Norwegian-based Telenor ASA,  the primary shareholder in GrameenPhone in Bangladesh with operations in Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, bought a 60% stake in India’s Unitech Wireless at the end of 2008. The deal is expected to be finalized in Q1 of 2009.

Analysts were initally quite critical of the deal, as Unitech has no network to speak of, and Telenor’s stock dipped on the announcement.  However, Unitech Wireless holds licenses for all 22 mobile regions of India–the world’s 2nd biggest market after China–which would appear to be a valuable asset even in a very competitive market. Consider that a few years ago, Telenor spent $1.9 billion to buy a license in Serbia! Coupled with Telenor’s experience and success in South and Southeast Asia, an Indian play of this magnitude makes long-term strategic sense.

Telenor says the deal is contingent on sharing infrastructure, perhaps eyeing the 30,000-50,000 cell towers of its entrenched competitors. While unstated, Telenor is likely looking to the new company Indus Towers, started by Bharti, Vodafone Essar, and Idea Cellular,  to share network assets.

Since the announcement, Telenor has indicated it will not pay shareholder dividends in 2008 or 2009, and will take out a three-year loan to pay for its investment. Telenor’s share price, which lost 64% of its value in 2008, has recovered somewhat in early 2009 trading.

Nokia said recently it had seen no evidence that the global economic downturn was affecting demand for mobile phones in emerging markets, as it outlined plans for new handsets for developing countries, as reported in the Financial Times.

Alex Lambeek, a Nokia vice-president responsible for the Finnish company’s strategy in emerging markets, said 2008 should be the first year in which the number of handsets sold in developing countries to customers replacing their existing mobiles would surpass those to first-time buyers–particularly in India, China and Indonesia.

Asked whether Nokia had seen any evidence of slowing demand in emerging markets because of the economic downturn, Mr Lambeek told the Financial Times: “The simple answer is no. We see a very strong underlying trend of mobility taking root in emerging markets, and the growth drivers for that are still very much in place.”

Mr Lambeek said Nokia was looking at how to tailor its services strategy for emerging markets, and highlighted Wednesday’s announcement that it is linking with Webmail International, a South African telecoms company, to provide email services on its mobiles in the country. He added that Nokia was interested in developing mobile banking services for emerging markets, as well as informamtion services to aid productivity in industries such as agriculture.

Nokia’s emergence as the dominant player in developing markets comes at a time when Motorola’s handset business is ailing, and has been split off from Motorola’s other operations.

World Resources Institute (WRI), creator of the Next Billion “development through enterprise” blog, has just published a new book called The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid. The authors use household survey data to measure the empirical size and scope of bottom-of-pyramid market.

In a recent post, WRI senior VP Al Hammond notes the remarkable success of cellphone companies in cracking the “BOP code,” and notes several of the key themes of You Can Hear Me Now. He attributes the success, unmatched in any other sector, to extraordinary “push” using “sachet marketing,” i.e. selling text and voice combos in small prepaid increments. He also notes the way local cellphone companies have leveraged local entrepreneurs to create deep distribution into rural areas.

At the same time, he notes the “pull” of ICT–”the insatiable demand for ICT services even for very poor people.”  This, of course, is what has surprised so many development and industry experts. Hammond notes that in virtually every country, the share of spending on ICT rises exponentially as income rises. In fact, the percentage of income spent on ICT is higher than that spent on food, housing or transportation.

Remarkable–it reminds me of the Bangladeshi lady who referred to the cellphone as “magical as Aladdin’s lamp.”

As the book rolls off the press and nears publication date (Feb. 2), an early proof has garnered early reviews.

Library Journal (no access without subscription):

“This book offers valuable insights about the use of cell phones and technology-based investments to generate wealth and demonstrates that entrepreneurship may be more fruitful than aid. This valuable work can be effectively integrated into public administration, global business, and human resource academic courses.”

Caroline Geck, Kean Univ. Lib., Union, NJ

Next Billion.net (by Rob Katz)

“…This a history of sorts, about how Iqbal Quadir came to launch GrameenPhone.  Sullivan doesn’t claim to offer new or different strategies to engage BOP [bottom of the pyramid] markets; he simply sets out to tell the tale of an expat Bengali and his innovative phone company.  You Can Hear Me Now is well-written and very engaging, as the author enjoyed good access to some of the stories’ major players.  A smart manager can learn from GrameenPhone without being led by the hand, and Sullivan’s storytelling and analysis open up the case in a way that we haven’t before seen.  The book’s out next month; in the mean time, check out his blog.”

World Bank: Private Sector Development blog (by Christine Bowers)

“…the first half of this book tells the GrameenPhone story, the second is a grab-bag of other technology initiatives, including many players in the m-banking world. If the Nobel Prize win peaked your interest in all things Grameen, buy a copy when it comes out next month. In general, I’m not too sure that a book is the best format for telling these stories – hard to give substantive coverage to a field that moves so quickly in time. Fortunately, Nick also has a blog.”

Thanks to all for their interest and attention.