Mobile operator data to support government and public decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic, while preserving data privacy
This website is currently under construction. Flowminder will be updating/adding resources thoughout the course of, and recovery from, the pandemic.
Anonymised mobile operator data can support interventions against COVID-19 by improving our understanding of population movements.
Anonymised and aggregated data from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) is a key data source for understanding mobility patterns of populations and can improve decision making and scenario planning during the COVID-19 epidemic. Data from MNOs can be analysed in near real-time and provide an overview of mobility patterns both at local levels and across an entire country.
Large scale changes in mobility are both a cause and an effect of the COVID-19 epidemic. On the one hand, mobility of populations affects the speed and patterns of the epidemic. On the other, mobility restrictions, together with social and economic changes caused by the epidemic change mobility, for example through migrant workers returning and urban populations moving to the countryside.
Understanding the correlation between mobility and the spread of COVID-19
Mobile operator data can support government and public decision making during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Read more here.
To support the global response against COVID-19, Flowminder seeks to improve access to mobility data for improved decision making.
To enable scaling of the production of these insights, we seek to enable MNOs and others to produce relevant data and analyses. We aim for this website to be used as a resource for MNOs, analysts, epidemiologists and governments to support their plans and interventions against the virus. Please contact us if you need further support.
Several key stages are required to convert raw Call Detail Records (CDR data) into actionable insights: the processing of the raw data, the production of CDR aggregates from that data, the generation of mobility indicators from CDR aggregates, and turning mobility indicators into actionable insights.
We designed a series of aggregates and indicators to represent all dimensions of mobility, based on a specific approach and consideration. Read more here.
We aim to support Operators in leveraging the use of mobile phone. Get access to detailed instructions, code and methods to produce aggregates from Call Detail Records here.
Read more about the mobility metrics to be produced from CDR aggregates and used in order to support and monitor interventions during and after the COVID-19 outbreak here.
Once indicators are produced, the interpretation can provide governments or health actors with a wide range of insights. Read more about insights & applications here.