Issue papers
From ApcAccess
Contents |
Business Models for Equitable Access to Communication Infrastructure Features for Sustainability
(Muriuki Mureithi)
Summary: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is now recognised as an instrument for development and enhancing access is the first critical step towards exploiting ICTs and the benefits of the information society. A gap exists between the opportunity and the exploitation. These challenges are multifaceted and the consumer, the supplier as well as governance of the policy and operating environment have a role to play. All must play a role in synergy for a win-win for equitable access.
Long term sustainability calls for business models that work. These business models need to take into account the management of the cost structure and revenue streams for the ICT infrastructure. There are a range of business models that are being implemented to address the issue of access to ICT infrastructure. Each model has its strengths and weaknesses and is being implemented in different situations. The business model to apply is contextual. and a key feature is sustainability.
There are challenges in implementing the business models and all stakeholders or a combination of stakeholders have a role to play to made the models more effective in providing equitable access to ICT infrastructure and basic access where none exist. Communities need to change their mindset and accept that they can contribute and indeed initiate their own solutions to provide access. For operators their long term interest will be served by developing rural markets - by providing services at cost or below cost with a view of long term growth. Governments also have a range of policy and regulatory tools which can expand access. With all players engaged, the goal to provide equitable access will be realised in a win-win framework.
To download the entire file, go to: here.
Policies for Equitable Access
(Lishan Adam)
Summary: Considerable changes have been made in the way people access information and communication technologies especially after the introduction of the Internet and mobile phones. More people have access to ICTs than ever before but still the majority of the population are on the wrong side of the communications revolution.
Provision of universal and affordable access is a key challenge of today’s ICT policies in developing societies. However despite pressure from multilateral and bilateral donor agencies to privatize monopolies and liberalize the markets and the formulation of broad-based ICT policies by states, progress toward universal access to ICTs has been very slow. In other cases, state-run telecommunications systems have not functioned very effectively, failing by and large to provide access to the broader public. Although opening up of the mobile segment has improved access to communication services dramatically, the cellular communication tariffs remained very high.
Besides, the regulatory frameworks in developing countries have not been entirely effective, largely due to the institutional arrangements which seldom provide regulators with the autonomy, independence and legitimacy. It was also difficult to formulate, implement and enforce effective universal service strategies due to lack of specialist expertise and inability of the regulators to face powerful incumbents and operators. Moreover policies that promote pluralistic content have not been successful due to strong government and private sector interests in the media.
Regionally, there is a growing interest in backbone infrastructure and submarine cables in the developing world, particularly in Africa, although the political, economic and regulatory differences in most countries pose major challenges for a meaningful cross-border interconnection and policy harmonization.
This paper argues that a well balanced public policy is a precondition in addressing the universal access gap. This paper synthesizes the issues at stake, strategies that are undertaken and required interventions to make equitable access a reality in developing societies.
To download the full paper, go to: here
Equitable Access - People, Networks and Capabilities
Communications policy is complex. It involves a wide range of actors - international and national, government and business; very diverse consumer groups - from global businesses to marginalised rural households; a constantly changing array of technologies; and rapid market evolution. It is hard indeed for anyone, at any level, to keep track of what is going on.
Even something so large-scale as infrastructure is in a constant state of flux. The last ten years have seen extensive roll-out of networks into areas that were never previously served - bringing telephony to the majority of citizens where it had been available only to businesses and urban elites. New types of networks - most obviously wireless and broadband networks - have supplemented and, in the case of wireless, sometimes displaced those that were previously dominant. The economics of infrastructure deployment have been transformed by new technology and market liberalisation.
Policymakers and regulators sit at the centre of this massive change. The decisions which they make - to allow certain types of investment, to foster interconnection, to licence according to technology or without technological constraints, etc. - have impact on the pace and nature of infrastructure deployment, and so on the communications opportunities available to citizens and businesses, and on the potential for communications to contribute to economic growth and individual empowerment. Yet the capacity/capability which policymakers and regulators have to intervene is constrained by lack of knowledge of market developments, the unpredictability of new technology, the potential impact of different regulatory approaches, and (sometimes) weak relationships with powerful actors in government and business. Improving their capabilities, and those of industry actors in general, to predict and innovate amidst change and uncertainty could do much to increase the pace of infrastructure deployment and maximise resulting social and economic returns.
Similarly, the use of communications by citizens and businesses is constrained by factors beyond the mere availability of infrastructure. Studies of business use of ICTs suggest the importance of achieving a critical mass of network users, a density of use beyond which adoption of new communications opportunities tends to accelerate. Affordability is important here, for both businesses and citizens, but so is saliency or relevance: the extent to which the use of new facilities adds sufficient value to make it worth affording them. Capacity, or capability, is again important. The value of many new opportunities - including, in particular, the Internet - is unlocked by skills which are not widely available within poor communities.
This paper is one of a series of four on aspects of equitable access to infrastructure which has been commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications at the time of the second Internet Governance Forum. It begins by defining some key terms, and then seeks to place access issues within overall communications policy. In Part 3, it raises a number of issues of capacity and capability, both of decision-makers and of consumers of communications services, which emerge from this discussion.
To download the full paper, go to: here.
Tools and technologies for equitable access
(Alberto Esudero Pascual)
Summary: Equitable access to infrastructure requires the combination of policies, technology and human capacity building. This paper focuses on adequate technologies and tools for developing regions to improve Internet access. The technologies are presented in five major areas:
- Wireless access
- Low cost and low power computing
- Open standards, hardware and software
- Local services and content
- Open access and open networks
This paper provides the necessary background for each of these technology areas and refers to practical strategies including existing initiatives. After reviewing the various issues and practical strategies the paper makes a set of recommendations related to each of the technology areas identified. The suggested interventions cover a range of issues: including public access to radio spectrum, open networks, capacity building, the promotion of local services, the use of open standards and quality control in ICTs.
This paper concludes that no matter which time in history we look at, the equitable use of information and communication technologies results from making technology accessible, adequate and relevant to local realities.
For the full paper, go to: here.
