5G Perspective PDF

N
O N ICT I
HANDB
OOK O U N T RIES
E L O P ING C
DEV
TIVE
Countries: 5G Perspective
Handbook on ICT in Developing
R S P E C
5G PE lbert Gya
mfi (Edito
rs)
A
it Williams and
k S ko u by, Idonges
Knud Eri
The mobile communications market in developing countries is

growing at a rapid rate. This is evident in the rapid spread of mobile
broadband cellular networks such as 3G. 4G is also being deployed in
developing countries around the world. As the global communications
market proceeds towards 5G, it is evident that developing countries
will not be left behind. However, there are challenges and barriers on
the road ahead specific to developing countries. To aid policy makers,
researchers and members of the academia make informed decision
that will help the advancement of 5G, this handbook provides an
insight into the impact of existing mobile cellular networks in some
developing countries.
Topics discussed in this handbook include:
and Albert Gyamfi (Editors)

Knud Erik Skouby, Idongesit Williams
Ø Digital divide
Ø Policy outlook
Ø 5G and rural areas
Ø 5G readiness
T IN RIVACY –
Ø Telco Business models
O K ON I
I
T Y
C
A N DIPES
Ø Telecom tower pricing B O
HANBERSEIC
D U R COUN T R
Ø Mobile application adoption C Y O P N G
DEVEL
G TCHT E
I VGEAP
DEGRISNP E
5BGRIP amfi (Edit
ors)
y
d Albert G
illiams an
ongesit W
Skouby, Id
Knud Erik
WIRELESS WORLD
RESEARCH FORUM
RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN COMMUNICATIONS
Series Editors
ABBAS JAMALIPOUR MARINA RUGGIERI
The University of Sydney University of Rome Tor Vergata
Australia Italy
JUNSHAN ZHANG
Arizona State University
USA
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Topics covered in the series include, but are by no means restricted to the
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• Microwaves
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For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com

Editors
Knud Erik Skouby

Idongesit Williams
Albert Gyamfi
Aalborg University
Denmark
Published, sold and distributed by:
River Publishers
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River Publishers
Lange Geer 44
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ISBN: 978-87-93379-91-6 (Hardback)

978-87-93379-92-3 (Ebook)

c 2017 River Publishers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of
the publishers.
Contents
Foreword xv
Preface xvii
List of Figures xix
List of Tables xxi
List of Abbreviations xxiii
Introduction 1
1 The Evolution of Universal Service in Vietnam

and Its Implication for 5G 11
Thai Do Manh
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.2 Overview of the Vietnamese Telecoms Policy and Market . . 12
1.2.1 A Snapshot on the Evolution of the Telecom
Market in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.2.2 A Snapshot of Vietnamese Telecom Policy
Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3 The Evolution of Universal Service Policies in Vietnam . . . 17
1.3.1 Before 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.3.2 From 2005–2010: Program on Provision of Public
Telecommunications Services until 2010 . . . . . . 21
1.3.3 Key Stakeholders in Implementing Program 74 . . . 23
1.3.3.1 The stakeholders carried out the provision
of universal services . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.3.3.2 The initiatives implemented in Vietnam . . 26
1.3.4 From 2010–Now: Program on the Provision of Public
Telecommunications Services until 2020 . . . . . . 29
1.3.4.1 Overview of Program 1168 . . . . . . . . 29
v
vi Contents
1.3.5 The Stakeholders Carried Out the

Provision of Universal Services
for Program 1168 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.4 Vietnamese Approach towards Developing
the Telecoms Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.4.1 On the Supply Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.4.1.1 Subsidies for development of
infrastructure – the Broadband
Connection Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.4.1.2 Subsidies for development
and maintenance public internet access
centres – the Public Connection Plan . . . 32
1.4.2 On the Demand Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.4.2.1 Subsidies for demand – the Institutes
Connection Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.5 The Implication of the Vietnamese Approach
to the Development of 5G Infrastructure
and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2 Regulatory Challenges Affecting ICT Development

in Ukraine 37
Olga Kretova
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.2 Overview of Policies and Regulations Governing ICT
in Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.3 The National ICT Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.3.1 Mobile Communication Technologies . . . . . . . . 40
2.3.2 Mobile Broadband – 3G Introduction . . . . . . . . 42
2.3.3 Broadband Access Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.4 The Transformation of Regulatory Policy in Ukraine . . . . 47
2.4.1 1991–2000 Post Soviet Transformation,
the Monopoly of the Dominant Operator . . . . . . . 47
2.4.2 2001–2008 The Regulatory Authority, Inefficient
Regulatory Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.4.2.1 Regulatory initiatives adopted
by NCCIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.4.2.2 Emerging outcome to telecom regulations
in the Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Contents vii
2.4.3 2009–2016 Decisive and Pro-Investment Regulatory

Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.4.3.1 The promotion of competition . . . . . . . 54
2.4.3.2 The privatization of Ukrtelecom . . . . . . 57
2.4.4 Regulation. The EU – Ukraine Cooperation . . . . . 60
2.4.4.1 ICT benefits from the EU-Ukraine
cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.5 e-Government Implementation in Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.5.1 Regulations and e-Government Implementation . . . 65
2.5.2 The Role of Civil Society in e-government
Reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
2.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3 The Will to Innovate in Colombia: ICT Policies as a Means

for Improving Education 77
Gary Cifuentes
3.1 Introduction: ICT Policies as a Will to Improve . . . . . . . 77
3.1.1 Overview of National ICT for Education Policies . . 78
3.1.2 The Will to Improve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.2 Innovating in Higher Education: The Colombian Case . . . . 80
3.3 Enacting the Will to Innovate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.3.1 The Will to Innovate by Virtualising . . . . . . . . . 86
3.3.2 The Will to Innovate by Training . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.3.3 The Will to Innovate by Planning . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.3.4 The Will to Innovate by Producing Digital
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.3.5 The Will to Innovate by Researching . . . . . . . . . 92
3.3.6 Summary on the will to Innovate in Colombia . . . . 93
3.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
3.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4 The Role of Zero-Rating and Free Data in Promoting

Next Generation Networks in Emerging Countries 99
Roslyn Layton
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.2 Debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
4.3 Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.3.1 Affordability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
viii Contents
4.3.2 Relevance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

4.3.3 Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.4 Reasons to Use Differential Pricing, Zero-Rating
and Free Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.4.1 Improve the Economics for Capital Investment . . . 106
4.4.2 Support Competition in the Market for Mobile
Subscription, Content and Advertising . . . . . . . . 107
4.4.3 Supporting App and Content Development . . . . . 109
4.4.3.1 Free basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.5 Strategies for Building the Digital Economy of Developing
Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.6 Five Questions for Regulators to Adjudicate . . . . . . . . . 114
4.6.1 What Perfect or Very Close Substitutes Would
the Zero-Rating Offer Foreclose? . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.6.2 Does the Usage of Zero-Rated Application Cost
to the Operator Less Than Equivalent Usage
of Non-Zero-Rated Applications? . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.6.3 Is Zero-Rated Access to a Subset of Applications
Intended to Increase the Number of Individuals
Using the Internet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.6.4 Which Party Makes the Zero-Rating Complaint? . . 117
4.6.5 Is Zero-Rating Being Used to Access a Site
for Which the User Then Pays a Fee? . . . . . . . . 118
5 Digital Divide: The Case of Africa 121

Gregory Kunyenje
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Part 1 – Historical and Theoretical Overview on Digital Divide . . 122
5.2 Historical Overview of Digital Divide . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
5.3 Perspectives on Digital Divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
5.3.1 What Is Digital Divide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
5.3.2 Digital Dividend and Digital-Divide . . . . . . . . . 125
5.3.3 The Internet and Digital Divide . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.3.4 Why Discuss Digital Divide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.3.5 Nature of the Divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
5.3.6 Previous Studies on the Digital Divide . . . . . . . . 127
5.4 Overview of Factors Influencing the Digital Divide . . . . . 128
5.4.1 Economic Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.4.2 Demographic Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Contents ix
5.4.3 Telecommunication Pricing Measures . . . . . . . . 131

5.4.4 Policy and Operational Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.5 Disadvantaged Groups in the Digital Divide in Africa . . . . 132
5.5.1 Gender Issues in the Digital Divide . . . . . . . . . 133
5.5.2 The Elite versus the Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Part 2 – Mobile Telephony and Digital Divide in Africa . . . . . . 136
5.6 Cellular Mobile Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.6.1 Cellular Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
5.6.2 Impact of the Wireless Technologies on Digital
Divide in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Part 3 – Current Policy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.7 Enabling Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.7.1 Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.7.2 Why the Problem Still Exists in Africa . . . . . . . . 146
5.8 Author’s Views on Digital Divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.9 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
6 M-Health in Africa: A Situation Analysis 149

Adebowale Ojo
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
6.2 Overview of M-Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6.3 mHealth State in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
6.4 Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
6.4.1 cSTOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
6.4.2 MomConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
6.4.3 U-Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.4.4 mHero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
6.4.5 RapidSMS Rwanda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.4.6 Airtel/MicroEnsure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.5 Challenges and Way Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
7 Leveraging TV White Spaces as a Tool for Improved Rural

Broadband Connectivity in Developing Countries:
An Operational Perspective 173
Alexander Osei-Owusu, Iwona Maria Windekilde
and Rebecca Agyemang Nyarko
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
7.2 Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
x Contents
7.3 TVWS Network Setup at Case Study Location-Koforidua

Polytechnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
7.4 Operational Feasibility Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
7.4.1 Signal Strength and Throughput Test . . . . . . . . 180
7.4.2 Ping Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
7.5 Cost Comparison of Deploying TVWS Broadband
and 3G Broadband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
7.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
7.6.1 Policy Recommendation for Digital
Inclusion-Northern Ghana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
7.6.2 Ghana Landscape and Line of Sight
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
8 Towards Smart Farming? Mobile Technology Trends

and Their Potential for Developing Country Agriculture 191
Heike Baumüller
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
8.2 Mobile Technology Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
8.2.1 Diversity of Personal Mobile Devices and Delivery
Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
8.2.2 Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
8.2.3 Capitalizing on Networks and a Large User Base . . 199
8.3 Scenarios for the Evolution of Technology Trends
and M-Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
8.3.1 Implications for Agricultural M-Services . . . . . . 204
8.3.2 Diverse Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
8.3.3 Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8.3.4 Capitalizing on Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
8.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
9 How Africa Can Gain Benefits from Next Generation

Networks 211
Tomonari Takeuchi
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
9.2 Background on ICT for Development in Africa . . . . . . . 212
9.3 Development Agenda and ICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
9.3.1 From Past to Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
9.3.2 Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
9.3.3 Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Contents xi
9.4 Issues and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

9.4.1 Drawback of ICT4D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
9.4.2 Drawbacks of New Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . 218
9.4.2.1 IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
9.4.2.2 AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
9.4.2.3 3D printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
9.4.3 Negative Impact of Digital Development . . . . . . 222
9.5 Platform Enclosure by Huge Companies . . . . . . . . . . . 224
9.5.1 Enclosure of IoT Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
9.5.2 Enclosure of the Internet Service . . . . . . . . . . . 225
9.5.3 Sharing Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
9.5.4 The Future of Africa (Worst-Case Scenario) . . . . . 227
9.6 ICT Policy for the Digital Development Era . . . . . . . . . 228
9.6.1 Reconsideration of ICT Policy Intervention . . . . . 228
9.6.2 Encouragement of Business Ecosystem . . . . . . . 230
9.6.3 Improvement of Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . 231
9.6.4 Promotion of Local and Intrinsic Market
(Original Market in the Flattening World) . . . . . . 232
9.6.5 Coordination and Cooperation with
Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
9.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
10 Rural Broadband in Developing Regions: Alternative Research

Agendas for the 5G Era 235
Darı́o M. Goussal
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Section 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
10.2 Rural Flashbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
10.2.1 Rural 5G: The Truly Disruption? . . . . . . . . . . . 238
10.2.2 The Third Century of an Unaccomplished
Development Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
10.2.3 Rural Broadband and Development . . . . . . . . . 243
10.2.4 International Cooperation in 5G . . . . . . . . . . . 245
10.2.5 The Long-Lasting Nature of Rural
Telecommunications Research . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
10.2.6 Horizontal and Vertical Research . . . . . . . . . . . 248
10.2.7 Bottom-Up and Neutral Research . . . . . . . . . . 249
Section 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
10.3 Alternative Research Agendas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
xii Contents
10.3.1 Research Policies: Feedback from The Missing

Link? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
10.3.1.1 Lifecycle management and cost
engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
10.3.1.2 Utility cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
10.3.1.3 Rural demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
10.3.1.4 Marginal impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
10.3.1.5 Feasibility from the demand side . . . . . 268
10.3.1.6 Data granularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Section 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
10.4 Examples of Promising Directions for Rural 5G . . . . . . . 273
10.4.1 Channel Modelling for Millimeter Wave:
Unexpected Findings? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
10.4.2 Big Data and Geospatial Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 274
10.4.3 MU-MIMO-OFDM in Rural UHF Macro Cells . . . 275
10.5 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
11 Public-Private-Community Organizational and Financial

Strategy for Developing 5G Infrastructure and Services
in Rural Asia: The Case of Thailand, Indonesia,
and the Philippines 277
Idongesit Williams
11.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
11.2 Introduction to the PPC Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
11.2.1 What Is and What Is Not a PPC . . . . . . . . . . . 279
11.2.2 Types of PPCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
11.2.3 Core Characteristics of PPCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
11.2.3.1 Intention to initiate . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
11.2.3.2 Expected incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
11.2.3.3 Expected stakeholder functions . . . . . . 284
11.3 The Rationale for PPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
11.3.1 The Rapid Evolution of Mobile Technology . . . . . 285
11.3.2 The Failure of Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
11.3.3 The Need for PPC and Opportunity for PPCs
in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
11.4 The Potential of PPC in the Delivery of 5G in Rural Areas
in Developing Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
11.4.1 Potential Community and Potential Demand . . . . . 288
Contents xiii
11.4.2 Potential Supply Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

11.4.3 Potential PPC Organizational and Financial
Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
11.5 Inspiration for the Organizational Framework for Supplying
Telecom Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
11.5.1 Background for the Organizational and Financial
Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
11.5.2 Municipality Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
11.5.3 Description of the Organizational and Financial
Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
11.6 Demand Assessment for Indonesia, Philippines
and Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
11.6.1 Overview of the Adoption of Broadband
in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines . . . . . . 297
11.6.2 The Existence of Huge Rural Commercial
Cooperatives in the Three Countries . . . . . . . . . 298
11.6.3 The Need for ICT by the Cooperatives . . . . . . . . 301
11.6.4 The Potential for Network Effect . . . . . . . . . . . 301
11.7 Potential Supply Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
11.7.1 The Infrastructure to Be Supplied . . . . . . . . . . 303
11.8 The Role of the Stakeholders in the PPC Organizational
and Financial Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
11.8.1 The Public Sector Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . 304
11.8.1.1 Public sector stakeholders involved
in the central coordination
of the PPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
11.8.1.2 Public sector stakeholders needed
in the facilitation of the service
platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
11.8.1.3 Public sector stakeholders needed
for the facilitation of the 5G network
infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
11.8.1.4 Public sector stakeholder needed
to facilitate capacity building . . . . . . . 306
11.8.2 The Private Network/Service Stakeholders . . . . . 307
11.8.2.1 Private sector stakeholder needed
for 5G infrastructure delivery . . . . . . . 307
xiv Contents
11.8.2.2 Private sector stakeholder needed

for the delivery of the service
infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
11.9 Financial Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
11.10 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
11.11 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
References 313
Index 355
About the Editors 357
About the Authors 361

