Mobile Phone Usage Behaviour in Mauritius

The National ICT Strategic Plan (NICTSP) 2007-2011 projects in making Mauritius a digital island. Equipped with a sound ICT infrastructure, whether landline or mobile, communication in Mauritius has become seamless. Since its introduction, mobile phones have revolutionised Mauritian lifestyle. From mere phone calls, nowadays mobile phones provides a panoply of applications ranging from SMS, MMS, office applications to multimedia applications like videos, cameras and internet. This study has been conducted with around 455 Mauritians of varied background, using a mix of online survey forms and paper questionnaire. It reveals the user trends and perceptions in utilising mobile services and applications, their likes, dislikes and wish-list. Furthermore, this paper goes beyond the statistics and discusses its implications to mobile operators and business organisations in the introduction and provision of mobile services in Mauritius. Hence the aim of this paper is to understand the mobile usage level in Mauritius, understanding usage behaviour and correlations in view of helping mobile operators and other businesses in developing and providing value-added services which can be widely and easily accepted by Mauritians.