Factoid 2 - Cellphones Outnumber Lightbulbs in Uganda

[Enkerli]

One thing I like is that you don't jump to further conclusions. Many of the people who talk about Africa not only use unverified claims (which is unavoidable) but then go on to make unwarranted connections.

Plus, your points about the cellphone network are well-put and well-taken.

[danbirchall]

Interesting math - but people who have electricity tend to have more than one lightbulb each, so I'm not sure the overall assumption is valid. :)

[jgosier]

Absolutely, I factored this in as well. Let's say each average urban household has 10 lightbulbs, and each business has 100 and the average household has 3 mobile phones.  The fraction of people with electricity is much smaller than people with access to mobile coverage. I think the numbers still stand-up but I could be wrong.