Foreword
The WWRF Series in Mobile Telecommunications

The Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) is a global organization
bringing together researchers into a wide range of aspects of mobile and
wireless communications, from industry and academia, to identify the key
research challenges and opportunities. Members and meeting participants
work together to present their research and develop white papers and other
publications on the way to the Wireless World. Much more information
on the Forum, and details of its publication program, are available on the
WWRF website www.wwrf.ch. The scope of WWRF includes not just the
study of novel radio technologies and the development of the core network,
but also the way in which applications and services are developed, and the
investigation of how to meet user needs and requirements.
WWRF’s publication program includes use of social media, online publi-
cation via our website and special issues of well-respected journals. In
addition, where we have identified significant deserving subjects, WWRF is
keen to support the publication of extended expositions of our material in
book form, either singly-authored or bringing together contributions from a
number of authors. This series, published by River Publications, is focused
on treating important concepts in some depth and bringing them to a wide
readership in a timely way. Some will be based on extending existing white
papers, while others are based on the output from WWRF-sponsored events
or from proposals from individual members.
We believe that each volume of this series will be useful and informative
to its readership, and will also contribute to further debate and contributions
to WWRF and more widely.
Dr. Nigel Jefferies

WWRF Chairman
Professor Klaus David
WWRF Publications Chair
xv
Preface
World Research Wireless Forum (WWRF) has during some years had focus
on raising awareness and discussions on specific issues in wireless commu-
nication in developing countries. The book is motivated by these ongoing
activities especially in Working Group A/B ranging from regulation and
broadband policy over business for emerging services to specific challenges
in implementation of 5G. Different aspects of these issues are discussed
both at a theoretical level and as cases in different countries across the
continents.
The book addresses audiences within governments, organizations,
industry and universities.
Sincerely thanks to authors Rebecca Agyemang Nyarko, GIMPA, Ghana;
Heike Baumüller, the Program of Accompanying Research for Agricul-
tural Innovation (PARI) at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF),
the University of Bonn, Germany; Gary Cifuentes, School of Education
at Los Andes University, Bogota (Colombia); Roslyn Layton, center for
Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI), Aalborg Uni-
versity in Copenhagen, Denmark; Thai Do Manh, center for Communication,
Media and Information Technologies (CMI), Department of Electronic Sys-
tems, Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark; Adebowale Ojo, School
of Management, IT and Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa; Darı́o M. Goussal, the Rural Telecommunications Program, the
Department of Electricity and Electronics, School of Engineering of Uni-
versidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE), Argentina; Tomonari Takeuchi,
JICA Ghana Office and Kobe Institute of Computing, Japan; Alexander
Osei Owusu, center for Communication, Media, and Information Technolo-
gies (CMI), Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark; Idongesit Williams,
center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI),
Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark; Iwona Maria Windekilde, center
for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI), Aalborg
University Copenhagen, Denmark.
xvii
xviii Preface
We are grateful for inspiration and support from the publishers and
WWRF.
Finally, but not least thanks to the tireless efforts of Albert Gyamfi and
Idongesit Williams in collecting the contributions and editing them.
Knud Erik Skouby

Copenhagen, March 2017
List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Index of institutionalization of ICT policies. . . . . . . . . 82

Figure 3.2 Number of students per Computer in Colombia. . . . . . . 83
Figure 3.3 Percentage of people using the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . 83
Figure 3.4 Axes of educational policies for ICT. . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Figure 3.5 Colombian initiatives for ICT policies 2007–2008. . . . . 93
Figure 3.6 Educational coverage rate in Latin America. . . . . . . . . 95
Figure 5.1 ICT access by development status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 6.1 mHealth classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Figure 6.2 Distribution of mHealth implementations worldwide. . . . 156
Figure 6.3 Distribution of mHealth implementation in Africa. . . . . 157
Figure 6.4 Distribution of mHealth implementation in Africa. . . . . 158
Figure 6.5 mHealth applications in Africa by categories. . . . . . . . 159
Figure 6.6 mHealth applications by health focus. . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Figure 7.1 Block Diagram of TVWS network at K-Polytechnic. . . . 179
Figure 7.2 A pictorial view of a TVWS sample set-up
at K-Polytechnic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Figure 7.3 RSL/Throughput test for day 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Figure 7.10 Ping test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Figure 7.11 Telecom network tower distribution across Ghana large
areas underserved in the north. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Figure 7.12 Arial view of part of the Northern Landscape. . . . . . . . 188
Figure 7.13 A village in the north-with electricity poles, radio etc. . . . 189
Figure 9.1 Change of role of users in developing countries
in ICT4D project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Figure 9.2 Difficulty to adopt the traditional development model. . . . 223
Figure 9.3 Change of ICT Sector (Layer 3 becomes center
of ICT sector). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
xix
xx List of Figures
Figure 10.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Figure 10.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Figure 10.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Figure 10.4 Household access density - Electricity Utility Cooperatives
8-year evolution pattern (1996–2004). . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Figure 10.5 Household access density - Telephone cooperatives
15-year evolution pattern (1990–2005). . . . . . . . . . . 272
Figure 10.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Figure 11.1 PPC Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Figure 11.2 Almhult Broadband parish structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Figure 11.3 Number of hours spent on social media in Asia. . . . . . . 298
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Overview of the targets of the telecommunication

development goals in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Table 1.2 Telephony subscription in the Vietnamese telecoms market 16
Table 1.3 An overview of the program on the provision of public
telecommunications service until 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Table 5.1 Other definitions of digital divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Table 5.2 Global internet penetration and population statistics 2016 . . 124
Table 5.3 Models on the digital divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Table 5.4 Comparison of all generations of mobile technologies . . . 137
Table 5.5 Percentage of individuals using the Internet . . . . . . . . . 143
Table 5.6 Country rankings of individuals using the internet . . . . . 144
Table 7.1 Provides a summary chart of the transmitted and received
throughput over the 7 days monitoring period . . . . . . . . 183
Table 7.2 Provides of summary signal (S/dBm) test over 7 days
monitoring period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Table 8.1 Literature review on relevant mobile technology trend . . . 194
Table 8.2 Two scenarios for the possible evolution of the technology
trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Table 8.3 Assumptions underlying the scenario analysis . . . . . . . . 203
Table 8.4 Potential impact of the ‘Big Leap’ scenario on the provision
of agricultural m-services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Table 9.1 Summary of ICT4D phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Table 10.1 Strategies adopted by ITU member states to achieve
the targets for rural and remote areas (2015) . . . . . . . . 244
Table 10.2 Proposed rural 5G research areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Table 11.1 Stakeholder responsibilities in PPCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Table 11.2 Active network supply stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Table 11.3 Responsibility of the municipality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Table 11.4 Responsibilities of the cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Table 11.5 Responsibilities of the network operator . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Table 11.6 Broadband penetration in Thailand, Philippines
and Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Table 11.7 Number of cooperatives in Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Table 11.8 IDA telecom Infrastructure initiatives in Thailand, Indonesia
and the Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
xxi
List of Abbreviations
3D Three Dimensions
1G First Generation Mobile
2G Second Generation Mobile
3G Third Generation Mobile
4G Fourth Generation Mobile
5G Fifth Generation Mobile
AA Association Agreement
ADSL Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AISI African Information Society Initiative
ARPU Average Revenue per User
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
API Application Programming Interface
B2B Business to Business
B2C Business to Customer
BCC Behaviour Change Communication
BCC Business Coorporation Contract
BPO Business Processing Organizations
C-RAN Cloud Radio Access Network
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
CDA Cooperative Development Authority
CEEAC Communauté Économique des États de l’ Afrique Centrale
CPE Customer Premise Equipment
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CHW Community Health Workers
COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CPE Customer Premise Equipment
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
CWDM Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing
dBm decibel-milliwatts
DBO Design-Build-Operate
DFID Department for International Development
DNS Domain Name Server
DOCSIS Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification
xxiii
xxiv List of Abbreviations
DSA Dynamic Spectrum Assignment

DSL Digital Subscriber Line
DSM Digital Single Market
DSO Digital Switch Over
DWDM Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
DVB Digital Video Broadcasting
EAC East African Community
EaP Eastern Partnership
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EHR Electronic Health Records
eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband
EU European Union
EVDO Evolution Data Only/Evolution Data Optimized
FCC Federal Communication Commission
FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access
FTTH Fiber-To-The-Home
FTTx Fiber to the x
EHR Electronic Health Records
Gbps Gigabits per second
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHz Giga Hertz
GPOBA Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid
GPS Global Positioning System
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GPW Gridded Population of the World
GSM Global System for Mobile
GSMA GSM Association
HDTV High Definition Television
HCT HIV Counseling and Testing
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
ICT Information and Communication Technology
ICT4D Information and Communication Technology for Development
IDA International Development Agency
IFC International Financial Corporation
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority for Development
IMT International Mobile Telephone
InH indoor hotspot
IoT Internet of Thing
ISP Internet Service Provider
IP Internet Protocol
IPTV Internet Protocol Television
IT Information Technology
List of Abbreviations xxv
ITU International Telecommunications Union

ITU-D International Telecommunications Union Development sector
ISM Industrial, Scientific and Medical
IVR Interactive Voice Response
IXC Interconnection Point
LAN Local Area Network
LDC Least Developed Countries
LMS Learning Management System
LTE Long Term Evolution
LTE-A Long Term Evolution-Advanced
M2M Machine-to-Machine
M-Health Mobile Health
M-Services Mobile Services
MAMA Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action
MB Megabyte
Mbit/s Megabits per seconds
MHz Mega Hertz
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MENA Middle East and North Africa
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agencies
MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output
MMS Multimedia Messaging Service
MNO Mobile Network Operator
MOH Ministry of Health
MSO Mobile Service Operator
MTC Machine-Type Communications
MU-MIMO Multi-User MIMO
MVNO Mobile Virtual Network Operator
NCD Non-Communicable Diseases
NIP National Informatization Program
NIS National Innovation System
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
ODA Official Development Association
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OGP Open Government Partnership
OTT Over the top
OPEX Operational Expenditure
OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
R&D Research and Development
RF Radio Frequency
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
RoI Return on Investment
RSL Received Signal Levels
xxvi List of Abbreviations
P4 Public-Private-People-Partnership
PC Personal Computer
PCC Post Office and Cultural Centers
PIAC Public Internet Access Centers
PPC Public-Private-Community
PPI Public-Private Interplay
PPP Public-Private Partnership
QoS Quality of Service
RAN Radio Access Network
SADC South African Development Cooperation
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
SEK Swedish Krona
SME Small and Medium Enterprise
SMS Short Message Service
SIM Subscriber Identity Module
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, and Opportunity
TV Television
TVWS Television White Spaces
UHF Ultra-High Frequency
UMC Ukrainian Mobile Communications
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
UN United Nations
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations Children Fund
URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USD United States Dollar
USSD Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
VAT Value Added Tax
VHF Very High Frequency
vSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal
VTF Viet Nam Public Utility Telecommunication Service Fund
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
WAP Wireless Access Protocol
WHO World Health Organization
Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity
WSIS World Summits on the Information Society
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WLL Wireless Local Loop
WWRF Wireless World Research Forum
Introduction
Knud Erik Skouby, Idongesit Williams and Albert Gyamfi
The focus of this book is on the development of mobile communications

in developing countries and its prospects for 5G and the Internet of Things
(IOT). An effort is made to identify the successes, challenges and failures in
the mobile industry. Recommendations are made on the prospective solutions
to enable a greater adoption of IOT and yet to be deployed 5G networks.
The mobile industry in developing countries is neither in its nascent form
nor matured. There have been successes with respect to the development of
mobile cellular technology and services. Mobile cellular networks in deve-
loping countries from the late 1990’s onwards have witnessed tremendous
growth in the mobile communications market. According to the ITU, there
are more than 5 billion mobile cellular subscribers in developing coun-
tries accounting for 94% penetration of mobile cellular subscription in this
region (ITU, 2015 (c)). The number of unique subscribers may differ (See
(GSMA, 2016)). This is because research indicates that mobile telephone sub-
scribers in some developing countries own more than one mobile telephone
(Aker & Mbiti, 2010). Though the slight difference exists, the data from ITU
and GSMA are not far apart.
This growth has been enabled by market reforms aimed at facilitating
a competitive telecommunications market. These reforms were inspired by
regulatory reforms in the US and the EU. The market reforms have produced
the adoption of innovative mobile networks, new service/application and new
business models. The new business models have resulted in the delivery of
affordable service tariffs to mobile network subscribers, while the adoption
of newer generations of mobile networks and services have resulted in the
creation of new jobs. In East Africa, mobile cellular technology is used to
deliver mobile money and other forms of commercial transactions. Mobile
money is now available to 1.9 Billion people in developing countries (GSMA,
2016). There are other emerging mobile development innovative initiatives
with e-health, e-education.
1
2 Introduction
The vehicle of these market reforms have been ICT for Development
(ICT4D) policies. ICT4D policies have served as the catalyst for the facili-
tation of UN millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the current UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ICT4D initiatives with respect to
UN Millennium development goals include e-Health and e-Education initia-
tives such as the use of SMS for supporting health care initiatives and use of
SMS for education delivery can be found in Pakistan (WHO, 2011) (Trucano,
2011). These falls within the MDG 4 (reduce child mortality), MDG 5
(Improve maternal health), MDG 6 (Combat HIV/AIDS malaria and other
diseases) and MDG2 (Achieve Universal Primary education). The mobile
industry is also, currently, playing a transformative role in the attainment
of the SDGs (GSMA, 2016). Currently the mobile industry has made a
greater impact on about 4.8 billion people via SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation
and Infrastructure), SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 4 (Quality Education) and
SDG 13 (Climate Action) (see (GSMA, 2016)). These are extensions of
MDG 1 (Eradicate Extreme Poverty and hunger), MDG 2 (achieve universal
primary education) and MDG 7 (ensure environmental sustainability) (See
(UN, 2013)). In addition the aforementioned SDGs, players in the mobile
industry are currently working to fulfil SDG 5 (Gender equality) by promot-
ing women initiatives with respect to the adoption of mobile Internet and
Services; SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) by adding the indus-
try’s contribution to GDPs of developing countries; and SDG 11 (Sustainable
cities and communities) by providing technologies and expertise towards
disasters and humanitarian crises (GSMA, 2016).
The progressive growth and development in the mobile communications
market in developing countries has an impact on the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of these countries. In 2012 the mobile ecosystem was estimated
to have contributed between 0.8% and 1.2% to the GDP of developing
countries (Deloitte; GSMA; CISCO, 2012). This growth has continued and
the mobile industry in developing countries is not saturated. Hence there is
room for an increased contribution from the mobile industry to the GDP of
developing countries. Globally, the global GDP contribution from the mobile
industry was 1.4% and 4.2% in 2013 and 2016 respectively (GSMA, 2013)
(GSMA, 2016).
Though the retrospective assessment of the mobile communications
market looks impressive, the evolution of mobile networks in developing
markets occurred with inherent socio-political challenges within the different
markets in these countries. These challenges bothered on unstable political
climate, the volatility of some developing economies, political interference
Introduction 3
and in some cases the drawbacks of a competitive market. Many of the deve-
loping countries that recorded a high number of Mobile Network Operators
(MNO) are now left with a few. Some MNOs did not have the financial and
operational capacity to compete in the market. This would not be a problem,
if the existing operators were influenced by Universal Service Objectives.
Rather the challenge is that most mobile network operators operate in areas
that are commercially viable, leaving out areas that are not. In cases where
there are public incentives or market intervention initiatives, few network
operators do take advantage of these initiatives. In many cases, they do
not fully embrace these initiatives. This is because the public sector often
creates these initiatives without necessarily thinking about the profitability
of these incentives to the network operators. This development hampers the
extension of certain UN MDG and now UN SDG initiatives to areas that are
not commercially viable. This is sad because the UN considers the existence
of an ICT Infrastructure to facilitate the SDG goals (MDG Gap Task Force
Report, 2015).
These challenges affect the development of Next Generation Mobile Net-
works and Services in developing countries. This is because currently, mobile
cellular networks cannot efficiently deliver the services needed to facilitate
certain SDGs. Mobile Broadband networks have the ability to deliver Internet
Services more efficiently. The ability to deliver an efficient internet service is
directly proportional to the increase in the evolution of the mobile network.
Unfortunately, in developing countries, the adoption of mobile Broadband
networks is low. The ITU records that mobile Broadband subscription in
developing countries was 39.1% in 2015 (ITU, 2016). This implies that
majority in developing countries do not subscribe to mobile Broadband. This
has an extended effect towards the adoption of the Internet as most Internet
subscriptions are via mobile telephony – especially in rural areas (MDG Gap
Task Force Report, 2015) and the cost of extending mobile Broadband to
rural areas is high. This is because newer mobile Broadband technologies
are introduced into the market before previous mobile Broadband networks
mature and are generally developed in the market. Incumbent mobile network
operators have to acquire new expensive frequencies, upgrade their network
and plan new roll out initiatives. Such roll out initiatives occurs mostly
in areas that are commercially viable. New mobile network technologies
are often introduced by newer entrants into the market emerge before the
incumbent could earn a Return on Investment (RoI). This is evident in the
case of the evolution of 3G mobile networks to 4G mobile networks and it
has produced a digital divide in developing countries with respect to mobile
4 Introduction
Internet subscription (See (GSMA, 2016)). Conversely, this challenge also

