Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh
Summary. Mobile phone ownership in rural Bangladesh nearly doubled from 2008 to 2011, growing from 30% to 56% of households. Illiteracy, lack of electricity, and low wealth initially limited ownership, but these barriers weakened significantly over time. Lower-income households showed the fastest growth rates as competitive pricing and service innovations democratized access. The findings suggest mobile phones can now reach vulnerable populations for health and financial services.
Cite this article
Tran, M. C., Labrique, A., Mehra, S., Ali, H., Shaikh, S., Mitra, M., Christian, P., & West, K. P.. (2015). Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh. JMIR mhealth and uhealth. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3663
Tran, Michael Clifton, et al. “Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh.” JMIR mhealth and uhealth, 2015. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3663.
Tran, Michael Clifton, Alain Labrique, Sucheta Mehra, Hasmot Ali, Saijuddin Shaikh, Maithilee Mitra, Parul Christian, and Keith P. West. 2015. “Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh.” JMIR mhealth and uhealth. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3663.
@article{tran-2015-analyzing-mobile-digital-divide-changing,
title = {Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh},
author = {Michael Clifton Tran and Alain Labrique and Sucheta Mehra and Hasmot Ali and Saijuddin Shaikh and Maithilee Mitra and Parul Christian and Keith P. West},
journal = {JMIR mhealth and uhealth},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.2196/mhealth.3663},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3663}
}
TY - JOUR TI - Analyzing the Mobile “Digital Divide”: Changing Determinants of Household Phone Ownership Over Time in Rural Bangladesh AU - Michael Clifton Tran AU - Alain Labrique AU - Sucheta Mehra AU - Hasmot Ali AU - Saijuddin Shaikh AU - Maithilee Mitra AU - Parul Christian AU - Keith P. West JO - JMIR mhealth and uhealth PY - 2015 DO - 10.2196/mhealth.3663 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3663 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.2196/mhealth.3663
- Countries
- Bangladesh
- Regions
- Asia
- Categories
- broadband-and-digital, rural-data-and-definitions
- Added
- 2026-04-28