Grameen Foundation and Bakrie Join Efforts

Grameen Foundation, Bakrie Telecom and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) through its Wireless Reach(TM) initiative, announced the launch of the first Village Phone Program in Indonesia, branded as Uber ESIA, using 3G CDMA technology to provide affordable wireless telecommunications services for rural communities. The launch was held at the Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit held in Bali, Indonesia.

Uber ESIA, which means joint cooperation, aims to facilitate affordable telecommunications access in a sustainable, profitable and empowering way to rural Indonesia. Uber ESIA is one of many similar programs around the world already launched by Grameen Foundation as Village Phone Program. However, this is the first program using 3G CDMA, so users can access higher quality voice services and more advanced mobile applications, including high-speed data.