Letters...

Keen on Grameen Phone

I would very much like to study do a study on GrameenPhone which would examine the potential it has to reach poor, rural people and the extent to which it could serve as a model for other countries. This would examine a whole range of issues including the potential development benefits, the economics, the demand, the regulatory environment, the technology the relationship with external investors and their expectations and so on. I would like to do this for both personal and professional reasons.

On the personal front, I am currently completing an MA at City University on International Communications and Development. I was going to do my dissertation on a different subject. I think GrameenPhone would be a more interesting issue for a dissertation topic.

I would like to first of all whether you would be happy for me to do this work and if so whether you could send me as much information as possible on the development and functioning of GrameenPhone, including consultants� reports, reports from investors etc.

What I would ideally like to do is to come to Bangladesh to see GrameenPhone in action. However, although Panos is currently reasonably well funded, all our funding is project specific and we do not have funds for me to do this. However, if I were able to identify such funding, would you be happy for me to come or (and I would understand this fully) would it be different.. let me know what you think.