Today in 1955, the first field trial of a rural telephone system making use of transistors and the Bell Solar Battery was held in Americus, Georgia.
Solar-powered mobile phones are important for long-distance communications in places without electricity. "We contact doctors for health-related advice. We seek information on weather from local officials. We speak to local agriculture officials and discuss with them problem related to crops," said Indian farmer Jhasketan Pradhan in 2009 when Samsung released its first solar-powered mobile phone.
According to the World Bank, 759 million people worldwide lived without access to electricity in 2019 (down from 1.2 billion in 2010). An estimated 660 million people would still lack access in 2030, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.