Here are some reviews of the book:

“This is a lively, comprehensive, and illuminating investigation of telecommunications policy in Malaysia and the Philippines. Much has been written about the processes and outcomes of reform in these countries but, employing a rich and eclectic political economy framework, few researchers have managed to distil as much information with as much authority as Dr Salazar. Moreover, and to further underline the complexity of the issues, the Philippines emerges as a relatively successful reformer, contrary to widespread perceptions that reform in that country is extremely difficult.”

Hal Hill
H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies
Australian National University

“This original and pioneering comparison of privatisation in Malaysia and the Philippines is an incisive and compelling study of the outcome of the nexus between the state and capital in developing economies. This book is essential reading for those seeking insights into the discourse on democracy and development and the political economy of privatisation in Southeast Asia.”

Edmund Terence Gomez
Coordinator
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

“Salazar’s work is an important contribution to the scholarship on Southeast Asian political economy. Her book addresses the dynamics of reform in the telecommunications sector, examining the puzzle of why greater success was achieved in the Philippines under a “weak and captured” state than in Malaysia under a “strong and developmental” state. Salazar provides a convincing and well-argued explanation, pointing the Philippine case to the advocacy efforts of a reform coalition that enjoyed the vigorous support of President Fidel Ramos. The comparison between the two countries is skillfully executed and based on rich, historically grounded analysis of their respective political economies.”

Paul D. Hutchcroft
Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Department of Political Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Africa, Offline: Waiting for the Web

Attempts to bring affordable high-speed Internet service to the masses have made little headway on the continent. Less than 4 percent of Africa’s population is connected to the Web; most subscribers are in North African countries and the republic of South Africa.

A lack of infrastructure is the biggest problem. In many countries, communications networks were destroyed during years of civil conflict, and continuing political instability deters governments or companies from investing in new systems. E-mail messages and phone calls sent from some African countries have to be routed through Britain, or even the United States, increasing expenses and delivery times. About 75 percent of African Internet traffic is routed this way and costs African countries billions of extra dollars each year that they would not incur if their infrastructure was up to speed.

…

Prices remain high because the national telecommunications linked to the cable maintain a monopoly over access, squeezing out potential competitors. And plans for a fiber optic cable along the East African coast have stalled over similar access issues. Most countries in Eastern Africa, like Rwanda, depend on slower satellite technology for Internet service.

The result is that Africa remains the least connected region in the world, and the digital gap between it and the developed world is widening rapidly. “Unless you can offer Internet access that is the same as the rest of the world, Africa can’t be part of the global economy or academic environment,” said Lawrence H. Landweber, professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who was also part of an early effort to bring the Web to Africa in the mid-1990s. “The benefits of the Internet age will bypass the continent.”

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