Regulatory policies on
universal access to broadband services
Interactive Workshop on Practical Strategies
8 September 2008, ITU-D Study Group 1, Geneva
Andrew Dymond
Objective of presentation
 Highlight a few key issues from the day
 Identify related / associated practical strategies
 Illustrate with country examples
 Formulate opposing/alternate views
 Propose & debate
 Way forward? Final summary
Relationship of UAS to Broadband
UAS policy
Regional access,
spread and
growth of
Internet services
creates demand
for
broadband
Internet
services
Broadband policy
Demand stimulation
& supply strategy
e-government
projects
Broadband
facilities
Converging into one policy?
price reduction
measures
create investment &
more opportunity
for economic delivery
Cases from this workshop (am)
 India
• Integrated re-casting of broadband policy, regulation and the USOF’s role into
broadband access
• Use of USOF funds
 USA
• Inter-governmental agency collaboration to ensure broadband made available by
various means – FCC, USF, USDA
 Portugal
• Program energized by economic challenge – becoming competitive in the world
• Schools … schools …. schools!
• Mobile broadband as the favoured facility
 Serbia
• Development of a US policy through sector & demand research. Need for
broadband service identified
• Establish dual US target – Schools first broadband target in basic Scenario A
• Scenario B - Broadband to specific communities based on research outcomes
Cases from this workshop (pm)
 Brazil
• Incumbent PSTN operators committed to extension of the backbone
• All municipalities to be connected
• All urban schools to have free broadband, under Government initiative
 Dominican Republic
• Needed to change the paradigm
• Various local access centre project models
• Rural connectivity programme to connect each municipal district
• Zero subsidies
 Mobile banking
• “Banking the un-banked” > Financial inclusion
• 85% of m-banking customers in developing countries
• Massive remittance market
• No broadband implications except capacity for growth
Suggested topics for discussion
 Are UAS and Broadband policy converging?
• What are the challenges, hurdles & disadvantages for this?
 Finding out the baseline information
• Practical demand surveys
• Experience & lessons
 Are schools the main priority for broadband?
• How do we compare libraries, cybercafés, health centres?
• How should schools projects be financed?
 Are UAS Funds even needed or should levies be reduced?
• Obligations can be negotiated
• Licenses can have requirements
• Some competitions yield low or zero subsidies
2007 finding for GSMA …. mobile networks
Cover more than 80% of the world’s population
Global coverage and penetration indicators
100%
80%
60%
40%
• Will be over 90% by 2010
20%
0%
1999
2000
2001
Area (GSM)
2002
2003
2004
Wireless Penetration
2005
2006
2007 E
Population (GSM)
Thank you
adymond@inteleconresearch.com
www.inteleconresearch.com