ople. The Vodabank (our name not theirs) is therefore potentially the largest bank in the world in terms of addressable customer numbers, if not by value. This looks good for Vodafone but let us suppress the cynicism for the moment and at least give credit (no pun intended) where credit is due. A simple SMS-based application has made it possible for a new generation of relatively low income users to pay bills or buy goods or send money securely and safely to friends and family without the need to handle cash. Employers can also pay employees and contractors through the system. Less cash means less crime (less incentive for mugging and theft and extortion). So SMS saves lives, allows governments to communicate and allows individuals to spend and send and receive financial transfers. Not bad for an almost accidental add in to the GSM specification and living proof that simple things just occasionally can deliver spectacular value. Case studies of the impact on other developing economies can be found at the Safari Com web site,2 2 the Vodafone web site³ or the Iceni Mobile web site. 4 The principle is being extended into agribusiness and medicine and health care. 11.2 The Role of SMS in Transactions, Political Influence and Public Safety The short message service has been the unsung hero of the mobile telecoms industry. The first SMS message was sent in December 2002 with the first SMS phones available in 1993. 15 years later (2008) over 80 billion texts were sent and received in the UK making the UK, the second highest texting nation in the world, though dwarfed by the US that sent and received over 800 billion. SMS is a story that could fill several books of which at least two have been published by John Wiley6 SO repeating the story here would be duplication but a summary would be that SMS has been eye-wateringly profitable with a per bit revenue three orders of magnitude (1000 times) higher than voice but has also made a substantial political, social and economic impact. So, for example, it has been widely repor