Additional Operators to Support New Phase of Mobile Big Data Programme
BARCELONA, Spain-Tuesday, February 27th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS
WIRE)--The GSMA has achieved significant progress in the first trials
of its Big Data for Social Good initiative by Bharti Airtel, Telefónica
and Telenor, creating a blueprint for future deployments that leverages
mobile operators’ big data capabilities to address the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). The GSMA also announced at Mobile World
Congress today that six operators – KDDI, MegaFon, NTT DOCOMO, SoftBank,
Telefónica and Turkcell – will work on a new phase of the initiative
focused on disaster preparedness that builds on the foundation
established over the past year.
The GSMA’s Big Data for Social
Good initiative was launched in February 2017 and is today backed by 20
mobile operators1 with a presence in 124 markets around the world. The
initiative has enabled mobile operators to jointly establish a holistic
framework and approach to analysing the data captured on operators’
networks to help public agencies and NGOs tackle epidemics, natural
disasters and environmental crises.
“Over the last 12 months, the
Big Data for Social Good initiative has generated significant momentum
among operators and UN agency partners,” commented Mats Granryd,
Director General of the GSMA. “We have equipped operators with a
comprehensive blueprint of best practice guidelines for big data
deployments. This approach has been tested and validated via several
real-world trials around the world and supported by an advisory panel
that has provided input from across the ecosystem.
“We are now
expanding the initiative into the area of disaster preparedness, where
we can harness the power of big data to understand, prepare for and
reduce the effects of disasters on vulnerable populations.”
The
Big Data for Social Good initiative is supported by an advisory panel
consisting of global agencies and partners, including Data 2X, DIAL,
GPSDD, Be He@lthy Be Mobile, OCHA, UN Global Pulse, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF,
WFP and, most recently, the World Bank.
First Wave of Trials Showcasing Big Data Capabilities
Big
Data for Social Good is currently being trialled by Bharti Airtel in
India; by Telefónica in Brazil; and by Telenor Group in Bangladesh,
Myanmar and Thailand. In these trials, operators are capturing
anonymised, aggregated mobile indicators in a consistent output format,
whilst respecting and protecting the privacy of individuals via an
agreed Code of Conduct. The data is then combined with a wide variety of
other data types to provide vital insights for public officials and
NGOs.
In India, Bharti Airtel and the GSMA are working with Be
He@lthy, Be Mobile (a joint initiative of the WHO and the ITU) to
identify whether insights from mobile data can support national health
systems. The trial is looking at how population volume and movement
patterns can improve planning to control tuberculosis (TB), one of the
biggest killers in India. In the trial, mobile data is providing
detailed, up-to-date behavioural insights across a population of 280
million people, delivering a combination of scale and granularity that
is unattainable from any other data source. The trial is identifying
potential hotspots at higher risk of TB, which could help target
interventions such as vaccination programmes, tobacco cessation
initiatives, awareness campaigns or the deployment of mobile clinics.
Telefónica
Brazil is using mobile network big data to monitor air pollution in São
Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and help improve the city’s traffic
management and environmental planning. Using mobility data, it has been
possible to predict pollution problems up to two days before they occur,
allowing the city to take precautions to protect public health, such as
guiding traffic via alternative routes and advising vulnerable
populations, such as those with respiratory conditions, on areas of high
pollution. The mobility data used in the trial also delivered greater
granularity and wider reach than traditional fixed air quality and
traffic sensors, which are expensive to deploy.
Following
Telenor's successful collaboration with Harvard TH Chan School of Public
Health that addressed the spreading of dengue fever in Pakistan,
Telenor, Harvard, and MORU (the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine
Research Unit, Bangkok) are now addressing the critical issue of
Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) Malaria, which is spreading in Asia. In 2017,
preparatory work for studies on the spreading of MDR Malaria in a
contiguous, three-nation area (Thailand, Bangladesh and Myanmar), was
conducted.
Expanding the Initiative to Focus on Disaster Preparedness
The
results of the trials to date, combined with mobile operators’ own
initiatives, are providing the basis for the next wave of Big Data for
Social Good deployments in 2018, which will focus on disaster
preparedness in key countries including Chile, Colombia, Japan, Russia
and Turkey.
In disaster-prone zones, mobile operators can access
location and usage information in near real time, enabling relief
agencies to identify zones at risk and direct resources efficiently. In
Japan, for example, mobile operators are working with the Disaster
Management Bureau Cabinet Office at the Government of Japan to allow
rescue teams to act quickly and prioritise the deployment of resources
in the event of a large-scale disaster. In Latin America, Telefónica has
an alliance with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to
develop a better assessment of which regions and populations are most
vulnerable to natural disasters linked to the effects of climate change
to help authorities design prevention plans accordingly.
“The use
of mobile big data capabilities for disaster preparedness situations is
a key example of how the mobile industry is contributing to the SDGs,”
added Granryd. “The work to date demonstrates that by combining mobility
data with other data sources, operators can build a business case to
support decision-making and planning by governments and NGOs across a
wide variety of use cases.”
Demonstrations of the operator Big
Data for Social Good trials can be seen during Mobile World Congress at
the GSMA Innovation City, located in Hall 4, Stands 4A30, 4A5 and 4A15
in Fira Gran Via.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the
interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators
with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including
handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and
internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry
sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile
World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress
Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
1
The 20 operator groups supporting the GSMA's Big Data for Social Good
initiative are Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison, KDDI, KT
Corporation, Megafon, Millicom, MTS, NTT DOCOMO, INC., Orange,
Safaricom, SK Telecom, SoftBank, Telefónica, Telenet, Telenor, Telia,
Turkcell, Vodafone and Zain.
Contacts
Media Contacts:
For the GSMA
Beau Bass
+44 79 7662 4962
beau.bass@webershandwick.com
or
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com
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Muscat, Oman-Wednesday, February 28th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
