Chapter 6 translations
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This chapter presents and discusses some of the main steps to develop a universal access and service (UAS) programme, including an ICT sector review, demand analysis, subsidy estimation, and also a discussion on measuring economic impact and benefits and how this may help to prioritize programme components and individual projects.
Section 6.1 expands on the sector analysis already outlined in the UAS policy chapter (Section 4.2.1) which helps to ascertain the country’s current UAS status and answer the question: What areas and population groups do not yet have affordable access to ICT services? This results in a detailed identification of service gaps in the country; the section then looks at quantifying the demand for various ICT services in those areas that are unserved, as well as qualifying the demand, e.g., at what price point and for which level of service is there a need or a demand? Both desk-based and field demand study methodologies are presented. The purpose of this step is to:
- Identify which areas (regions, provinces, districts etc.,) of the country are to be included into the UAS programme;
- Identify which ICT services are required in each of these areas; and
- Quantify the demand for those ICT services, to be used to model potential revenues, which in turn helps to prioritize projects within the UAS programme.
With the groundwork laid in identifying unserved communities and quantifying their demand, Section 6.2 then looks at determining how much it will cost to provide UAS services. It further looks at what subsidies are required by comparing revenues against costs. Approaches to modelling costs, assessing viability and estimating subsidy requirements are also presented.
Section 6.3. discusses the status of economic impact analyses, measurements and findings, separate for communications projects and broadband Internet & ICT service development. While these broader economic impact studies may not be well suited for the purpose of UAS programme development or prioritization, their understanding and knowledge of the latest research in this area provides nevertheless crucial information for any UAS programme planner.
Section 6.4 then looks at practical approaches to project prioritization in the context of UAS programme development.
Given the dynamic nature of the communications market, and the increasing number of players, collection and analysis of the data required to perform some of the above analyses may be quite challenging,. A UAS programme developed two years ago, for example, may already be partially obsolete.
It is therefore recommended that regulators have a designated UAS department that regularly monitors, collects and analyze data on an annual basis. In addition, regulators need to maintain close and continued co-operation with the ICT industry in developing and updating UAS programmes.