McGraw-Hill and Wipro to Develop Affordable Mobile Learning Platform

"We are excited by the potential of mobile learning, which will free educational institutions from the constraints of geography, space and even time, and will enable us to deliver affordable, quality education to large numbers of aspiring students anytime, anywhere," said Dr. Ajit Rangnekar, Dean of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

Amitava Bose, professor and former director of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, added, "Modern economic growth is being driven less and less by raw labor power and more and more by skilled manpower. There is a shortage of skills but a large reservoir of labor waiting to be tapped. The proposed partnership between McGraw-Hill and Wipro should help speed up the required transformation of unskilled to skilled manpower by significantly increasing accessibility of training—in English-language proficiency and other necessary skills—among the younger population."

Most cell phones in emerging markets today, including India, are SMS-based, 2G phones. In the near future, analysts foresee an era when inexpensive mobile devices and phones will offer web-browsing capabilities. These devices will usher in a new era of mobile education applications, and mConnect will be well-positioned to help students acquire the sought-after skills required by employers.

Additional Facts and Figures about Mobile Device Market:

• There are 5.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide. (Source: International Telecommunications Union)
• In the developing world, mobile cellular penetration rates to reach 68% at the end of 2010-mainly driven by the Asia and Pacific region. (Source: International Telecommunications Union)
• By 2013, the number of smart phones worldwide will surpass PCs, 1.82 billion to 1.78 billion. (Source: Gartner Research)
• There are 833 million cell phone subscribers in China. (Source: Reuters)
• In India, there are 706 million cell phone subscribers, equivalent to about 60% of the population. (Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)