affects the continuation in the achievements made with respect to the MDGs
and the attainment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In this book three analytical approaches are adopted in discussing the
problem. The first approach is to analyze the policies and the emerging
markets. As implied in the first approach, the mobile industry in developing
countries, though not mature is advanced. This creates the room for evaluation
of the policies adopted to identify areas where success and failure was
achieved. It will further enable policy makers and market players to take steps
towards avoiding the pitfalls or strengthening the successes as 5G and other
next generation mobile is being rolled out. It is quite rare for developing coun-
tries to take a retrospective look at the development of the mobile industry.
Once cannot overlook the evolving nature with respect to infrastructure and
service in the mobile industry to society. This presents an opportunity for ex-
ante policies that will aid in shaping the societal dimensions in the delivery of
5G. Hence, the first 3 chapters present an analysis of sections of the mobile
markets and policies in Vietnam, Ukraine and Colombia.
The second approach adopted is the identification of challenges in the
policy outcome and the emerging mobile market. In the previous paragraph,
the identification of challenges was mentioned in passing. In Chapter 4 to
Chapter 7 these challenges are identified with respect to affordable pricing
(business modelling), the adoption of mobile applications by various sectors
of the economy, security and privacy challenges and the challenge of digital
divide. Though these challenges are identified, there are many other layers of
the market, where challenges can be identified. This may not necessary vary
from country to country, but different countries -depending on their national
vision- can identify challenges in different strata of the market that will
affect their vision/plan. Chapter 4 to Chapter 8 deals with different challenges
identified in mobile market developing countries.
The third approach is to identify prescriptions that will enable deve-
loping countries to adopt 5G. These prescriptions are borne out of existing
challenges identified in the mobile market in developing countries. The pre-
scriptions border on the identification of areas where IOT will be beneficial
for developing countries, the development of smart applications with IOT
and the delivery of community 5G networks. An important aspect of this –
Chapters 9 to 11, is the call for a shift in research focus to find out ways by
which 5G services will be delivered in rural areas.
In Chapter 1 the role of Universal service policies in the development
of fixed and mobile telephony markets in Vietnam is described. Based on
Introduction 5
the roles described, a perspective of the Vietnamese approach towards the

promoting of Universal Service Policies for 5G is discussed. In this chap-
ter it is explained that Vietnam’s approach to Universal service policy has
evolved from towards technology specific approach to technology neutrality.
The Vietnamese Government from 2005 onwards has consistently embarked
on consecutive 5-year Universal Service policies for the delivery of fixed-
line telephony, Mobile telephony and now Broadband Internet technology
and services. They adopt a mixture of the regulatory and development
approach towards facilitating Universal Service. The development approach
is adopted mostly for rural telephony and Broadband development. However
the technology transition from mobile cellular telephony to mobile and fixed
Broadband services, presents the possibility of delivering Broadband services
with various Broadband technologies. In the current Universal Service policy,
program 1168, the Vietnamese Government prefers the delivery of Broadband
networks, whose delivery they can facilitate now. Therefore this chapter
concludes, that the Universal Service of 5G networks will have to occur in a
market driven environment. The caveat here is that there is the possibility of
promoting the development of 5G infrastructure in rural Vietnam, if there are
services that will be useful in rural areas, which are not provided by existing
Broadband solutions.
In Chapter 2, the challenges in the implementation of policies regula-
ting the ICT and e-government infrastructures in the Ukraine is discussed.
Ukraine’s objective towards the development these infrastructures are to
promote the development of an information society – with emphasis in facili-
tating electronic communications. The chapter describes various regulatory
instruments, the modest successes, challenges, solutions adopted for these
challenges and the nagging challenges affecting the implementation of these
regulatory instruments. The regulatory instruments discussed are both EU-
influenced instruments, internally generated instruments and instruments
influenced by the civil society in the Ukraine. The chapter concludes that the
nagging factors affecting the implementation of the regulatory instruments
has to be dealt with if Ukraine is to develop her ICT and e-government further.
Examples of such factors include the lack of a coordinated implementation of
ICT policies and the lack of human, technical as well as operational capacity
to implement the policies and regulations.
In Chapter 3, the will to innovate and the adoption of ICT to improve the
education sector in Colombia is discussed. The chapter begins by providing
a theoretical overview on the kinds of ICT Policies. This overview is used
to analyze the adoption of ICTs in the educational sector of Latin American
6 Introduction
countries and in Columbia. South American countries share a homogenous

educational policy. These goals are ascribed in the “Educational Goal 2021”
policy. In these goals, the facilitation of e-education is an important com-
ponent of this policy. Unfortunately, these e-education goals are yet to be
achieved in full in the region. Colombia on the other hand has specific ICT
policies aimed at developing the education sector. The operationalization
of these policies is embedded in the different tiers of the governmental
structure in Colombia. This is because of the will to innovate and improve
the educational sector by the Government of Colombia. The positive aspect of
this policy is the reduction in the number of students per computer. To provide
a deeper insight into the how the will to innovate works in Colombia, 5 educa-
tional ICT policies adopted in Colombia are analyzed. These are policies with
respect to virtualization, training, planning, production of digital resources
and researching. It is concluded, based on the Colombian experience, that
the will to innovate is an important intrinsic attribute needed to facilitate a
successful ICT policy in education.
Chapter 4 makes an argument for zero-rating in the delivery of 5G and
next generation networks in developing countries. The need or otherwise for
zero-rating in the delivery of mobile services in developing economies is an
ongoing discussion among regulators and academics globally. In some cases,
zero-rating has been said to inhibit competition. In other cases, zero-rating
has been touted to aid the affordability of mobile network services in deve-
loping countries. In this chapter, the debate on zero-rating is reviewed with
respect to price discrimination and Net-neutrality. The issues with regards
the effect of zero-rating on price discrimination and net neutrality are not
disputed. However this chapter argues that zero-rating presents supply and
demand opportunities for a greater diffusion and adoption of mobile Broad-
band Internet services in developing countries. The demand opportunities
presented by zero-rating is made possible by its intrinsic properties such as
the tariff affordability, the gradual introduction of relevant content to sub-
scribers and the inherent readiness of the subscriber. This inherent readiness
is attributed to the low search cost accrued by the subscriber. This presents
the subscriber with the possibility of developing curiosity towards exploring
different zero-rated solution. The supply opportunity stems from the pos-
sibility of improving the economics for capital investment, the increase in
service based competition and the potential for an expanded app and content
development market. Based on the demand and supply opportunities, the
chapter offers prescriptions, using the identified demand and supply dynamics
towards building a digital economy for developing countries. It also presents
Introduction 7
five questions that should guide regulators in developing countries towards

developing regulating zero-rating.
In Chapter 5, the impact of the digital divide in African countries is
discussed. The context of the divide is with respect to the access or otherwise
to telephony (mobile) and the internet due to gender and social status. Within
this context, this chapter explains that the divide exists because of economic,
demographic, cost of access to ICTs and policy barriers despite the growth
in the mobile technology market in Africa. Case studies from Rwanda and
Malawi. Though these countries have enacted ICT policies, which has served
as enabler in different sectors of the economy, both countries still experience
the digital divide. Less than 20% of the inhabitants of these countries have use
the Internet. Both countries are still have a long way to go in extending Mobile
broadband infrastructure. This chapter concludes that the digital divide is real
in Africa. In relation to this book, the factors affecting the digital divide in
Africa now, may have the same impact with respect to 5G delivery.
In Chapter 6, the challenges facing the adoption of M-health in Africa
are discussed. The chapter identifies, Africa as a continent with a rapid
economic growth. It is a continent where there is a rapid penetration of mobile
telephony. However, these growth indices does not match the continents
inability to handle health relates issues. Different inefficiencies that hamper
the delivery of health care services in the continent are highlighted. The
outcome of these inefficiencies includes high mortality rate and the inability
to tackle pandemics like HIV aids etc. However, there have been efforts
from International Donor Agencies (IDAs), NGOs and other private initiative
to deliver mobile solutions that can support health care delivery in Africa.
Using the GSMA’s mHealth tracker and the USAID’s mHealth compendium
it is clear that Africa has the highest number of mHealth applications in
the world. Some of the applications, studied as cases in this report include
cSTOCK, MomConnect, U-Report, mHero, Rapid SMS Rwanda and Airtel/
MicroEnsure. Though these initiatives exist, there are challenges with the
SMS cost for access to the service, the lack of supporting Internet infras-
tructure, lack of electricity, lack of content in local language, lack of
standardization for the technologies used in the sector among others. This
chapter identifies design, security, regulatory and sustainability solutions that
will enable the desire to adopt, scalability and sustainability of the mHealth
solutions.
Chapter 7 highlights the challenge of spectrum as a scarce resource in
Ghana. It proposes the adoption of TV white spaces to enable the extension
of wireless technology in Ghana. The adoption of TV white spaces has a
8 Introduction
long-term effect for the mobile market in Ghana. This is because in the
5G ecosystem, wireless transmitting and receiving devices will require more
spectrum. However, it is of the opinion of this chapter that the best ways
to prepare for the future it so facilitate the adoption of these white spaces
to transmit existing wireless technologies. The argument for white spaces
in this chapter includes, spectral efficiency of white spaces in the uneven
topography in Ghana, the potential to extend connectivity to a large surface
area, the potential for TV white space signals to penetrate obstacles as they
are transmitted on lower frequencies, the potential power of TV White space
base stations and potential lower cost of deploying base stations compared
to 3G. With these characteristics, the chapter argues that rural connectivity
can be achieved using TV white spaces. These arguments are backed by
a practical case study conducted in the Eastern region of Ghana. Based on
this case study, the chapter concludes that the adoption of TV white spaces
should be considered via development policies by the regulatory authorities
in developing countries.
Chapter 8 offers a predictive outlook towards the potentials of smart far-
ming by using connected devices. Currently, mobile telephony applications
are adoption to support supply chain management systems, information
services and the linking of buyers to suppliers in the agricultural sector
in developing countries. These initiatives range from SMS based mobile
applications to mobile and Internet-based platforms. The potential to deliver
more platform-based services is enhanced by the rapid expansion of national
backbone infrastructure and mobile Broadband network connectivity in
developing countries. This presents an opportunity for farmers with access
to affordable mobile network connectivity. It also presents a seamless service
adoption handover for the farmers as they transit from the adoption of current
mobile Broadband technologies to next generation mobile technologies. This
is because in some developing countries, some farmers have adopted the
agricultural service platforms delivered via different mobile devices. Based
on these chapter proposes that there are prospects for capitalization of net-
works (Via Big-Data etc.), the adoption of IOT and the delivery of other smart
farming initiatives on diverse devices. The chapter concludes that the there are
countless possibilities for the adoption of smart farming with next generation
mobile. The caveat is that developers of M-Services should develop platforms
that are scalable and are relevant to less resourced farmers.
In Chapter 9, the potential absorptive capacity of 5G for African coun-
tries is discussed. The reference of this discussion is with respect to the
current impact and challenges in the mobile industry in the African market.
Introduction 9
This chapter begins by enumerating the success with respect to the pene-
tration of mobile telephony in Africa. It further, identifies the emerging socio-
economic trends enabled by the mobile market in Africa. It then takes a
turn by cautioning that though the development of the mobile industry is
advanced in Africa, there will be problems in the adoption of 5g services in
Africa. The chapter envisages the revolutionary aspects of 5G as problematic.
This is because the technology supports more of service and technology
platforms than just tools for development. Therefore, the adoption of 5G and
its application in the economy will differ and it will have consequences to
the African society. To support this argument, the impact of IoT, artificial
intelligence other shared economic services to industries and the society is
discussed. These services are identified to have a positive impact on the
productivity of industries. Industries can earn a higher RoI will less labor
force if the 5G services are adopted. On the other hand, there is the challenge
of unemployment in society. The chapter recommends ex-ante regulatory
initiatives, the facilitation of new business ecosystems, the evolution of
human resources, stakeholder coordination and the promotion of local and
intrinsic markets as solutions that may help African countries harness the
absorptive capacity of 5G – hence mitigating the negative effect of adopting
the technology.
In Chapter 10 an analysis of the alternate 5G research agenda in deve-
loping countries is analyzed. The chapter begins by providing an insight
into various historical developmental, regulatory and research approaches
towards the development of rural telecommunications. The analysis results
in the assertion that the problem of rural connectivity has been long and
complex. On the other hand these approaches are identified as the anchor for
the existing divergent approaches towards research and development of 5G.
Hence the research into 5G, and how rural Broadband can be developed, has
been segmented into divergent research agendas driven by different standard
bodies and industry interests. This chapter argues that the divergent agenda
will not necessarily favor the extension of 5G into rural areas in developing
countries. Rather, effort should be made to adopt a wider scope of studies
with neutral, interdisciplinary and holistic agendas. Such research should also
include long-term strategic plans and potential unexpected results. However,
for such research to become valuable, it should serve as an input or a feedback
mechanism to existing developmental policies. Examples of current research
areas on extending 5G to rural areas that could be relevant for policy makers
include: bottom-up feasibility, cost engineering, energy driven design, life
cycle management, Spectrum regulation, usage trends, cooperatives, rural
10 Introduction
demand and marginal impact. The chapter concludes that the existence of
a digital divide with respect to 5G is real. At the same time there is an
opportunity to identify ways by which 5G will be supplied and adopted in
rural areas in developing countries.
Chapter 11 is a simulation of a proposed organizational and financial
strategy that would aid in the development of 5G RAN networks in rural
areas. Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are used as cases for the simu-
lation. The organizational and financial strategy is inspired from an existing
organizational and financial strategy adopted in the facilitation of FTTH in
rural areas of Europe and the United states. The basis of the chapter is that
the ability of 5G to provide enormous bandwidth provides the opportunity
for platform or cloud based services to be extended into rural areas of Asia.
It is identified that there is demand opportunity in Asia. This is because of
the presence of thousands of cooperatives operating in some Asian countries
with their cumulative member population running into millions. The coop-
eratives are said to contribute to GDP and conduct volumes of transactions
annually. Most of them are also located in rural areas. Based on this potential
demand, platform services can be delivered on Public 5G RAN infrastructure
to support the activities of the cooperatives. This proposed organizational
and financial strategy is termed the Public Private network/service operator
Community (PPC) strategy network. It is believes that these strategies will
not only facilitate a demand-pull to make rural areas commercially viable,
but it will also enable a supply push as well.
1
The Evolution of Universal Service
in Vietnam and Its Implication for 5G
Thai Do Manh
Viet Nam Public Utility Telecommunication Service Fund,
Vietnam
1.1 Introduction
This chapter is a description of the Universal Service regime in Vietnam
and its implications on the universal service of 5G services. Vietnam is a
major emerging market in the ASEAN region. Its population in 2014 was
approximately 90 million people, ranked 3rd in ASEAN (after Indonesia and
the Philippines) and 14th in the world1 . Having reformed its telecom sector
since the 1990s, Vietnam has made significant achievements with respect to
telecom infrastructure and service development, as will be see in this chapter.
Based on this achievement, Vietnam is ranked 10th in Asia in terms of the
volume of Internet users in 2012 (MIC, 2012). It is also a fast growing mobile
market in the ASEAN region.
Vietnam’s recent achievement in the delivery of mobile and internet
infrastructure and services is because of Universal Service policies adopted
by the Government of Vietnam. Initially, these policies were aimed at the
facilitation services delivered via fixed-line telephony infrastructure. The
policy was then extended to the facilitation of mobile cellular services. In
recent times the Universal Service policies in Vietnam are aimed towards
the development of mobile broadband and fixed-broadband services. 5G
will deliver mobile Broadband services. Currently, Vietnam is technology
neutral in its approach towards facilitating the Universal service of Broadband
technology. The current policy emphasis is on the data rates delivered and
not on the technology. As will be seen in this chapter, there are current policy
1
Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam
11
initiatives being implemented to deliver wireless, mobile and fixed-broadband

