To mark the 40th anniversary of TPRC, its current Chair Johannes Bauer and long-time member and international enthusiast Prabir Neogi have organized a special international panel “A Comparison of Broadband Strategies in Developed and Developing Countries: Perspectives, Challenges and Lessons.”
The participants are Robert Atkinson, ITIF, USA; Catherine Middleton, Ryerson University, Canada; Jean Paul Simon, IPTS and EuroCPR, France; Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNEasia and CPRSouth; Alison Gillwald, ICT Africa; Judith Mariscal, CIDE and DIRSI; and Erik Bohlin, Chalmers University and ITS.
It is intended to be an interactive panel organized the theme “When it comes to national broadband strategies One size DOES NOT fit all” The panelist will be invited to respond to two or more of the following questions:
- What is the most important aspect that you would want the audience to know about national/regional conditions affecting the design and implementation of broadband policies in your country/region?
- Does your country/region have an explicit Broadband Strategy at the national and/or regional levels?
If yes, what is the scale ($$, Targets), scope (Demand side initiatives as well as Supply side ones) and duration (short, medium or long term)? - What are the roles of the government and the private sector, with respect to funding and implementation?
- For a long term strategy requiring major public sector infrastructure investments (e.g. Australian NBN), how is political support to be maintained over changes in governments?
- What role does wireless access and mobile broadband play in your national and/or regional broadband strategy, and how is it integrated with the wireline component?
- What conceptual frameworks do researchers and policy-makers use when shaping policy?
- What is the role of “evidence” in shaping current approaches?
I intend to focus on the last and first questions, using the cases of Hong Kong and Singapore to show how little evidence is being used in the big question of subsidies or not, and talking about countries such as Myanmar where basic voice connectivity is still lacking.
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