NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

So far, the spread of technology has depended on trade. Commercial routes between cities are feeding the expansion of mobile phone access while whetting the population’s appetite for instant communication.
“It’s allowing the very obvious entrepreneurial sprit of Afghans to come out and be expressed,” said the State Department official. “(Telecommunications) has been a tremendous multiplier for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.”
Roshan, the largest mobile phone company in Afghanistan, opened its doors in 2003 and signed up 50,000 people during its first year. By 2005, more than 300,000 people were on its network in 25 cities and eight towns. Roshan recently won the country’s first international prize for a marketing campaign, “Light and Hope,” for ads that cross ethnic boundaries with shared Afghan passions such as volleyball.
Story found here.