services in rural Vietnam. The emphasis on the data rates, imply that 5G
services will have to compete with existing Broadband infrastructure, based
on relevance to be considered as a technology needed to facilitate Universal
Service of Broadband. Therefore there is the certainty that 5G services will
be delivered and adopted in the urban areas of Vietnam. It is not clear now, if
it the services will be relevant to people in rural Vietnam.
To aid industry players and policy makers in Vietnam, realize this scenario
as well as do something about it, this chapter explores the Vietnamese
approach towards Universal Service policy development for fixed-line tele-
phony, mobile telephony and broadband service delivery. The exploration is
to reveal the outcomes desired by the Vietnamese Government, when they
develop a Universal Service for a telecom service. Thereby enabling players
in the mobile industry to device means for enabling the delivery of 5G in
rural Vietnam. The exploration involves the identification of the different
Universal Service policies for each technology; the stakeholders involved in
the implementation of these policies as well as the Vietnamese approach and
reason for stimulating the market in rural areas. Based on the outcome of this
exploration, a conclusion can be made on how the evolving Universal service
policies of Vietnam may impact on the universal service of 5G.
This chapter is divided into five parts. The first part is the introduction.
The second part presents a brief overview of the evolution of the Vietnamese
telecommunications market. The third part presents the details of the evolu-
tion of Universal Service policies in Vietnam and the stakeholders involved.
The fourth part presents the Vietnamese approach towards facilitating the
demand and supply dynamics their telecommunications market. The fifth
part presents the implications of the Vietnamese policy and market devel-
opment approach to the universal service of 5G service. The sixth part is the
concluding part of this chapter.
1.2 Overview of the Vietnamese Telecoms Policy

and Market
1.2.1 A Snapshot on the Evolution of the Telecom Market
in Vietnam
The telecom market in Vietnam has evolved from a monopoly to a competi-
tive market. In 1995, Vietnam had less than 1 million fixed line subscribers
and only 23,500 mobile telephone subscriptions. The tele density was 0.4
percentage (Ha, Thanh, & Gullish, 2005). The market was dominated by the
1.2 Overview of the Vietnamese Telecoms Policy and Market 13
state-owned-company monopoly (VNPT) and no competition existed at that

time. VNPT was responsible for the provision of postal and telecom services.
The monopoly of VNPT ended in 1995 as two new entrants (Viettel and
SPT) were licensed to provide telecom services. The year 1997 Vietnam also
witnessed an important milestone as Vietnam officially connected to the inter-
national Internet network (Kelly & Michael, 2002). The connection late was
due to the hesitation of the government to connect to the Internet, as they were
scared of the influence of external forces providing alternative information
that differed from the Government’s perspective (ibid). In the same year, the
government also granted five internet service providers (VNPT, Viettel, SPT,
FPT, and Netnam) licences to deliver Internet services (Dung, 2012). These
licensees were state-owned companies, and a few years later SPT, FPT, and
Netnam transformed into joint stock companies with investments from private
partners. In 2001, ETC (then renamed EVN), a state-owned company belong-
ing to the Vietnam Electricity Corporation, were awarded a unified license
to provide all telecom services (fixed local, domestic and international long
distance, leased line, mobile and VOIP services). The entrance of ETC into
the telecom market was aimed at facilitating competition in the Vietnamese
telecoms market. This was due to some advantages posed by ETC such as its
financial capacity, its nationwide electricity network, and their innovativeness
in applying new technology. In the same year, Viettel and SPT were also
licensed to deliver VoIP services.
The evolution of the telecommunications market was greater in the mobile
telephony market, than other telecom markets. Prior to 2003, as indicated
earlier, the Universal Service policy towards mobile services was aimed at
achieving 26 percent penetration by 2010. In those days the Vietnamese
mobile telephony market was dominated by Vinaphone and Mobifone (both
are subsidiaries of VNPT. Mobifone used to be a cooperation between
VNPT with Comvik, Sweden via a Business Cooperation Contract-BCC).
Although Viettel, SPT, and ETC had been licensed, they did not deliver
mobile telephony services yet. The rate of penetration mobile telephony in
2002 was 2.3 percent (USAID, 2005). In 2004, after a period to trial Viettel
and SPT officially launched their fixed wireless service respectively. SPT
later launched a mobile telephony service with the brand name S-phone.
SPT was BCC between SPT and SK telecom, South Korea. Vinaphone and
Mobifone, Viettel used GSM 900/1800 technology to deliver their mobile
services. However, SPT delivered CDMA technology with the expectation
of delivering high quality services in comparison to the GSM operators. In
2005, HT Mobile (a BCC between Hanoi Telecom, Vietnam and Hutchison
Telecom, Hong Kong) started providing mobile telephony services using the
CDMA 2000 technology. ETC also commenced providing mobile cellular

services in 2006 using the CDMA technology. At this point it safe to say that
the Vietnamese telecoms market was becoming more attractive to foreign
investors. Therefore in 2008, Beeline (a BCC between Gtel, Vietnam with
Vimpelcom, Russia) joined the market as a GSM operator.
In 2010, Vietnam had seven mobile service providers (Mobifone, Vina-
phone, Viettel, ETC, SPT, HT Mobile, and Beeline). To some extent, by
liberalizing telecom market, Vietnam has made remarkable achievements in
terms of the penetration rate of mobile telephony. The annual growth rate of
mobile phone subscription was impressive despite the low base starting point.
The growth rates were 238.3%, 166.3%, 31.2, and 13.6% for the years 2007,
2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively (MIC, 2009; MIC, 2010; MIC, 2011). And
in 2013, the penetration rate was 137.93% (MIC, 2014). It is safe to say that
there will be more evolutions in this market enabled via a competitive market.
But how it will affect the Universal Service of 5G services is uncertain.
1.2.2 A Snapshot of Vietnamese Telecom Policy Approach

The evolution from the monopoly to a competitive market has been made
possible by different telecommunication policies. These policies are
explained later in this chapter. These policies in Vietnam are often termed
“development goals”, “development strategies” or “programs”. The targets
of the Vietnamese telecommunications development goals ranging from 1996
to 2020 – extracted from the national development strategies for the periods
1996–2000, 2001–2010, and 2011–2020 – are demonstrated in Table 1.1.
As seen in Table 1.1, 1996 was the year Vietnam did set up her first
telecommunications development strategy (Decision 110)2 . The objective
then was to achieve a tele-density of 5 fixed lines by the year 2000. There
was no universal service obligation for other telecom services. However,
five years later, in 2001 the new tele density target expected by the year
2010 was revised to 16 telephone sets per 100 inhabitants. The expected
penetration rate for the Internet, within the same time frame, was 12 percent
and, 26 percent was the target for mobile phone subscription (Decision
158)3 . Furthermore, in 2012 Vietnam further revised upwards the penetration
rate for fixed broadband internet, mobile broadband internet and mobile
2
Decision no 110 issued on February 22nd 1997 by the Prime Minister approving the
national development strategy on Posts and Telecom period 1996–2000.
3
Decision no 158 issued on October 18th 2001 by the Prime Minister approving the national
development strategy on Posts and Telecommunication to 2010 and orientation to 2020.
1.2 Overview of the Vietnamese Telecoms Policy and Market 15
Table 1.1 Overview of the targets of the telecommunication development goals in Vietnam
Indicators 1996–2000 2001–2010 2011–2020
Expected percentage 5 16 25
of fixed line
subscribers
Expected percentage – 26 140*
of mobile phone
subscribers
Expected percentage – 12 20 (fixed broadband
of internet internet)
subscribers 40 (mobile broadband
internet)
Expected percentage – – 45
of households having
fixed line
Expected percentage – – 40
of households’
internet access
Percentage of almost 100 100
communes having
fixed line
Percentage of – – 100
communes’ internet
access
Source: MIC.
*: The target till 2015
–: No data
cellular subscription. The further revision was aimed at the year 2020. By that
year the expected penetration rate of fixed broadband internet was 20 percent;
mobile broadband subscription is expected to grow by 40 percent and mobile
cellular subscription is expected to grow by 140 percent (Decision 32)4 .
The initial policy targets were low because the Vietnamese government
viewed the telecom infrastructure as critical to national security. However,
as Vietnam opened up its market for foreign investments, it had to create
a balance between national security and its GDP growth. Therefore the
Vietnamese government is cautious about the growth of telecoms infrastruc-
ture that grants no trade off with GDP growth. Therefore expected growth of
telecom networks are designed to favor one technology over the other due to
its value to national GDP and feasibility of deployment in remote areas and
4
Decision no 32 issued on July 27th 2012 by the Prime Minister approving the national
telecommunication development strategy to 2020.
the mountainous regions of Vietnam. This is evident in Table 1.1. In that table,
one can see that, though the policies goals seem ambitious, there is greater
interest in the penetration in certain telecom technologies at a certain period.
An example can be seen in the case of mobile telephony and Internet
services. As seen in Table 1.1, there is a greater desire for the growth of these
services for the period 2011–2020. The plausible reason, mobile telephone
subscription was given increased policy attention was because of its potential
positive impact on the national GDP. This plausible reason is corroborated by
GSMA. In their report, they mentioned that, the impact of the mobile industry
on the GDP of Vietnam is expected to reach 40 percent between 2014 and
2020 (GSMA, 2016). Another reason is because, it is easier and cheaper to
deploy mobile telephony towards rural areas. Therefore the expected outcome
of the policy with respect to mobile telephony is high.
Another example can be seen in the case of Broadband. This value of the
adoption of Broadband services to GDP is the reason there is an increasing
policy attention to broadband Internet delivery (Minh, 2011). As mentioned
earlier, Vietnam adopts a technology neutral position towards the Broad-
band delivery. So in Table 1.1, one could say that Vietnam expects a 60%
penetration in Broadband subscription between 2011 and 2020. The current
penetration of fixed and mobile Broadband in Vietnam is 8.14 percent 38.98%
respectively (Broadband commission, 2016). However, urban Vietnam is
saturated with fixed and wireless Broadband Services, but this is not the case
with rural Vietnam. Therefore there is much room for growth.
The outcomes of telecommunication policies and the subscribers for each
telecom policy can be seen in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2 Telephony subscription in the Vietnamese telecoms market

Mobile
Mobile Fixed Broadband Broadband
Year Fixed Telephone Telephone Internet Internet
2009 20.12% 113.40% 3.71% 8.10%
(17,427,365) (98,223,980) (3,214,584) (7,029,368)
2010 16.45% 127.70% 4.20% 8.80%
(14,374,438) (111,570,201) (3,669,321) (7,669,544)
2011 11.52% 144,19% 4.33% 18.1%
(10,174,849) (127,318,045) (3,828,388) (16,014,991)
2012 10.72% 148.33% 5.35% 17.2%
(9,556,089) (131,673,724) (4,775,368) (15,327,826)
2013 7.50% 137.93% 5.74% 19.2%
(6,725,329) (123,735,557) (5,152,576) (17,214,781)
Source: MIC, 2011; MIC, 2012; MIC, 2013; MIC, 2010; MIC, 2009.
1.3 The Evolution of Universal Service Policies in Vietnam 17
Vietnam has adopted various forms of market interventions, as will be

discussed later, to develop the telecom market. However, more emphasis has
been placed in the promotion of competition by liberalizing the telecoms
market. Though the figures in Table 1.2, identifies the success of the policy
with respect to the policy targets in Table 1.1, the policy interventions has not
been without downsides.
In the fixed-line telephony market, Business Corporate Contracts (BCC)
arrangements adopted to facilitate telecom infrastructure, was more success-
ful in the delivery of mobile telecom services than fixed-line services. How-
ever, these arrangements were successful with respect to the development of
Fixed-line backbone infrastructure.
In the mobile telephony market, due to the overcrowding of the market
intense competition did emerge between mobile network providers. They
did introduce promotional programs to attract new users and draw customers
from their rivals rather than focusing on improving the quality of services or
providing new services. Thus, their ARPU was increasingly declined. The
mobile ARPU in 2008 reached US$6 which is lower than the ARPU in
2007 and 2006 which were US$6.5 and US$7 respectively (Business Monitor
International, 2011)5 .
However, despite these minor downsides, it is also safe to say that the
Vietnamese Government is more likely to promote policies for technologies
that will have a positive impact on national GDP.
1.3 The Evolution of Universal Service Policies in Vietnam

Prior to 2005 Vietnam did not emphasize on universal services in their
telecommunication policies. In 2006, the first universal services program
was introduced (the program on the provision of public telecommunica-
tions services until 2010). Earlier in 2005 VTF, an entity belonging to
MIC, was established to support provision of universal services. Sub-
sequently, in 2011 the second program on provision of universal services
was approved by the Prime Minister and would have to be implemented
within 5 years, from 2011 to 2015 (Decision 1643)6 . However, the second
program was postponed and reformulated due to the underestimation
5
Business Monitor International. Vietnam Telecommunication Report. Quarter 1/2011.
6
Decision no 1643 issued on September 21st 2011 by the Prime Minister approving the
program of provision of universal services period 2011–2015.
of the pace of technology development and the incompatibility of the new

technology with the existing ICT infrastructure and other national policies
with respect to rural development (Report 74)7 . Ultimately, on July 24th,
2015 the government issued another program, the Program on provision
of public telecommunications services until 2020 (Decision 1168). In this
section, the details of these policies and the key stakeholders involved will be
discussed.
1.3.1 Before 2005

