Ian Koh, Head of Practice for Industry Verticals, Ericsson Southeast Asia & Oceania, says it is the scale economies of broadband that make it such a powerful tool for development.
Ericsson is a corporate backer of the MDGs and is also working with African cellcos and other organizations on the Millennium Village Project, aimed at bringing connectivity to half a million people in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Bonsaaso, Ashanti, in central Ghana, it has helped deploy an m-health application that allows local health workers to test locally for disease and order medicines online.
With the nearest health clinic up to 40 kilometers away, the difference can be life-saving for diagnosing and treating new mothers diagnosed with malaria. Health workers can also use the web to file health data and get children immunized and registered.
The case study shows how, with a broadband network, healthcare becomes viable, says Koh. “Previously, you couldn’t do these because there was no broadband. Combined, digitization and broadband take away distance as a barrier.”
Ericsson also conducted a pilot telemedicine project with Apollo Hospitals in India, where 750 million people have no access to specialist healthcare.
The trial involved an HSPA network in 18 villages, allowing patients to connect remotely to a doctor. It included remote ECG, blood pressure and heart beat measurements, teleconsultation and basic medical check-ups. Patients can also see the test results on the PC and talk directly with the doctor.