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Empowering the developing countries to play more of an autonomous role in the organisation and dispersion of ICT into their respective communities is something that will require the unbridled support of governments capable of working in tandem with private interests. Such collaborations are integral at the top-end to ensure that the necessary infrastructure such as satellite and broadband technology and the terminal equipment needed to establish connectivity, are provided at an affordable price (Wallsten, 2005). At a time when many disparate communities struggle to even have access to basic telephone services compared to industrialised nations that continue to roll out broadband telecoms infrastructure, it may be time that bridging this gap becomes a global priority for governments. One of the main concerns is that while low income causes low IT penetration, low penetration may also perpetuate low incomes. This has led many theorists to conclude that developing nations require support through donations of facilities and training in order to facilitate a move towards integrating ICT into these disparate communities.
Moreover, the prospect of a growing digital divide between poor and rich countries and hope that ICT’s may produce an opportunity to promote productivity and economic growth, have led to a number of initiatives designed to stimulate ICT use in developing countries. While many organisations note that competition and a friendly regulatory environment may be beneficial to ICT development, few of these initiatives and very little research have actually focused on the role of regulation in promoting Internet use (Jamshed, 2005) Data collected from the new survey of telecommunications regulators in developing countries combined with publicly available information from the ITU and the World Bank depicted that heavy Internet regulation often correlated with worse outcomes in terms of measuring the access opportunities for ICT in developing countries. In particular, countries that require ISPs to get formal approval before beginning operations have fewer Internet users and Internet hosts, while ISP price regulation is correlated with higher ISP final-user prices.
Wallsten (2005) therefore theorises that perhaps regulatory controls would be best used to curb increases in costs associated with ICT access in terms of connectivity. The results also suggest that a country's regulatory approach to the Internet and ICTs can have a large impact on its ubiquity throughout the country. Research indicated that reducing entry barriers and promoting competition is likely to yield large increases in the share of developing countries’ populations with access to the Internet and any potential benefits that flow from such access. In other words, removing entry barriers and promoting ISP competition may present a low-cost and non-distortionary way to boost Internet use in developing countries.
National Centre for Policy Analysis
1) Jamshed, M. (2005). "A Conceptual Framework for the Role of Governments in Bridging the Digital Divide," Journal of Global Infomation Technology Management, Vo. 8 Iss. 3 pp.28
2) Wallsten, S.(2005). "Regulation and Internet Use In Developing Countries," Economic Development & Cultural Change, Vol. 53 Iss 2, pp.501-524
--Dane C Allen 11:22, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