In order to join the global economy, the Vietnamese government was required
to revise its regimes, laws and regulations in order to comply with interna-
tional norms as well as facilitate competition and economic development.
Telecommunication reform was an essential condition before Vietnam could
sign Bilateral Trade Agreements with the US as well as joined in WTO
(Kelly & Michael, 2002). The Vietnamese government began the reforms by
spinning off the regulatory and commercial function from DGPT in 1994 and
awarding licenses to new market entrants (Viettel and SPT) in 1995. This
opened a new period in the Vietnam telecommunications market. Competi-
tion was promoted by liberalizing the market and inviting new investment
from foreign companies into Vietnam, albeit still much limited.
In this period, the definition of universal services was not clear and
explicit. The basic services that warranted Universal services were emergency
calls such as medical first aid and security incidents, and basic telephone/post
services provided to rural areas (communes), tele-centers and security and
defense stations lying near borders (Decree 51, 1995)8 .
In this period, the key players that were involved in facilitating universal
services were DGPT, international organizations and VNPT9 in which DGPT
as a regulator and a policy maker.
7
Report of MIC on the implementation of the Program on provision of public-utility
telecommunications services towards 2010.
8
Decree no 51 issued on August 1st 1995 by the Government approving the statute of
VNPT.
9
In 1995, SPT and Viettel were awarded licences to provide telecommunication services,
and in 1997 Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT) and Netnam were
permitted to supply internet services. However, they did not have sufficient recourses and
capability as VNPT, they only operated in urban and profitable areas. Hence, VNPT was only
a player assigned tasks to deploy universal services.
The nation government – DGPT: DGPT was a state organization in charge

of posts, telecommunications, radio frequency and IT services. In 2003 was
renamed, the Ministry of Post and Telematics and in 2007 was renamed,
the Ministry of Information and Communications. DGPT was not only a
policy maker in charge of submitting the government drafts of law, ordinance,
regulations, and development strategies; but also a regulator with the respon-
sibilities of regulating charges and tariffs, granting licenses in these fields
(Ha et al., 2005; Kelly & Michael, 2002). Within its role, DGPT proposed
to the Prime Ministry to issue strategies for national posts and telecom-
munications development for the periods: 1996–2000 (Decision 110, 1997);
2001–2010 and towards to 2020 (Decision 158, 2001). After the proposal was
approved, DGPT proceeded to introduce Decision 62610 in 1998 and Order
0911 in 2001 to clarify the objectives and tasks enshrined in the strategies.
They requested organizations and telecom providers belonging to DGPT
to implement them.
However, the universal services objectives were very modest and poor
back then. According to Decision 110, “telecommunication network and
telephone services would be improved and developed in order to match the
maximum demand of customers and society”. The first year of the strategy
would focus on education, health and distant-prescriptions. Whilst, Decision
158 only stipulated that universal services would be provided to all regions of
the country. The focus was on improving the quality of service and reduction
of tariff to a threshold that was equal to or lower than the one of neighboring
countries. Indeed, the provision of universal services was not a priority for the
government and DGPT. The prime objectives of the existing strategies then,
were to build up a state of the art telecommunication infrastructure system,
guarantee the absolute control of the state over telecom networks as well as
the nation security and sovereignty.
With respect to the internet, based on the hard effort of DGPT in per-
suading the then government to connect to the internet (due to the fear of
national security), in December 1997 Vietnam gained access to the interna-
tional network (Kelly & Michael, 2002). The internet penetration initially
was also very low; a mere 0.25 Internet users per 100 inhabitants at the end
of 2000 (Kelly & Michael, 2002). Majority of users lived in urban areas,
particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – who accounted for 86 per cent of
all subscribers.
10
Decision no 626 issued on October 5th 1998 by the Director General of DGPT.
11
Order no 09 issued on November 30th 2001 by the Director General of DGPT.
International organizations: In the process of liberalizing the telecommu-

nication sector, Vietnam had to cope with a huge demand for capital and
management skills. These resources would assist Vietnam in building up
new infrastructures as well as operate and monitor these infrastructure. Inter-
national organizations played an important role in the development of net-
work infrastructure via Official Development Assistance (ODA). The capital
mostly came from developed countries (Japan, Europe) and World Bank.
In the period, 2001–2003, the government offered VNPT a soft loan
allocated from ODA funding to set up new telecommunication infrastructure
in rural and remote areas. The loan was roughly US$39 million US and
accounted for 3% of the capital investment of this firm12 . Although this
percentage of capital investment was low for VNPT, this loan also contributed
to the development and the expansion of networks in rural and remote areas.
The loan also facilitated the provision of basic telephone services.
VNPT: At that time, VNPT controlled the telecommunication market includ-

ing equipment, engineering, constructing, and consulting. Their market share
accounted for approximately 94% of the market (Ha et al., 2005). Due to
the fact that they had nationwide coverage of different aspect of their infras-
tructure, extended into almost all communes (both of telecommunication
and post services), VNPT was the logical entity appointed to carry out the
provision of universal services (Decree 51). They were also allowed to apply
the cross-subsidies mechanism for their business. Here, VNPT could take
excess profit from one service to offset the cost of another service below cost
levels.
One substantial contribution of VNPT towards enhancing the provision of
universal services was the setting up of a network of Post Office and Cultural
Centers (PCC) throughout the country. This initiative started in 1998 and
its major objective was the provision of basic post, telephone services and
newspapers to local dwellers in rural and isolated areas. Before 1998, there
were only 3,000 post offices in 9,000 communes throughout the country and
they were mainly located in urban areas and towns. Each post office served
an average number of 25,500 inhabitants. However, up till 2007, VNPT had
set up 8,021 PCCs and the achievement led to the formation of a network of
18,941 places (including post offices and PCCs) within entire the country
(Tuan, 2011). Consequently, the serving distance per place reduced from
12
Project on establishing Vietnam Public Utility Telecommunication Service Fund. MIC,
2004.
110 square kilometers to 17.5 square kilometers and the average number of
inhabitants served was 4,500 per place13 .
The difference between the post office and the PCC was that, besides pro-
viding post and telephone services, PCCs were places where local dwellers
could exchange information – they could come to read newspapers free of
charge. Moreover, local communities also contributed towards this achieve-
ment by providing convenient places, close to markets or village center, for
the building of PCCs and VNPT only invested facilities used for operations.
In 2003, with partial funding from the state’s budget, VNPT installed
internet connection to about 3,000 PCCs and distributed about one to two
computers to each PCC (Tuan, 2011). Based on that, many PCCs pro-
vided more services to the locals, such as online game service, searching
information and training for computer usage skills.
According to MIC’s report on PCCs in 2008, the network of PCCs made
a great contribution to delivering universal services in rural areas. It was also
attributed to have contributed to the reaching of 100% of communes with
telephone services throughout country; facilitated access to basic post and
telephone services for local citizens as well14 .
1.3.2 From 2005–2010: Program on Provision of Public

Telecommunications Services until 2010
This section outlines some key aspects of the first program on provision of
public telecommunications services for the period 2005–2010.
Since 2005, in response to commitments to the World Trade Organiza-
tion (Vietnam has become a member since 2006) and aiming to bridge the
digital divide between urban and rural areas, the Vietnamese government
has focused on developing universal services by eliminating the cross-
subsidization mechanism, establishing VTF, and formulating programs on
provision of universal telecommunications services; integrating them into
other national programs (Lee, 2011; Dung, 2012).
In 2006, the government issued the first universal service policy, namely
the Program on provision of public telecommunications services until 2010
(hereinafter Program 74). Program 74 was implemented within five years,
13
Available at http://english.mic.gov.vn/Pages/TinTuc/107648/Hoi-nghi-Toan-quoc-ve-
diem-Buu-dien—Van-hoa-xa.html
14
Available at http://mic.gov.vn/tintucsukien/tinhoatdongcuabo/Trang/hoinghidanhgia10na
mxaydunghoatdonghethongdiembdvhxa19982008.aspx
from 2005 to 2010. Its total budget was 5,200 billion VND (US$260 million
US). 5,100 billion VND (approximate US$ 255 million UD dollars) were
contributions of the annual revenue of the incumbent providers; 5% of
the mobile services revenue, 4% of the revenue of international telephone
services and international leased – line service, and 3% of the revenue of
domestic distant telephone services and domestic leased – line service. In
2007 these rates were reduced to 3%, 2% and 1% respectively – Decision
18615 . The rest, 100 billion VND (US$5 million), was from the ministerial
and provincial budget (Decision 74).
The main targets of Program 74 were:
• That the tele-density would reach 5 phone sets per 100 inhabitants;
• All communes throughout the country would have at least 1 tele-center;
• 70% of communes in the whole country would have at least a public
internet access center;
• All citizens would have access to the emergency telephone services.
Source: Program 74.
This is the first-time Vietnam introduced a clear definition for universal
services. Universal services, the so-called public telecommunications ser-
vices in Vietnam, included universal and mandatory telecommunications
services. In which, the universal telecommunications services were standard
telephone services and standard internet access; and the mandatory telecom-
munications services were emergency calls (such as medical first aid, social
order and security incidents, fire service, telecommunications services used
in search and rescue, the prevention and fighting of natural disasters, and
fixed telephone number inquiries. Program 74 did benefit all inhabitants and
households, either connecting to universal services at home or using these
services at public telecommunications services centers. All beneficiaries had
to live in areas (communes) whose tele-density was below 2.5 sets per 100
inhabitants (Program 74).
After five years, Program 74 achieved remarkable success, such as:
• The tele density increased to 16 lines per 100 inhabitants (increased
threefold from the initial objective);
• The penetration of internet increased to 0.32% in 2009 (increased almost
twofold compared to that in 2004);
15
Decision no 186 issued on December 3rd 2007 by the Prime Minister adapting the
Decision no 191 issued November 8th 2004.
• 97% of communes in the whole country had at least a public telephone

center;
• All citizens had free access to mandatory services (Report 74).
The results of Program 74 made a great contribution towards the reduction
in the digital divide as well as facilitated development in the society and
economy. In order to achieve these feat, the role of MIC, users and incumbent
providers were very substantial. Moreover, the establishment of VTF has been
considered as the ideal starting point towards the implementation of reform
for providing universal services (Lee, 2011).
However, some objectives of Program 74 have not been achieved yet.
Merely 55% of communes throughout the country had a public internet access
center and only 40% of households in unserved services areas had a fixed-
line (Report 74). The type of universal services was still limited as majority
of them were fixed lines and dial up internet access (Decision 43)16 . The
provision of public telecommunications services was mainly via the form
of ‘order place’ or ‘plan assignment’17 , not by bidding or basing on market
mechanism (Circular 05)18 .
1.3.3 Key Stakeholders in Implementing Program 74

In this section, the authors look at stakeholders in deploying Program 74 as
well as analyze initiatives implemented by the Vietnamese government to
clarify their role.
1.3.3.1 The stakeholders carried out the provision of universal

services
The government: At the country level, MIC played a critical role in formulat-
ing, controlling, and deploying Program 74 and influenced other stakeholders
via these initiatives depicted above.
To meet the requirements stipulated in international agreements (WTO
and the Bilateral Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the US), and further
16
Decision no 43 issued on November 2nd, 2006 by MIC regulating the list of public utility
telecommunications services.
17
‘Order place’ meant that authorized-state-entities based on their budget and price of
provision of universal services to address subsidy and sign contracts with enterprises to
deliver these services. ‘Plan assignment’ meant that authorized-state-entities based on their
budget and state-owned-enterprises’ capability and business plans to assign these enterprises
to deliver universal services (Decision 256/2006/QD-TTg).
18
Circular no 05 issued on November 6th, 2006 by MIC guiding on implementing
Program 74.
promote the provision of universal services in rural areas, in 2005 Viet-

nam established VTF (the Vietnam utility public telecommunication services
Fund). VTF was established to support the delivering of universal services to
rural areas. The prime minister in 2006 introduced the first universal services
policy titled, “The program on provision of public telecommunications ser-
vices until 2010”. In this program subsidies were provided to rural dwellers
to enable them have access to telephone services, dual internet connection
service, as well as support telecom providers towards providing universal
services.
In 2006, MIC issued the Circular 05 to guide the implementation of
Program 74. Specifically, MIC mandated that any telecom carrier interested in
providing universal services had to build their own plans and submit MIC for
approval. Such plans should include: the plan for building up new telecom-
munications networks or upgrading the existing infrastructures; the plan for
maintenance, development of tele, and public internet centers; the plan for
increasing the penetration of universal services (telephone and internet access
subscribers). After MIC approved these plans, these providers then proceed to
provide universal services in the planned areas. Based on program 74, MIC
also funded these telecom providers to enable them maintain and build up
infrastructure and public telecom/internet access centers. MIC also provided
subsidies for rural dwellers via funding the telecom providers (not directly
funding to the users).
International organizations: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a Non-

governmental organization, provided funding for Vietnam towards capacity
building of the rural dwellers towards using computers and the Internet.
This was a pilot project delivered in partnership between MIC and the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The total cost of the project was
US$ 2.6 million. VTF19 , VNPT, Viettel, and other bodies contributed US$
500,000, the rest (US$ 2.1 million) was funded by BMGF. The pilot project
was implemented within 18 months (from February, 2009–October 2010).
The positive outcome prompted the BMGF to consider whether to expand the
project or not, when the project ended. To run the project, MIC established
a steering committee. The committee was made up of relevant state entities,
who managed and supervised the project. Although this project was not part
19
MIC was the representative of Vietnam partner to receive the finance and mandated VTF
to manage the project.
of Program 74, the project did make contributions towards the improvement,
of the skill and knowledge about computer in internet in general, of the rural
dweller.
Policy intermediaries: According to Papazafeiropoulou & Pouloudi (2000),

policy intermediaries are organizations acting between government and com-
panies (not between providers and end-consumers) or citizens. As such, in
the Vietnamese case, policy intermediaries were incumbent operators. A key
element in universal service policy in Vietnam is the promotion of compe-
tition. In Vietnam, there is a fierce competition between telecom services
providers. This competition has been enable, in part, by the provision of
subsidies by the government. This has resulted in the push towards delivering
telecommunication infrastructure in rural Vietnam.
In this period, there were nine licensed carriers providing telecommunica-
tions services providing telecom services in Vietnam (Dung, 2012). However,
only four operators took part in supplying universal services as they had
the capacity to deliver the infrastructure extensively. These companies are:
VNPT, Viettel, Electricity Telecom Company (ETC) and Vietnam Maritime
Communication and Electronics (Vishipel). Vishipel was funded to provide
universal services to fishermen and the rest of these operators delivered were
mandated to deliver universal service of telecom services to citizens living in
rural and mountainous areas.
VNPT has the most extensive telecom infrastructure in Vietnam and it is
still the dominant operator. Therefore they have a greater competitive advan-
tage in the delivery of telecommunication services in Vietnam. However, in
recent times, its position has been challenged by the emergence of Viettel
and ETC. In 2004, Viettel was initially providing mobile phone services20 ,
however in 2005 ETC was the first player supplying fixed wireless GSM
phone services.
The intense competition from the new rivals of VNPT, has forced VNPT
to embark on price competition. VNPT has so far had to reduce its tariff on
fixed and mobile telephony and adopted innovative billing solutions. Their
billing has shifted from per-minute billing to per second billing. VNPT
was not alone in this price competition, other carriers constantly introduced
20
Although Viettel had provided telephone voice service (VoIP) in 2000 and landline service
(PSTN) in 2003, they aggressively developed in 2004 when they supplied mobile phone
services. The entrance ended the monopoly of VNPT (in mobile phone services) and brought
low price services to consumers.
promotional programs, free access connectivity, free for subscription fee

within 3–12 months (or longer, depending on each promotion program of
the carriers), and free for telephone sets.
However, the impact of the competitive market to universal service could
be seen in the provision of fixed wireless GSM phone services. This is
the reason for the astronomical growth in telephone subscription in rural
Vietnam. This service was introduced in in 2007 by VNPT and Viettel. This
service helped consumers easily to take their telephones anywhere within a
certain distance. Besides, the fee for this service was the same as that of fixed
line telephony.
The initial outcome of these market dynamics was visible from
2005–2010. VNPT recorded 1 million telephone subscribers, Viettel
had 1.2 million subscribers and 400,000 telephone subscribers for ETC
(Report 74). This outcome contributed to the growth in the tele-density in
rural and remote areas, which increased from 2.5 lines in 2004 to 16 lines per
100 dwellers at the end of 2010.
Companies: Although companies located in rural and isolated areas were not
the main target of Program 74, it is likely that they did benefit from the pro-
gram. As the new telecommunication networks developed, companies now
had access to the internet and telephone services to support their business.
Particularly, by using the internet or telephone services, farmers/fishermen
did connect to distributers and customers who could help them deliver as
well as consume their products.
Citizens: Basically, Program 74 has brought a great benefit to rural dwellers.

