A new global study has found that mobile big data solutions throw huge opportunity of growth and it can impact the lives of 150 million people over the next five years.
Mobile big data solutions will be used in areas such as disaster response, disease prevention and financial inclusion and thus help more than 150 million people over the next five years, according to a new GSMA study, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
“The unparalleled reach of mobile networks across the globe provides a unique opportunity to use mobile big data solutions to solve problems and save lives,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA.
“Harnessing the power of data analysis and AI to unlock valuable new insight will require investment, innovation and collaboration across a range of stakeholders, including government agencies, development organisations and mobile operators. Our new study highlights the amazing potential from leveraging these tools for social good, establishing the case for investments in mobile big data capabilities and implementations,” he said.
According to the report, 60 million people could have better access to healthcare due to more informed infrastructure planning via mobile big data solutions that
target health facility deployment planning. This can save 120,000 lives from air pollution across the world’s most populated cities as a result of better-informed
measures to limit air pollution, resulting in lower congestion and better transport planning.
The study also said the big data will could save more than 25,000 lives could be saved from natural disasters in major at-risk countries by 2025 as a result of
mobile big data solutions being able to aid quicker evacuation from dangerous areas.
Communicable diseases could be significantly reduced from spreading by targeting locations at risk of exposure through mobile big data solutions to understand population movements. This could result in 650,000 fewer cases of tuberculosis alone in the next five years, it said.
The GSMA’s Big Data for Social Good initiative was launched in February 2017 and is today backed by 20 mobile operators with a presence in 117 markets around the world. The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.
