date-created: '2007-11-12'
date-updated: '2026-06-24'
manifest-author:
    name: Appropedia
    email: admin@appropedia.org
title: 'Grameen Phone'
description: 'The Grameen phone is an opportunity for developing countries to communicate via Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The phones are most popular in Bangladesh where the concept was conceived and are used just like a mobile phone. The man behind the idea is Iqbal Quadir, who felt that the Grameen phone could work not only to communicate but also to provide jobs. To be useful any GSM phone requires a network to communicate with. Emergence of the OpenBTS software [1] brought it within reach for extremely cheap devices to support connections to GSM nodes.'
keywords:
    - 'Appropriate technology'
    - 'Information technology'
    - ICT4D
    - 'Mobile phones'
project-link: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Grameen_Phone'
contact:
    social:
        platform: Appropedia
version: 19
made: false
license:
    documentation: CC-BY-SA-3.0
licensor:
    affliation: 'Category:Clarion University of Pennsylvania'
    contact: 'https://www.appropedia.org/'
documentation-home: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Grameen_Phone'
documentation-language: en