Mobile Phone Network Data for Development – Primer

The primer is a synthesis of a growing body of research on mobile phone data analysis in development or humanitarian contexts. For example, de-identified CDRs have allowed researchers to see aggregate geographic trends such as the flow of mass populations during and after natural disasters, how malaria can spread via human movement or the passage of commuters through a city at peak times. The document explains three types of indicators that can be extracted through analysis of CDRs (mobility, social interaction and economic activity), includes a compendium of several research examples and a summary of privacy protection considerations.