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Mobiles for Development
Mobiles for Development (M4D), a more specific iteration of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), refers to the use of mobile technologies in global development strategies. Focusing on the fields of international and socioeconomic development and human rights, M4D relies on the theory that increased access to mobile devices acts as an integral cornerstone in the promotion of overall societal development.

Once viewed as an item of luxury and privilege, mobile phones have become a near necessity throughout the developed and developing world alike. According to a 2007 United Nations study, over two thirds of the world’s mobile phones are owned and utilized within developing countries. . With less-developed wired infrastructure and its costly implementation, the adoption of cellular technologies can be attributed to a necessary leapfrogging of traditional telephony technologies. In addition, the unsound and undependable electrical infrastructure of many developing countries does not cater well to mass ICT application. The portability, battery power, and flexibility of mobile technologies is well suited to the common pursuits and lifestyles of those residing in the developing world.

This mass adoption of ICTs and mobile phones as well the increased quality and expanse of signal coverage within many developing countries has led to increased academic, socioeconomic, and political attention as the various impacts of the M4D movement continue to expand. In addition to the predictable developmental outcomes of mobile adoption including increased economic agency, unforeseen progress has been experienced in the forms of individual empowerment, female agency, as well as familial and community growth.

The opportunities for effective mass mobilization and aggregation of information and data offered by developmental movements utilizing cellular telephones and other mobile devices such as tablets have been widely featured in the mass media and academia. Literature on this matter is being steadily produced as developing countries continue to adopt mobile technologies at a remarkable rate.

Mobile Accessibility and Use
The trajectory of the rapid adoption of mobile telephones can be attributed to the "leapfrog effect", whereby many developing countries have been seen to bypass traditional routes of wired telephony infrastructure and development, opting instead for the immediate appropriation of wireless cellular technology.

Social Impacts
Access to and use of mobile phones offers individuals a handheld communication platform that can assist in increasing the level of citizen agency in the development of local and international economic endeavours. It also offers individuals the opportunity to form social, economic, and political communities, regardless of geographic location, and provides an at-hand device that allows individuals to fight against human rights abuses from the ground. Organizations such as Digital Democracy (Dd) and the Democratic Voice of Burma offers users the ability to report, compile, and disseminate news and information about human rights violations in order to effectuate global attention and action.

Africa

 * Rwanda
 * Uganda
 * Mozambique
 * Nigeria
 * Zambia
 * Kenya

Asia

 * Cambodia
 * Burma
 * India
 * Indonesia
 * The Philippines
 * Israel

Affiliated Programs
The ability to mobilize data aggregation to the mobile-carrying public offers NGOs a valuable resource for their efforts for social, political, economic, and environmental justice. According to a study published by the Vodafone Group Foundation and the UN Foundation Partnership, of a sample of over 500 NGOs, “eighty-six per cent used mobiles, with 99 per cent characterizing its utility positively, with one-quarter of those citing it as a ‘revolutionary’ technology and another one-third calling it indispensable for their work.”

United Nations ICT Task Force
 * discussion of G8's Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force)

FrontlineSMS
 * free open source software for collecting and disseminating/sending information

Fahamu
 * NGO based within Africa
 * aims to strengthen human rights and social justice movements
 * works with Solidarity with African Women's Rights (SOAWR)

Criticisms and Challenges
The environmental implications of increased mobile usage can be seen in the form of the large electronic waste dumps found in many of the developing countries meant to benefit from M4D programs and policies.

Also problematic is the potential for mobile hardware and software development in developing countries to become a purely for-profit endeavour. The free and open source software applications that have been developed and implemented by various NGOs in developing countries as well as the ad-hoc communal use of mobile devices could be threatened by the prospective monetization of the mass markets available in the developing world.