Section 1.2 illustrates that although great strides have been made in universal access and service (UAS), the objectives of access and service for both telephony and the Internet have not yet been achieved. In that context, this section examines why there is a need for UAS policy.
The main arguments for a UAS policy are the following:
- ICTs are social and economic enablers. ICTs are increasingly used in all sectors of economies. In many regions, economic activity is shifting away from agriculture and industry to services sectors, and towards the new information economy and society. The ICT sector is considered to be a significant engine of growth for economies. This is elaborated in Section 1.3.1.
- Supply and demand increases the importance of UAS policy. Interestingly, the increased supply of ICTs through rapid technological developments and base of pyramid marketing, actually fuels the requirement for UA. Mobile phones, not too long ago considered luxury items and out of reach for most, are now providing the main access to voice service for the majority of people in many countries, making it more urgent that the population without access be provided with access to phone service. Similarly, for large parts of populations work and life without the Internet is unthinkable, and ever more megabyte-rich applications require increased broadband development. The more ICTs are used, the more there is a dependence upon them, which in turn makes it more essential that all citizens have access to ICTs. This is explained in Section 1.3.2.
- Market gaps can remain in place. While it has been demonstrated that market forces, after liberalization and sector reform, have had the greatest impact on improvement of UAS in many developing countries, for various reasons market gaps can remain in place. Some countries, for example, have exceptionally challenging geographic characteristics combined with extremely low population densities (e.g., Mongolia and Botswana) or isolation (e.g., many islands in the Pacific region) or extreme poverty, which make UAS tremendously challenging. In other countries, the market might be able to achieve UAS, but the timeframe in which this could be obtained, might be considered too long.
- Monitoring UAS and updating it. Constant change in technology, services, and pervasiveness of various ICT services makes it necessary that the status of UAS should be monitored and policies continue to be updated and developed. Also, there are countries where the market can achieve UAS, but there is a need for public oversight to confirm that it has been achieved, to improve regulation, and to continually review the concept of what is considered UAS.
Market gaps and the need to monitor UAS are presented in
Section 1.3.3.