According to Report 74, at the end of 2010 more than 20 million inhabitants
(appropriately 24% of national population) in 4,349 communes got subsidies
from the Program. They were not only supported with telephone sets and
modems to have access to the internet, but their monthly subscription fee
was partially funded. Because of the program, 2,648,492 fixed lines were
installed in homes. The tele-density in rural and remote areas also increased
rapidly from 2.5 fixed lines per 100 citizens in 2004, to 16 fixed lines per 100
citizens in 2010. Moreover, citizens living in mountainous and isolated areas
were also able to access to more than 3,000 tele-centers.
1.3.3.2 The initiatives implemented in Vietnam

This section clarifies initiatives implemented in Vietnam by the stakeholders
above in provision of universal services.
• ‘Subsidy’21 : To enhance the development of universal services, MIC

introduced various types of subsidies directed towards citizens, house-
holds, and telecom providers.
MIC Subsidies directed to the citizens and households were born out of the
need to promote demand from potential telephony and internet subscribers
living in underserved areas. Here MIC provides, free access connectivity, tar-
iff (monthly) subsidy and end-device subsidy (such as modems and telephone
sets) to citizens and households. Citizens who had no access to telephone
and internet connection at home, are given the opportunity to access these
services at a public tele/Internet centers that were financed by the government
as well. MIC subsidies directed at telecom companies was mandated by
MIC’s Decision 17, dated June 15th, 2007 (the Decision was later replaced
by the Decision 40 on July 2nd, 2008). The decision had universal service
component enabling the provision of subsidies to telecom carriers. The sub-
sidies were aimed at development and maintenance of tele/internet centers,
telephony infrastructure, and telephone/internet subscribers in unprofitable
areas. However, these subsidies were not enough to offset the cost of the tele-
com providers’ investment. This funding was just a catalyst enable network
operators compete among themselves in establishing some form of presence
in rural areas.
In addition to the subsidies, MIC also provided soft loans to these
operators to support them in upgrading and developing their infrastructure.
However, procedure of receiving the loan was complicated and time consum-
ing and the interest rates for the load were not attractive. Therefore the offer
was not attractive to these operators. The amount of money disbursed was
just 25% of planned budget (Report 74).
21
Knowledge building is undertaken to provide the base of scientific and technical knowl-
edge required to produce and exploit innovations, e.g. funding universities or institutes to
research the base of knowledge necessary for innovative activity; Knowledge deployment
is to stimulate the dissemination of new knowledge; A subsidy is a support provided to
innovators and users to defray the unavoidable costs or risks in the process of innovation and
diffusion in use; Mobilization basically means the encouragement of decentralized actors and
organizations to think in a particular way with respect to an innovation, e.g. promotional
and awareness programs or advertisement to support use of innovations; Standard setting is
a form of regulation aimed at constraining options of decentralized actors and organizations
in line with larger social or institutional objectives; Innovation directive is a command to
produce innovations, to use them, or to engage in some activity that will specifically facilitate
production and/or use (King et al., 1994).
• ‘Knowledge deployment’ and ‘Mobilization’: Although this issue

was not part of Program 74, the pilot project funded by MIC and
BMGF made contributions towards improving the level in the adop-
tion of internet access and computers in rural areas. This was carried
out via capacity building initiatives aimed at improving the com-
puter skills and the internet usage abilities of the rural dweller. This
project focused on five main activities: training, equipment, information,
communication, and assessment of project impact. At the end of the
project, 336 staffs from 99 public tele/internet centers, and commu-
nity libraries had received training courses. Through this project,
4,000 rural dwellers, and 87,000 people came to know about the
centers/libraries and the benefit of internet. The success of the project
is partly attributed to the introduction of the advancements in ICTs to
rural citizens and assisting them in access to the internet (BMGF)22 .
More importantly, due to the significant achievements of the pilot
project, BMGF has committed more funds to expand the initiative.
They provided US$33 million out of US$50 million to expand the pilot
project from 2011 to 2016. The project now is being implemented at
2,000 post and telecom centers and libraries in 40 provinces across the
country. They supplies computers and provide training courses to rural
dwellers.
• ‘Knowledge building’, ‘Innovation directives’ and ‘Standard
setting’: Basically, the Vietnamese government neither deployed any
initiative to support research institutes nor universities towards con-
ducting research in the development of universal services. They have
also issued no directives; set up no standards towards promoting the
usage of services stipulated in universal service policies. As this was
the first universal service policy, coupled with limited budget, Vietnam
did not have the adequate experience (at that moment) to deploy the
program. Therefore they did not stimulate research and development
into universal services to understand which technology and service
will meet the local user’s need. The government only implemented
some simple ways to subsidize both for rural dwellers and telecom
carriers.
22
Report on the pilot project for improving computer usage and public internet access ability.
Vietnam Public utility telecommunication service Fund, 2010.
1.3.4 From 2010–Now: Program on the Provision of Public

Telecommunications Services until 2020
After some years of adaptations and building up of the new program, on
July 24th, 2015 ‘the Program on the provision of public telecommunications
services until 2020’ was issued (hereinafter-called Program 1168) with a
total of the budget is about 440 million euros. Program 1168 is divided into
five-part plans: Broadband Connection Plan, Emergency Connection Plan,
Public Connection Plan, Institutes Connection Plan, and Digital Broadcast
Connection Plan. More on these individual plans is described later in this
chapter. The Table 1.3 specifies the plans.
1.3.4.1 Overview of Program 1168

A brief overview of the program is as follows. The program includes an
ambitious objective of extending fixed and mobile broadband and into rural
areas powerline (Thu Vien Phap Luat, 2015). Fixed broadband network is
envisioned to be delivered using Broadband over (ibid). The anchor ten-
ants for this (broadband over powerline) infrastructure would be commune
outposts, organizations in the provinces, at least 5% of household in the
islands and mountainous area and at least 10% of households in the delta
areas. This is aimed at facilitating the Universal Access of Fixed-Broadband
Infrastructure. The program also involves the subsidization in the delivery of
Table 1.3 An overview of the program on the provision of public telecommunications

service until 2020
Digital
Broadband Emergency Public Institutes Broadcast
Connection Connection Connection Connection Connection
Plan Plan Plan Plan Plan
Beneficiary Facility- Users Users Schools, Poor
based service hospitals, households
Providers and
Commune
People’s
Committees
Investor Government Government Government Government Government
and facility- and Telecom
based service Providers
Providers
Main Mobile and Access to Access Access Access to
objective Fixed emergency broadcasting
Broadband calls
Network
Source: MIC
mobile networks to at least 60% of provincial villages in the mountainous

communes and 90% of villages in the Island province (ibid).
The Vietnamese Governments have identified social networks as the
service that will enable the adoption of Broadband infrastructure in rural
areas. Hence, they hope to promote the adoption the promotion of access
broadband networks by promoting social networks. An example of such an
initiative is the expected delivery of Mobile Broadband networks to fishermen
aboard fishing boats, free of charge. However, other demand initiatives that
are not social network related include:
• The free access to emergency services
• Affordable fixed price, post-paid services to households and businesses
operating in rural areas.
• Enable IP TV delivery to poor household by subsidizing supply and
regulating access pricing
• Tariff subsidy for schools, hospitals and local commune offices
These demand and supply activities are to be coordinated by different
stakeholders. These stakeholders are identified in the next section.
1.3.5 The Stakeholders Carried Out the Provision of Universal

Services for Program 1168
Since this program has just been launched, the actors in the market are about
to initiate the implementation on the program. As in the case of Program
74, there is the possibility that there will be supporting stakeholders that will
help in facilitating the program. But based on the design of the program,
various stakeholders and their expected role can be identified. They are as
follows:
• Telecom providers: They will continue to contribute 3% of the mobile
services revenue, 2% of the revenue of international telephone services
and international leased – line service, and 1% of the revenue of domes-
tic long distance telephone services and domestic leased – line service
respectively (Decision 186/2007/QD-TTg). They are both state-owned
providers and joint stock/private operators.
• The Ministry of Information and Communication: They will manage
and direct the implementation of the program. They will also regulate
tariffs and the amount contributed to VTF by the telecom providers.
• Departments of Information and Communication: They will super-
vise the implementation of the program at their locality.
1.4 Vietnamese Approach towards Developing the Telecoms Market 31
• Vietnam Electricity: They will deliver Broadband over powerline on

their existing infrastructure from the mainland to the administrative
centers in the island.
• VTF: Provision of funding for the delivery of mobile and fixed broad-
band Infrastructure.
If one could pre-empt from Program 74, there is the possibility that Interna-
tional organizations may be involved as well at some point.
1.4 Vietnamese Approach towards Developing

the Telecoms Market
In this section, the Vietnamese approach to the demand and supply of telecom
infrastructure in general is discussed.
1.4.1 On the Supply Side

To enable the availability of telecommunication infrastructure for the pro-
vision of universal services, Vietnam has issued a variety of subsidies,
such as subsidies for the development of infrastructure, and subsidies for
development and maintenance of public internet access centres.
1.4.1.1 Subsidies for development of infrastructure –

the Broadband Connection Plan
The Vietnamese Broadband Connection Plan, the government has made
provisions for the direct funding of broadband providers. The reason for
this funding is to aid the extension of Broadband infrastructure to remote
commune (municipality) outposts where there is broadband infrastructure
deficiency. This initiative was initiated based on the government based on
the following reasons:
• They recognized the shortcomings of the program on provision of
public-utility telecommunications services until 2010 with respect to
the insufficient support towards facility-based service providers in the
infrastructure roll out process23 .
23
Because interest of the loan was not attractive to telecom providers and did not help them
to offset the investment cost in unserved and underserved areas. Thus, not many facility-
based service providers wanted to loan, the amount of money disbursed solely reached 25% of
planned budget (Report on the implementation of the Program on provision of public-utility
telecommunications services until 2010, MIC 2012).
• The shift from the ideology that “infrastructure development incor-

porated with efficient, technological management will facilitate the
provision of universal services in future”24 .
The main objective of the plan is to provide broadband access to 99 percent
of the communes in the whole nation, who have access to electricity. This
initiative will provide access to fixed broadband internet connectivity, for
rural citizens, via public internet access centres.
The subsidization of broadband infrastructure and service accounts for
a major share of the total budget of the Program 1168 (up to 70 percent
of the budget, approximately 300 million euros). Selected service providers
will have access to the subsidy to build the infrastructure, via an auction
process. Apparently, the building up of broadband networks, particularly
in isolated and mountainous areas, is a high priority for the Vietnamese
Government.
1.4.1.2 Subsidies for development and maintenance public

internet access centres – the Public Connection Plan
The Vietnamese government is also the “Public Connection Plan”. The main
objective of this plan is to enable users living in underserved and unserved
areas to access broadband internet services at Public Internet Access Centres
(PIACs). Based on this plan, telecom providers will not only be equipped with
facilities (computer sets, printers/scans, and tables) to set up 500 new PIACs,
but also receive financing for the maintenance of all PIACs in underserved
and unserved areas (including the 500 new PIACs).
This plan is a remarkable shift in the government’s point of view, with
respect to subsidizations, compared to the subsidization plan of the previous
program (Program 74). Previously, the government provided facility-based
operators with loans at preferential rates for developing telecom networks
and financed them to sustain public telecommunication services centres.
However, nowadays they will provide finances towards the buildup of new
infrastructure and equip the PIACs with digital devices to encourage access
by users.
However, the government is yet to address issues such as Knowledge
building, Knowledge deployment, Innovative directive, and Standards.
24
Project of formulating the Program on provision of public-utility telecommunications
services towards 2020, MIC.
1.5 The Implication of the Vietnamese Approach 33
1.4.2 On the Demand Side

In addition to providing subsidies to telecom providers, the government also
grants subsidies to stimulate demand.
1.4.2.1 Subsidies for demand – the Institutes Connection Plan

The first measure was the “Institutes Connection Plan”. The government iden-
tified institutions with the potential of sustained demands for broadband. Such
institutions include, schools, hospitals, and commune people’s committees.
These institutions need broadband internet services for training, education,
health, and provision of public administration services respectively. Most of
these institutions exist in rural and remote areas where there is no access to
broadband internet, due to the lack of affordable broadband infrastructure.
The “Institutes Connection Plan” will fund these institutions to enable them
to install broadband internet connectivity in their premises. Moreover, the
usage of broadband internet services in these institutions will be subsidized
with a special monthly fee by the government. Through the subsidization
process, the government hopes to enhance considerably demand for internet
usage among the population.
In addition, the government will also subsidize poor households in their
use of telephone or terrestrial mobile communication services via the Public
Connection Plan. Having identified a decline in telephone subscriptions and, a
prevalence of mobile communication services, the government has decided to
help poor households with payment of their monthly subscription fee towards
the usage of either the fixed line or mobile communication services.
The government, so far, has not paid attention to capacity training of the
end users. The end-users are neither introduced nor led to improve on their
Information Technology skills (Knowledge deployment and Mobilization). It
is not evident in the infrastructure deployment process, either as a supply or
demand side initiative.
1.5 The Implication of the Vietnamese Approach

to the Development of 5G Infrastructure and Services
Vietnam has adopted different market regulatory and development market
interventions to ensure the delivery of telecommunication infrastructure
and services. These interventions are enabled by the political will by the
Vietnamese Government to facilitate telecom infrastructure and services. This
political will is sustained on the fact that telecommunications services are
identified, by the Vietnamese Government, as a public good (Minh, 2011).

