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Addressing the World in Three Words

Four billion people on the planet don't have an address. Could a smartphone app, that divides the world up into 3m squares, be the solution?

Around 75% of the world's population, approximately four billion people, do not have an address. Take a country like Mongolia, with a largely nomadic population, where street names and postcodes can be few and far between. But that could all be changing thanks to just three words. Mongolia's Postal Service was the first in the world to sign up to What3Words, an idea from a British former music executive fed up of bands and equipment constantly getting lost. He has divided the entire world into 3m squares and given each one a different three word phrase, and it could mean that everyone in the world will soon have an address.

Presenter: Tom Colls
Producer: Harriet Noble

(Photo: What3Words divides up the world. Credit: Google Maps

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23 minutes

Last on

Sun 29 Oct 2017 12:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 24 Oct 2017 02:06GMT
  • Tue 24 Oct 2017 03:06GMT
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  • Tue 24 Oct 2017 14:06GMT
  • Tue 24 Oct 2017 19:06GMT
  • Sun 29 Oct 2017 12:06GMT

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