The Live Better Connected podcast series continues showcasing interesting stories regarding mobile connectivity and the fascinating ways it is being used. The latest podcast episode features telecommunications leader and book author, Ineke Botter. Ineke has recently published her book entitled Your Phone, My Life, that explores her place in the world as she helped build and expanded mobile networks over the past thirty years.

In this podcast episode Ineke joins our Director of Policy and Communications, Gareth Elliott, to explain her motivations for writing the novel, her career in the telecommunications industry and offers some fascinating insights into experiences she encountered. Ineke has been working within the mobile telecoms industry since 1991 in senior management (CxO, CEO and BoD level) positions.

In her book Ineke explains that she is well travelled and has lived and worked in Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Kosovo, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Haiti and East Africa. When asked what the impact of a mobile telecommunication system was being set up in some of these countries, Ineke explained that in ex-communist countries at the time access to fixed line communications was limited mostly to party membership so the offer of a personal mobile was an offer of freedom.

Across countries in Africa, mobile connectivity, more specifically mobile money, has enhanced people’s ability to run their trade, hugely benefiting the economic needs of local people and businesses. Ineke considers the mobile phone to be the most important device that anyone can have across the globe.

Within her book, Ineke explains the mobile phone to be ‘the mirror of your life’. Almost everything is made possible through the mobile phone, it provides access to the internet and opens an abundance of opportunities at the push of a button.

We encourage you all to watch or listen back to this educational and detailed podcast episode available on our YouTube channel here. If you would like to find out more about Ineke Botter’s book Your phone, my life click here. Please also follow Ineke on LinkedIn to keep updated with her work.

As part of our Live Better Connected campaign, we encourage you to participate in our How Connected Are You? challenge to find out what type of mobile user you are. We have also launched a brand new educational tool to challenge the thinking around the role of mobile connectivity in our daily lives.

Please subscribe to the Mobile UK YouTube channel for notifications of future episodes and remember, you can nominate guests for future episodes by getting in touch: MobileUK@purplefish.agency  

‍