Based on this political will, as described earlier, the Vietnamese government
is willing to build synergic relationships aimed at developing a telecommuni-
cation infrastructure and service. Therefore, one will say that this is likely to
continue with respect to the delivery of 5G infrastructure and services.
However, what is not clear is to what extent this will occur in rural areas.
This is because in the Vietnamese Broadband Strategy, a technology neutral
approach is adopted towards the delivery of Broadband infrastructure and
services (Minh, 2011). The Vietnamese Government also understands that
it may not be possible to deliver all forms of Broadband infrastructure in
rural areas. Their interest is in the existence of an affordable Broadband
infrastructure and service commensurate to the socio-economic dynamics
of the area. Therefore, it is not likely that there will be developmental
market interventions that will enable the Universal Service of 5G infras-
tructure. The policy focus will still be on the Universal Access and Service
of Broadband.
However, there may be regulatory interventions that may aid in lowering
the market entry barriers to 5G network operators in rural areas. This policy
approach, of course, may not be targeted at 5G but at other Next Generation
Broadband Networks as well. An example could be the licensing of Mobile
Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) to generate service-based competition
aimed at rural areas. This may indirectly lead towards the attainment of
Universal Service for 5G, as different MVNOs may deliver wireless broad-
band services to localized rural areas. But, in this case, the innovation in
the business model delivered by the service provider that will make the
difference.
Though this uncertainty exists, it is not possible to rule out the possi-
bility that the Vietnamese Government might be interested in developmental
approaches towards 5G infrastructure delivery in the future. This is because,
the evolution of 5G may result in services that will serve the interest to
the Government of Vietnam and rural areas as well. In such a situation,
International organizations may also either become the initiators or supporter
of such initiatives. The Vietnamese Government under these conditions will
be willing to form synergic partnerships for the development of 5G in rural
areas.
But in urban areas and provinces in Vietnam, 5G will be delivered by a
competitive market. Currently, mobile network operators such as Vinaphone,
Mobifone and Viettel are currently deploying 4G in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2016).
1.6 Conclusion 35
So far, they currently have a huge market share in the delivery of mobile
broadband network in Vietnam for some years (Thai, Falch, & Williams,
2015). It is likely they may still be they may be at the forefront of delivering
5G infrastructure in most urban areas in Vietnam.
However, it is not very clear how the current approach to Universal service
policies will aid the universal service of 5G Infrastructure and services.
1.6 Conclusion
Based on the descriptions and discussions made so far, it is safe to say
that the Vietnamese Government is committed to the delivery of Broadband
Infrastructure as a whole. They are ready to provide regulatory and financial
assistance to the development of Broadband Infrastructure and service devel-
opment. But the question that has to be answered by industry players, with
respect to 5G is, why do we need 5G in rural Vietnam? Also as mentioned in
the chapter, Vietnam is technology neutral with respect to the delivery of fixed
and wireless Broadband infrastructure. Hence, it is logical to ask a follow up
question of, “what will 5G do that other Broadband networks are not currently
delivering in rural areas?”
This is a context centric question and not a general question. These
reasons have to be clear. So far, most use cases used for promoting 5G by
industry players, serve the urban areas and not rural areas of Vietnam. There
is the need for use cases that will serve specialized rural areas as well. As
mentioned earlier, if there are good reasons for 5G in rural Vietnam, the
Vietnamese Government is sure to facilitate a multi-stakeholder approach to
make it happen. If this is so, then it is possible for Vietnam to attain the
universal service of 5G.
2
Regulatory Challenges Affecting ICT
Development in Ukraine
Olga Kretova
Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark
2.1 Introduction
This chapter presents a descriptive view of Ukraine’s approach towards the
development of e-government and broadband infrastructure. The description
consists of an overview of the national ICT sector, the regulations that
created this sector and the influence of these dynamics in the development
of electronic governance. The aim of this description is to highlight factors
affecting the development of ICT in Ukraine, more from a regulatory stand
point. The point of departure in discussing ICT development is with respect
to telecom networks, and e-government services. These two issues form the
basis for developing electronic communications, which will be mentioned
repeatedly in this chapter.
Ukraine’s ICT market is still budding. It is a growing market. The country
became independent in 1991. It inherited the telecom legacy of the old
Soviet Union and decided to forge a telecommunications path for itself.
However, the ICT market is still developing and Ukraine is still below in
the e-government implementation ranking. This is despite the regulatory and
financial investments provided for initiatives in these sub sector of the ICT
market. According to a study by the International Telecommunication Union,
Ukraine is ranked 76th in the world with respect to the development of ICT.1
Ukraine also lags behind all neighboring countries that joined the EU in the
middle of the past decade with respect to most indicators measuring ICT
development. As a consequence, Ukraine ranks among the lowest countries
1
http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/idi/2016/
37
38 Regulatory Challenges Affecting ICT Development in Ukraine
in the region in terms of network readiness (64th place out of 139 economies)2
and global competitiveness (79th place out of 140 economies)3 in 2016. The
significance of ICT policies is broadly understood at the highest political level
in Ukraine, however their implementation has always posed a challenge. This
was not a positive result as Ukraine was previously ranked 67th in 2001,
losing out on nine points. With respect to e-government implementation, the
country now ranks 62nd out of 193 countries across the globe.
This outlook leaves one to wonder, why this is so, despite the regulatory
and financial incentives provided to sector? This dilemma influenced the idea
for writing this chapter. As it will help Ukrainian authorities to identify ways
towards solving the challenges identified in this chapter. In this chapter, it is
assumed, that there will be a greater penetration of broadband infrastructure
and extensive diffusion of e-government services in Ukraine, if the challenges
identified in the concluding part of this chapter are addressed.
However, the chapter is written from a legal perspective and not from a
socio-technical or a socio-economic perspective – though there are elements
of such in this chapter. And the chapter is organized as follows. Section 2.1 is
the introduction; Section 2.2 presents an overview of policies and regulations
influencing ICTs in Ukraine; Section 2.3 presents a snapshot of the national
ICT sector which is dominated by the mobile market and the Broadband
Access Technology market; Section 2.4 provides an insight into the various
ICT regulations, how it affected the markets and the challenges in implemen-
ting these policies; Section 2.5 highlights the role, successes and challenges
of implementing regulations aimed at implementing e-government; and
Section 2.7 concludes this chapter by highlighting emerging themes that
served as factors affecting ICT development, within the context of this
chapter.
2.2 Overview of Policies and Regulations

Governing ICT in Ukraine
Information and Communication Technologies, commonly known as ICT,
can be described as an enabler for a variety of goods, applications and
services for creating, disseminating, processing and transforming information
(e.g. TV, radio broadcasting, hardware and software, computer services and
electronic media) (Marcelle, 2000). In other words, a highly developed ICT
2
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR2016/WEF GITR Chapter1.1 2016.pdf
3
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/gcr/2015-2016/Global Competitiveness Report
2015-2016.pdf
2.2 Overview of Policies and Regulations Governing ICT in Ukraine 39
infrastructure and service can hasten and enhance the dissemination and
sharing of information. It can also facilitate the communication processes,
across vast, geographically dispersed areas. Broadband is a key enabler of
ICT based services and, hence of paramount importance for developing an
information society in Ukraine.
The main aim for developing ICTs in the Ukraine is to make the country
globally competitive. This is because the country’s global competitiveness is
identified as an indicator of a modernized economy. Thus emphasis is placed
on the sectoral adoption of ICTs in the Ukraine as a mean of modernizing
activities within these sectors of the economy. This is evident in the numerous
times, the word “ICT” has found its expressions in a number of policies, legal
acts and regulations influencing various sectors of the economy. A significant
policy that embodies this explanation is “The strategy for sustainable deve-
lopment “Ukraine - 2020” (Strategy) (N 5/2015, 2015).” The inspiration for
this policy was from an EU policy tagged “EU strategy for smart, sustainable
and inclusive growth - Europe 2020” (European Commission, 2013). The
Strategy established a framework for “The recommendations of the parlia-
mentary hearings on the subject: “The ICT sector reforms and development
of Ukraine’s information space” (Verkhovna Rada, 2016). At this hearing,
“significant problems impeding against the formation and implementation of
an effective ICT and public policy” were outlined. The scope of the hearing
was the ICT sector and the development of an information society. The result
of this hearing was the production of a document setting out principles,
strategic directions and other conditions with respect to the development of
ICT in Ukraine. These policy initiatives were to be taken into account by the
Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine (CMU).
Although, the Europe 2020 strategy did influence the current Ukrainian
ICT policy strategies, there are other factors that also has an influence on the
Ukrainian approach towards developing ICT policies. The approach to the
development of the ICT sector and its underlying communications and elec-
tronic service infrastructure was also influenced by Ukraine’s participation
in the various European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) initiatives. Examples
of such initiatives include, Ukraine’s accession to the WTO in 2008 and
the recently signed Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement (AA)
in 2014. It was also influenced by sub-regional initiatives as well. Ukraine
is a partner country in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative (a regional
enhancement of the ENP). The EaP was launched in 2009 (Council of the
European Union, 2009) with the aim of establishing necessary conditions
to accelerate a “political association and economic integration” with the
country’s EU’s neighbors to the East. The initiative was aimed at supporting
Ukraine’s current efforts to become closer to the EU. Unfortunately, the
association to the EU is now explicitly off the negotiations table, the main
“carrot” for the EaP is to gain full access to the EU single market. The
contemporary notion of the EU single market necessary reveals the usefulness
of ICT to economic development. It also reveals the growing significance of
ICTs in internal policies within the EU-internal that promote an Information
Society and the Digital Single Market (DSM) (Batura & Tatjana, 2016).
Thus Ukraine has to adopt the same ideology in the development of her
ICT policies if they have to derive benefits from EaP. However, Ukraine’s
accession to the WTO and the AA provided the country with the legal and
regulatory platform to align its legislation with relevant EU acquis in order to
accelerate the integration to the EU’s DSM.
Though Ukraine has made ICT policy attempts to aid in it becoming
globally competitive, there are some existing challenges to the current state
of ICT development in the country. The main challenge is that of filling in
the regional digital divide that exists between Ukraine and other EU Member
States. Despite this challenge, the existing trend in economic development in
the Ukraine, with respect to the global economy, points towards increasing
digitalization of the Ukrainian market. Significant growth are recorded in the
increased access to Broadband internet, mobile telecommunication service
delivery, digital literacy and the development of necessary business and legal
environment for the development of ICTs.
Though these positives can be sighted in the midst of this challenge, the
general picture of the ICT market in Ukraine is not as rosy as mentioned in the
introduction. More on these regulations, how they were applied in the market,
the problems they solved and the problems they could not solve make up the
remaining sections of this chapter.
2.3 The National ICT Sector

This section presents an overview and an analysis of Ukraine’s ICT devel-
opment. This overview is made up of the statistical outlook of the market as
well as the profiles of the key market players.
2.3.1 Mobile Communication Technologies

The development of mobile communications in Ukraine commenced in 1992,
with the launch of the country’s first mobile network operator, the Ukrainian
2.3 The National ICT Sector 41
Mobile Communications (UMC). The company was established in November

1992. The then state owned incumbent Ukrtelekom owned 51% shares,
TDC (Denmark) owned 16.3% shares, Royal KPN N.V. (the Netherlands)
owned 16.3% shares and Deutsche Telecom (Germany) owned 16.3% shares.
The mobile network operator in 2003 was fully owned by Russia’s Mobile
TeleSystems (MTS), Russia. In 2015, the mobile network operator now
owned by MTS and Vodafone expanded their strategic partnership which
resulted in the rebranding of MTS Ukraine into Vodafone Ukraine. UMC
Ukraine introduced mobile services in Ukraine initially with the analog NMT
standard, then with the GSM 900 and 1800.
The market experienced a boom in 1999, which coincided with highly
unsatisfactory demand for fixed-base telephony. The level of penetration for
mobile communication in Ukraine was 143% in 2016. At the same time in
two regions in the west of Ukraine level of penetration is 87%. In Eastern and
Southern part of Ukraine the figure is 150% on the average. But in Kyiv, the
level of mobile penetration is 230%. Though these figures seem impressive
for these regions, as they reflect mobile subscriptions that are higher than the
existing population of the country, this is because people subscribe to more
than one mobile operator. This implies that they own more than one SIM-
card. The reason for owning multiple SIM-cards is the substantial difference
between the tariffs for on-net calls and off-net calls from the mobile operators.
Nearly 94% of mobile outgoing traffic calls are on-net calls which are free
or much cheaper than off-net calls. This has serves as an effective tool for
a mobile operator struggling with the number of subscribers, as they do
not incur the cost of interconnection. Such situations do not promote the
development of the ICT sector and does not stimulate efficient competition
among operators since the off-net calls for subscribers’ are limited due to the
high tariff cost.
The mobile communication market in Ukraine is developing in the most
intensive way, offering the most affordable services due to the less (in
comparison with the fixed line telephony) cost of infrastructure deploy-
ment and telecommunication services. The market is highly competitive
because a number of mobile operators offer services via GSM, CDMA and
WCDMA/HSDPA networks. In the last few years the telecommunication
network resources delivered using CDMA’s evolution EV-DO technologies,
have significantly increased. Thus the rapid development of this technology
in the Ukrainian telecommunications market is anticipated. However, the
further implementation of such promising radio technologies in Ukraine
requires additional radio frequency spectrum. But currently spectrum almost
exhausted in the commercially attractive frequency bands due to inappropri-

ate spectrum allocation in the previous years.
Currently there are four major telecommunication operators dividing the
market:
• Vodafone Ukraine (owned by MTS, Russia, former UMC and MTS
Ukraine), uses GSM-1800, GSM-900, HSPA and UMTS radio technolo-
gies. It controls 22.8% of the mobile market.
• Ukrtelecom (owned by System Capital Management Group, Ukraine),
uses UMTS. It controls 14.1% of the mobile market.
• Kyivstar (owned by VimpelCom ltd, the Netherlands), uses GSM-
EDGE, GSM-1800 and UMTS radio technologies. It controls 34.1% of
the mobile market.
• Lifecell (owned by Turkcell, Turkey), uses GSM-1800, GSM-EDGE and
UMTS radio technologies.
Source: NCCIR, 2014.

The annual revenue for the telecommunications market in 2015 was UAH
50 billion (Euro 1, 9 billions). The mobile market contributes to UAH 33.2
billion to that figure. However, the revenue accrued by the mobile market
between 2013 and 2015 has been marginal. This is because the mobile
market recorded UAH 31 billion, UAH 31.6 billion and UAH 33.2 billion
respectively for these three years. Despite in the slow growth in revenue, it
fared far better than the fixed market and the Broadband Internet markets.
In 2015, the fixed telephony market recorded UAH 7.8 billion while the
Broadband Internet market recorded UAH 6.1 billion. These markets, just
like the mobile market are also experiencing stagnant growth in revenue ae
well. The reasons for these slow growth is the over dependence on network
operators on saturated markets in urban areas.
2.3.2 Mobile Broadband – 3G Introduction

Mobile broadband services present a significant growth opportunity, given
the saturated nature of the voice market in Ukraine. However until recently,
Ukrainian mobile network operators were the only ones in Europe that did not
have the capacity to deploy 3G/4G technology to mobile subscribers within
the country. The lack of an agreement and central coordination between
the various state authorities impedes the introduction of new broadband
technologies and services in Ukraine.
A striking example of this is the situation which arose UMTS tech-

nology (3G) was introduced to the Ukrainian market. Though the three
major Ukrainian GSM and CDMA mobile operators conduced and reported
successful pilot network tests for 3G and expressed their readiness for the
3G license tender, the spectrum was allocated on a non-competitive basis to a
subsidiary of Ukrtelecom. Although Ukrtelekom obtained 3G license in 2005,
the mobile operator was reluctant to develop the new standard from zero. 3G
services was provided in the few largest cities, and most Ukrainian consumers
were supplied with 2G technology.
To remedy the situation, a plan to issue four new 3G licenses was
announced in 2009. The tender was cancelled by the NCCIR due to its
inability to refarm the required spectrum. This was because at that time much
of the radio frequencies was used by the military. There were contradictions
and disagreement about the radio frequencies the military, the government
and the President on the procedure for licensing and refarming the spectrum.
Although Ukraine lagged badly behind in the development of the 3G technol-
ogy, the relevant license tender has been postponed several times. The reason
for doing so has been the same until February 2015.
The three major mobile operators finally gained access to the military’s
share of third-generation (3G) mobile phone frequencies administered via
public tender. MTS, Kyivstar, and Astelit ((operating under “the life)” trade-
mark) were the three network operators. These three major mobile providers
all acquired licenses for providing 3G services (NCCIR, 2015). MTS and
Kyivstar each paid an equivalent of approximately EUR 107 million to
the State budget for their licenses; and The life brand paid the equivalent
of approximately EUR 131 million for its license. The refarming of the
military spectrum did cost the operators an additional EUR 63 million each,
in additional to their license fees. The Ukrainian Government reported that
this public tender was effective, transparent, and successful. The launch of
3G opened up new areas for growth within the ICT sector. The sources of
growth included, mobile finance, e-commerce, e-governance, mobile health
and much more. The three mobile network operators started commercial
exploitation of the frequencies in the summer of 2015. 3G mobile internet
access is currently priced at 150–200 UAH ($4.50–7) for 2–3 GB of traffic
per month.
Although the 3G has not been implemented on a full scale yet, Ukrainian
authorities are already considering the auction of 4G licenses. The spectrum
required for high-quality 4G services is currently made available to the state
security and defense authorities - the so-called “special users.” According to
a decree by the President of Ukraine, signed in July 2015, the regulator is

obliged to design an action plan to introduce LTE in 2017. In July 2015,
the NCCIR was also obliged to design an action plan to introduce LTE
in 2017. The implementation plan was approved by the NCCIR a month
later (N 1232-p, 2015). The plan contains amendments to the existing acts,
national frequency allocation tables for the releases of the first (800 MHz)
and second (700 MHz) digital dividend spectrum bands and the introduction
of technology-neutral usage of spectrum for LTE.
2.3.3 Broadband Access Technologies

