Iqbal Quadir, founder of GrameenPhone, and Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, recently “squared off” in the pages of Good magazine to debate the respective merits of two very different technologies.

Quadir, as you might expect, comes out in favor of cell phones, as a technology that is spreading fast on its own because of its immediate perceived and real economic value–which will allow adults to provide better education for their children.

Negroponte, as you might expect, favors laptops, for their value in offering children a “window” on the world and a medium that encourages learning and creativity–which will make them more productive adults.

It’s hard to argue with either side, but it’s pretty clear which side is winning the debate in the marketplace. It’s not exactly Ali-Frazier, but it’s a good debate with both sides accomodating their opponent’s perspective.

Maybe the next such debate will be Smartphones v. Netbooks.

An AP story for a new project I’m involved with to get cell phones into the hands of people who need them, an innovative new program from Tracfone Wireless:

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON Associated Press Writer (August 18, 2008)

A cell phone company is offering free wireless phones and 68 minutes of free air time to more than 800,000 low-income Tennessee residents in a program aimed at ensuring they can make a call in an emergency.

Prepaid cell phone provider TracFone Wireless Inc. announced Friday that it’s launching its SafeLink Wireless program in Tennessee, which officials said would become the first state to have widespread, free emergency wireless service for poor people.

SafeLink provides eligible low-income households with a cell phone, access to 911 emergency services and 68 minutes of free air time for up to a year before customers If customers run through their 68 minutes, they can still call 911 (which is a free call) and they can purchase additional minutes for other calls at a discounted rate, said Jose Fuentes, director of government relations for Tracfone Wireless. The cell phone’s standard features include voicemail, text capability, call waiting, international calling to over 60 destination and caller ID.

John Taylor, a spokesman for Sprint Nextel Corp., one of the nation’s top three carriers, disputed Fuentes’ claim of sparse advertisement. He said Sprint participates in the Lifeline program by offering a discount on services and advertises on its Web site and through print, such as mailings. According to the FCC, 21 million households across the country qualify for Lifeline. “I’m elated that this program is providing needy families with access to basic cell phone service,” said Democratic House Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry of Memphis, which has the state’s highest low-income population.

Fuentes said families may qualify if their household income is not above 135 percent of the federal poverty level, and if they receive assistance through government programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

Nicholas P. Sullivan, a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently released a study (“Phoning in a Major Econmic Boost”) analyzing the impact of mobile phones on low-income households. He said the troubled economy makes the phones even more of an asset.

Tennessee Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell agrees a cell phone is a valuable safety tool, especially when someone is traveling. “This program will allow drivers to call 911 if they encounter an emergency or get stranded while on the road,” he said. “I am thrilled that Tennessee is the first state in the country to offer this program and help keep our citizens safe.”

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.

Not along ago, India’s Tata Motors introduced the Tata Nano, a car that sells for rougly $2,500 USD. Now, another India’s Spice Telecom has introduced a people’s phone selling for roughly $20. It lacks a screen and other bells and whistles, but is aimed at the “next billion” owners of cell phones in the developing world.

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 GrameenPhone celebrates the 10th anniversary of being awarded a cellphone license in Bangladesh with its 10 millionth customer, it also celebrates 123% growth in subscribers year to year (after the 3rd quarter results). Market share remains steady at 63%.

With new competition from Egypt’s Orascom, prices are dropping and average revenue per user is down. But this is good for Bangladesh, where fewer than 1% of the population had a phone 10 years ago. Today, teledensity is about 8% and moving upward fast.

More than two billion people in the world have a cellphone. But for the world’s largest mobile phone companies, a new race has begun for the next billion. Most growth will come from the developing world, which already has more cellphones than now exist in industrialized countries. In fact, more cellphones are bought every day in Africa than in North America. And microfinance, which has propelled companies such as GrameenPhone in Bangladesh to close to $1 billion in revenues, has a role to play.

Says David Keogh, deputy director of the Grameen Foundation’s Technology Centre in Seattle (as reported in the World’s Poorest Nations New Frontier for Cellphone Giants from the Toronto Globe and Mail):

“It’s a win-win-win model, all the way down. Worldwide, rural markets have not really been cracked open by the telecom operators, simply because they’re not willing to invest . . . what we’ve done with organizations such as MTN is to say, ‘you have a channel to market: it’s the microfinance sector.’” MTN Rwanda and MTN Uganda are replicating GrameenPhone’s phone-lady scheme to reach into rural villages.”