between women and men, and a wider gap in ownership. Our qualitative research shows that the role and position of women in Myanmar is strong—certainly stronger than the position of women in many South Asian countries that the team had observed in previous research. Income (or lack of income) is the primary source of the access and ownership gap, in part because prices are high compared to income, but more importantly because women’s role as the ‘chief financial officer’ of the family makes them put the needs of others before theirs (family members who work outside the home get the first phones in the family, for example). Income is not the only barrier, however. The research clearly shows a skills and awareness gap—when women have access to a phone they exhibit less confidence in using it. Their low digital literacy leaves them out of the final decision-making stages about phone purchases, and certainly limits their phone usage. Less sophisticated awareness of privacy issues may also be putting them at risk in various social contexts. The recommendations from these findings are as follows: Given that income is the biggest barrier to mobile usage and ownership, the question of what mobile networks can do for household income is pertinent. Systematic empirical evidence49 from low- and middle-income countries is clear: simply rolling out mobile phone networks is the most powerful development ‘intervention’ since it allows better communication, increases access to information, increases productivity, allows users to coordinate themselves better, and ultimately improves people’s livelihoods. Therefore, actions that facilitate faster network rollout across Myanmar will have a significant positive impact on livelihoods in general. And, if family income increases, more women will be able to afford a phone without having to make trade-offs between owning a phone and their family’s welfare. Since the liberalisation of Myanmar’s market, mobile operators have made significant investments in rapidly deploying networks and offering voice and 3G services to consumers. To avoid network saturation (given the rapidly growing demand for mobile voice and data services in Myanmar), operators will need cost-oriented and open access to sufficient local and international backhaul fiber optic network, and making sufficient harmonised spectrum available in a predictable and transparent manner. Where private players are laying their own fiber optic networks, government can assist by ensuring all mobile operators have access to the incumbent backhaul fiber network, and making sufficient harmonised spectrum available in a predictable and transparent manner. Where private players are laying their own fiber, government can facilitate this by simplifying the procedures required to obtain rights-of-way. Make handsets more affordable A key barrier to women owning mobile phones is unaffordable handsets. This prevents households from obtaining a second, third, or more handsets, which could reach the hands of women. Yet, the research is clear that brand preference is high in Myanmar, and women do not necessarily want a no-name phone just because it is cheap. ‘Scaled down’, easy-to-use, lower cost versions of popular brand handsets that meet basic usage requirements are required. Handset retailers, banks, microfinance institutions, and even operators should explore ways to bridge the affordability gap, for example, through installment plans, microloans, and other innovative mechanisms. There is also an opportunity in the short to medium term for handset manufacturers and app developers to come up with innovative solutions to improve the phone-sharing experience, especially creating more privacy between users (e.g. partitioning of SIMs or handsets). Make services more affordable through lower unit prices and micro-recharge For many women who do not earn an income, a key concern was that they would not be able to afford usage charges if they had a mobile. The minimum top-up allowed (by card or electronically) is currently MMK 1,000 (97 cents) for two operators and MMK 500 (48 cents) for another. Micro-top-ups (for as low as MMK 500) can help low-income mobile owners to manage airtime expenses based on their needs. More targeted offerings of data bundles and cheaper plans to meet the needs of specific users (e.g. gamers versus voice-only users) can also help low-income owners with limited requirements manage their expenses and encourage mobile adoption. For example, app developers should take the limited spending power of potential users into account and design apps that update efficiently to lower data costs. To make services even more affordable, government should ensure an equitable, transparent, and predictable taxation system is in place, and that mobile is taxed on par with other goods and services without creating distortions in the investment and consumption of mobile services. 49. Samarajiva et al., 2013. 66 67