For Urban Media, if one-quarter of the businesses that use the free broadband also buy add-ons, such as phone service, calling cards and unified messaging, each building would be cash-flow positive in 18 months.

FORBES: Land Grab

For Urban Media, if a quarter of the businesses that use the free broadband also buy add-ons, such as phone service, calling cards and unified messaging, each building would be cash-flow positive in 18 months.

FORBES: Land Grab

"The bulk of our sales come from the 60 and 25 cents-valued phone cards and this is because the people who buy them depend on a daily income, " said a senior marketer at Safaricom, a leading mobile phone service provider in Kenya.

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One way to skirt that problem is to buy local SIM cards for every country you visit, provided that your phone is compatible.

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