Vodacom

Extending telecoms services to South Africa's poor

 A 2004 case study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, on the impact of Vodacom's community services roll-outs on South Africa's poor

Faced with the immense challenge of providing shelter and such basic services as clinics, schools and sanitation to millions of South Africans, the added challenge of laying on conventional telephone services to these citizens is a heavy demand for the State.

Thus, when Vodacom was granted its cellular telecommunications licence in the early 1990s, one of the conditions was that the company had to deploy 22,000 subsidized public cellular telephones in under-serviced and rural areas which had limited or no access to fixed-line services. Originally, Vodacom adopted two methods to meet its obligation. The first was to issue phones to faculty and administrators at universities and technical colleges in disadvantaged areas. The second was to set up stationary phone shops or kiosks with multiple lines, all connected to Vodacom’s existing infrastructure through a wireless link. While the first strategy (“transportables”) was easier and faster to roll out, it did not achieve its intended goals. Faculty used the phones for themselves and students were rarely given access. Vodacom phased out all of its transportables at the end of September 2003 and allocated the lines to its 5,000 phone shops.

Download: Vodacom Case Study - 2004.pdf

What Works: Vodacoms Community Service Phone Shops

Case study by the World Resource Institute on Vodacom's Community Services Phone shops that provide telecommunications to poor communities in South Africa.

Vodacom Community Services, a program of Vodacom, South Africa’s largest cellular phone company, is a successful example of how business and government can work together to achieve significant social and economic goals. Community Services began under a 1994 government mandate to provide telecommunications services in under-serviced, disadvantaged communities. Vodacom’s development of an innovative way to meet this mandate, via entrepreneur-owned and operated phone shops, has both provided affordable communication services to millions of South Africans and empowered thousands of previously disadvantaged individuals with income-generating opportunities and lasting business skills.

The Community Services program now provides over 23,000 cellular lines at over 4,400 locations throughout South Africa.

Download: Vodacom Case Study - 2003.pdf

Vodacom DRC

 Interview with Mr. Elvis Mundabi