How a Start-up Fights to Bring Local Language to Mobile Phones in Laos

Beautiful Laos. Credit: Todd Adams

Most of us have mobile phones in our preferred language. Now imagine trying to use a phone whose software is all in a foreign language. I believe most of you would feel lost. And that is exactly what most Lao people (the people of Laos) have been going through. There isn’t any mobile phone that supports the Lao language today. But Allan Rasmussen and his team at XY Mobile are trying hard to change that fate.

Situated between Thailand and Vietnam, Laos is a small country with about 6.5 million in population. The official language is Lao, but Thai, English, and other ethnic languages are also being used by the people. Laos has a very small population with relatively low spending power. This also explains why most mobile brands aren’t really interested in customizing their phone’s features for the local population. It just doesn’t make economical sense for them.

But do the Lao have any choice? Not really. The Lao have to succumb to using phones that don’t support their official Lao language. Most folks are Nokia and Samsung users, while smartphones like Android and iPhone are catching up in the market. These phones are presented in Thai or English and the Lao language is dearly missing in these new mobile devices as well.

Information transfer via mobile devices is tough. Many Lao who don’t understand Thai or English will attempt to write SMS in English characters to make it sound like Lao. And as expected this leads to many SMS not being understood among the people. Here’s an example from Allan and his team — The first text is in Lao, followed by its English sounded-out text, and the meaning of the phrase in English.

Another problem which Allan highlighted was that the telcos in Laos don’t have much mobile content to offer to the population. So most Lao who live near the border with Thailand would rather choose a Thai operator to gain access to more apps and mobile content. As more people switch to using Thai and English, less people are using the Lao language. Allan told me that the Laos government has now understood the problem and has declared a policy to help put the Lao language on electronic devices. It’s a start, but there’s much more work to be done.

Fighting for more than 6 years

XY Mobile was founded in September 2010, but Allan explained to PO that this huge project that aims to put the Lao language onto phones started six years earlier. Back then, the start-up’s Managing Director, Anousak Souphavanh, spent six years to implement the Lao language on Linux (aka Laonux) as well as on other open source software platforms in the market.

The team’s goal was initially to pair up with giant mobile makers to make the Lao language available on their phones. But unfortunately, most mobile giants weren’t receptive to the idea. They either didn’t know where Laos is situated or felt that the market is too small to pay attention to.

Left with no choice, XY Mobile was born as the team decided to create their own mobile devices for Laos instead. And as they ventured deeper into this problem, they also learned that other countries like Burma and Cambodia are facing similar digital-age problems. It’s a huge risk to shoulder because developing (software), manufacturing (hardware), shipping, and distribution (logistics) are all huge financial commitments.