Access and infrastructure initiatives
ICT infrastructure in emerging Asia. Policy and regulatory roadblocks
Does regulation stifle or enable ICT connectivity?
Authors:
R. Samarajiva; A. Zainudeen
Publisher:
International Development Research Centre , 2008
This book addresses an important question: can technology by itself improve access to ICTs or must the policy and regulatory pre-conditions be satisfied in order to realise the potential of technological and service innovations? It notes that the expansion of connectivity during the last decade may lead to the conclusion that new technologies such as wireless have played a decisive role in improving access. However, it presents research and cases to illustrate the inadequacy of technology alone in expanding connectivity. Bringing together lessons from five Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka, it shows that while complex workarounds are possible, they are less effective than the appropriate policy and regulatory reforms.
The book considers the problem of expanding connectivity from different angles: that of the user, the operator, the policymaker, the regulator, and civil society. It also sheds light on a range of situations and technologies, like telephone use in post-conflict regions of Sri Lanka, Wi-Fi deployment in Indonesia, and universal service obligations in India.
The book has the following four main sections:
- Demand at the bottom of the pyramid: this section demonstrates that there is significant demand for connectivity at the bottom of pyramid. This challenges the widely prevalent conception that the poor people have no need for telecom services and that they are unable to afford it
- Access, against all odds: this section looks at the cases of Indonesia and Bangladesh. Both of these countries have been poor performers in terms of telecom and broader ICT infrastructure compared to their regional peers. The growth that they have achieved has been a result of complex workarounds to surmount barriers thrown up by incumbent telecom companies as well as the government
- Regulation- to stifle or enable: this section throws light on the regulatory preconditions that have be met for effective action to extend networks in environments of less than optimal governance
- What could be: the section contains the responses of three professionals from the telecom sector to the researchers’ conclusions presented in the preceding sections.