Ukraine’s telecoms market, supported by a population of 43 million, is being
modernized through considerable investment in both the mobile and fixed-
broadband sectors. The telecoms market is driven by competition. There is
a great deal of infrastructure-based competition between the major network
operators and smaller network operators. This form of competition is due to
the lack of an effective last mile network access regime. The competition is
greater between network providers providing Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
and fiber optics.
The major technologies used in providing broadband Internet access in
Ukraine are:
• Fibre-optic communication lines: FTTx
• Copper communication lines: xDSL
• Cable: DOCSIS
• Satellite channels: VSAT
• Wireless access: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, UMTS, CDMA-EVDO
Among the technologies mentioned, there is a greater coverage spread for
xDSL. This makes xDSL the dominant Broadband access infrastructure
network due to the upgrade of the incumbents existing copper networks. This
is followed by fiber optics, where there has been a considerable amount of
investment in Fttx and FttB infrastructure in recent years. WLAN networks
such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX exist on a smaller scale. The way the fixed-
line technologies such as xDSL, fiber optics and fixed-WiMAX are deployed
in the Ukrainian telecoms market is represented in the 2015 annual report
of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications
and Informatization (NCCIR)4 . Here, advanced and economically proven
4
http://nkrzi.gov.ua/images/upload/142/6128/ZVIT NCCI 2015.pdf
solutions adopted for the development of fixed telecommunication networks

in Ukraine include:
• The construction of modern fibre-optic communication lines with the
usage of DWDM and CWDM technologies.
• The development of broadband access networks with the usage of FTTx
technologies to facilitate access the last miles in areas with a high
concentrations of users.
• While fixed WiMAX network will be deployed in the remote areas and
regions where there is difficulty in accessing broadband networks.
Though Ukraine occupies one of the lowest positions among European coun-
tries with respect to level of broadband penetration, Ukraine’s broadband
market grew by an impressive 16.1% in 2013 and 21% in 2015, thus outper-
forming the European average and the growth rates in other global regions.
The growth in penetration was caused by:
• Direct investment initiatives: Investment commitments by the incum-
bent, Ukrtelecom investment towards the development of broadband
infrastructure after they were privatized in 2011. The privatization
resulted in SU LLC, owned by the Austrian investment fund EPIC,
acquiring 92.79% shares of Ukrtelecom, thus becoming the majority
shareholder of the company. In 2013, the 92.79% shares of Ukrtelecom
was acquired by System Capital Management Group - Ukrainians largest
diversified business group - from Turkcell (Turkey). Turkcell is currently
owns 100% of Ukraine’s third biggest mobile operator lifecell. These
were avenues of direct investment into the broadband market in the
Ukraine.
• Smartphone ownership: Another reason for the observed increase in
broadband penetration is associated with the number of people using
smartphones in Ukraine. This number exceeds the number of fixed-line
telephones by more than 2.5 times. The share of smart phone ownership,
registered on the telecommunication networks of the mobile commu-
nication operators in 2016, increased approximately between 35–40%.
There are currently 12 million smartphone users in Ukraine, and this
number will continue to grow. Consequently, smart phone ownership
created the conditions for the growth of consumer demand for the wire-
less services delivered via wireless high-speed broadband technologies.
Such wireless technologies include CDMA and UMTS technologies,
which accounts for a significant amounts of the mobile internet-traffic.
According to Akamai “State of the Internet report”, the average broad-

band mobile connection speed in Ukraine was 7.7 Mbps in the second
quarter of 2014 and reached 9.5 Mbps in 2016 (see (Akamai, 2014)
(Akamai, 2016)).
• Affordable cost of access: The price for broadband internet access in
Ukraine is fairly affordable. For instance from the Kyivstar monthly
unlimited data plan, mobile subscribers are promised data rates of 100
Mbps at the cost of UAH 70–120 (US$ 3–4.50) while the average
monthly wage in the country was UAH 6500 (US$ 240) in December
2016.5 Thus most Ukrainian citizens can afford to pay for the service
as well.
However, in spite of the extensive investment and coverage of fixed broad-
band networks, the mobile broadband networks have greater economic
potential in Ukraine considering its vast and geographically dispersed
areas. This is because mobile networks are quicker and less costly to
deploy. The most popular technologies in the Ukraine are CDMA-EVDO
and UMTS.
Though these mobile broadband and fixed-broadband technologies are
being developed in the Ukraine, the level of broadband service adoption
is low. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in
2015, the internet penetration rate in the Ukraine was 43.3% compared to
41% in 2013 and 18% in 2009 (ITU, 2015). Based on the same report, fixed
broadband subscription and mobile broadband subscription stood at 8.5%
and 6.7% respectively. These respective figures amount to 15.2% of the total
broadband penetration in Ukraine. The reason for the low subscription of
fixed-broadband and mobile broadband services can be attributed to:
• The disparity in demand for broadband services in urban and rural
areas: This is because Ukraine is a large country with different levels
of demand for broadband in urban and rural areas. The existence of
this diversity in demand creates a significant digital divide between
the regions within Ukraine. The western regions, excluding Lviv, have
a broadband penetration rate from 5% to 9%, while in the Eastern
Southern regions it is 10% penetration rate on the average. Kyiv city had
the highest broadband penetration rate in the country of approximately
70% in 2016. Since the market penetration is still relatively low thus
similar growth in the coming years can be expected.
5
See https://kyivstar.ua/ru/home-kyivstar/internet/kyiv
2.4 The Transformation of Regulatory Policy in Ukraine 47
• Lack of interest by ISPs to go beyond city borders: In rural areas, the

ISPs are not sure of earning a Return on Investment (RoI). This is
because of the low level of income of the inhabitants of these areas.
It is also as a result of the low population density of rural areas.
The telecom market also saw a decline in 2014 and but the growth in revenues
of network operators grew again in 2015 even though the ongoing economic
crisis has caused considerable difficulties for operators, as subscriber scale
down spending on services. The annexation of Crimea by Russia, combined
by the difficult operating conditions in certain parts of eastern Ukraine, has
further exacerbated these problems, and the market operators have had to
declare a substantial losses.
2.4 The Transformation of Regulatory Policy in Ukraine

Although each country is proceeding its own specific reforms at their own
pace, all countries are affected to a certain extent by the rapid change in
technologies, markets and the global economy. They are also affected by
the developments in neighboring countries, trading partners, regional and
international agencies. The public ICT policy and regulation implemented
in Ukraine between 1991 and 2016 has undergone a fundamental transfor-
mation. This transformation reflects the trends and stages in global policy
development. This is evident from the period in the policy development
stages when the state owned monopoly was the dominant operator. This
was followed by a period where further policy update had to occur with the
EU-Ukraine cooperation. This cooperation involved the establishment of a
market regulator, who would de-regulate the market to foster liberalization
and service competition. That stage was followed by the current policy stage
which is focused policy implementation, the stimulation of the market with
a clear focus on a pro-investment policy that would aid in the increase of the
introduction of new technologies and foster infrastructure penetration.
2.4.1 1991–2000 Post Soviet Transformation, the Monopoly

of the Dominant Operator
After Ukraine declared independence in August 1991, the telecommunication
network of the former USSR within the territory of Ukraine fell under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications of Ukraine (MOC) (N 91,
1992). The new country had outdated analog telephone systems with access
to international gateways via Moscow. Almost all communication lines were
analogue, delivered using obsolete copper wires compared to the actual state
of telecom network technologies delivered in other developed countries. Thus
Ukraine compared to other developing countries was lagging behind with
respect to the telecom infrastructure equipment delivered. Demand for the
telecom networks was low and the Quality of Service (QoS) was poor. In
Ukraine then, the tele density was low with 16.6 telephone lines per 100
persons. 7.63 million Telephone lines were delivered, while the country’s
population was made up of 52 million inhabitants. The MOC looked for
ways towards addressing this situation and decided to monopolize the existing
fixed-telephone infrastructure operated by regional PTT’s (Public Telegraph
and Telephone) thereby creating a national PTT.
In 1993, the Government approved the complex program for the building
of the Unified National Communication System for Ukraine (N 790, 1993).
Several departments within the MOC and regional PTT’s were merged to
become the Ukrainian State Telecommunications Corporation (Ukrtelecom).
From 1994–1997 Ukrtelecom became a universally recognized state telecom-
munication operator on a national and international scale. The entity existed
as a national monopoly within the Ukrainian telecoms market. The extensive
network of Ukrtelecom placed them in a position where future entrants into
the market cannot operate in the country without requiring access to Ukrt-
elecom’s public switches and fixed-mobile networks. Any private or public
company, in order to become an operator of telecoms services in Ukraine, was
expected to either have Ukrtelecom as a shareholder or sign a Memorandum
of Cooperation with this entity.
In order to find resources for the reconstruction of the outdated national
telecommunications system, the MOC established a joint venture (Utel) in
1992. This entity had an effective monopoly on long-distance calls. Utel’s
founding partners were Ukrtelecom (51%), AT&T USA (19.5%), Deutsche
Telecom (19.5%), and PTT Telecom of Netherlands (10%). By the end of
1996 the company attracted a significant investment amounting to US$ 138
million into the Ukrainian telecommunications system. As a result three
international gateways were established and 25 new digital long-distance
exchanges were built in the major cities of Ukraine. By the end of 1996,
Utel had connections with 36 operators in 32 countries through 2 918
international channels, 85 percent of them digital (Ukraine Telecommuni-
cations, 1998). Efforts by the MOC towards improving telecommunications
in Ukraine resulted in the deployment of fiber optic communication lines,
linking Ukraine with Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Belarus. The Italy-
Turkey-Ukraine (ITUR) fiber optical communication lines were introduced
in 1996. Much of the financing for these projects were provided by inter-
national financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction
Development.
However, Ukrtelecom’s organizational structure included 35 operating
telecommunication enterprises and organizations with the rights as legal enti-
ties and about 700 branches. This complex organizational structure caused the
irregular development of communications in separate regions. This became
a factor hampering further telecom infrastructure and services deployment
as telecom infrastructure development was not coordinated. To solve this
challenge, the Ukrtelecom Corporation was reorganized into the homogenous
state enterprise. In 2000, Ukrtelecom was registered as a joint stock company,
setting up preconditions for its privatization. In the same year, the decision to
kick start the privatization of Ukrtelecom was approved by the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine (N 454-p, 2000).
Though the first law “On Communications” (N 160-95/BP, 1995) con-
cerning telecommunication regulation was adopted in May 1995, a licensing
regime on spectrum allocation and specific activities in the communication
sector was introduced in May 1993 by the MOC (N 72, 1993). The aim was to
maintain the implementation of a unified state policy, consumer protection in
the field of communications, the coordination in the creation and development
of networks, systems and communication services. However the procedure of
allocating radio frequencies was not specifically defined and it was subject
to special rules and conditions, developed by the regulator to exclusively
handle each specific case of spectrum allocation. That created a favorable
ground for corrupt practices with respect to license distribution. This resulted
in numerous criminal prosecutions cases against the top public officials from
the regulating agency.
In the public monopoly era and the resulting lack of competition in the
market for communication services provision, the pricing of various segments
of the market (local communications and long distance calls) was subject
to strict control and regulation. These measures were closely monitored
by the regulatory authority. The boundary tariff for telecommunications
services were created using numerous regulatory acts to ensure a market
competitiveness and adequate pricing for communication services (N63,
1995).
The legislative procedures and regulations of that period were very
obscure, insufficient and ineffective. It lacked the actual regulatory frame-
work that would address specific problems as well as the mechanism for its
enforcement.
2.4.2 2001–2008 The Regulatory Authority, Inefficient

Regulatory Intervention
The current regulatory authority in the telecommunication sector was estab-
lished in pursuant to the Law of Ukraine “On Telecommunications” (the
telecommunications law) (2003) (N 1280-IV, 2003) and it began its operation
in November 2011 under the name of the National Commission for State
Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine (NCCIR)
(N 1067/2011, 2011). The NCCIR acts as a principle regulator and develops
the whole range of instructions and regulations that has to be implemented.
The chairman and members of the NCCIR are appointed and dismissed
from their positions by the President of Ukraine. The NCCIR is structurally
separate from the government, it is subordinated directly to the President
of Ukraine and accountable to the Parliament of Ukraine. The NCRC is
responsible for monitoring, regulation and supervision of activities in the
telecoms market. It allocates the radio frequency spectrum and numbering
resources; sets tariffs for public telecommunication services and regulates
prices; imposes sanctions and resolves disputes when there is an impasse in
interconnection agreements between operators.
Due to widespread corruption in the political system and the lucrative
nature of businesses in the ICT sector, appointments to the commission has
been conducted without transparency. The Law “On Telecommunications”
does not guarantee the independence of the NCCIR as its independence
is not formally established in the Telecommunications Law. Its operations
are funded by the cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and its members are
appointed and dismissed by the President of Ukraine - which can happen in
an arbitrary manner. Furthermore, the NCCIR’s work as well as the work of
its predecessor - the National Commission for Communications Regulation
of Ukraine - has often been obstructed by claims of non-transparent decisions
and operations. One of the concerns in this respect occurred with the award of
a 3G license to Ukrtelecom by NCCR without a proper call for tenders. This
was seen by industry as a way of boosting the value of Ukrtelecom before its
privatization.
State-owned Ukrtelecom is the largest telecom operator in the country.
It was the dominant market player in the fixed line sector and possesses
Ukraine’s primary network infrastructure. The situation in the Ukrainian
telecommunications market required a dramatic intervention by the NCCIR
mainly due to the operational inefficiencies of Ukrtelecom. These inefficien-
cies were strengthened by the strong position of the incumbent operator on
the market and lack of competition. The operational inefficiencies resulted
in high interconnection charges, insufficient network infrastructure develop-

ment and exclusion of inhabitants of rural regions in terms of an internet
access, where the share of the internet users were - and still is - very low.
2.4.2.1 Regulatory initiatives adopted by NCCIR

The initiatives adopted by the NCCIR were mainly based on curtailing the
activities of the operators with significant market power, and the support
for the competition within the telecoms market at the same time. This was
of important to smaller network operators who were forced to build their
business model on the provision of leased lines because the incumbent
Ukrtelecom possessed the majority of that infrastructure. NCCIR authorized
the unbundling of the local loop as a means of developing competition in
the delivery of new telecom services, especially broadband Internet. Other
initiatives authorized by NCCIR include, the sharing of physical infrastruc-
ture (poles, ducts, towers) and co-locating equipment of different operators
as a means of lowering market entry barriers and to ensure competition.
The foundation for the interconnection and access regime in Ukraine was
established in the telecommunications law (2003) and the interconnection
rules (2005). Based on these laws, the interconnection fees were calculated
on the basis of the volume of traffic. However how these regulations were to
be implemented were not issued. There was also no process in place to handle
disputes between interconnecting parties. The terms of interconnection were
negotiated on a case by case basis without an examination by the regulatory
authority to ensure consistency with the law. Urktelecom did not gazette
interconnection offers made available to all other operators. Thus there was
no transparency in the process. The tariffs for telecom services provided to
subscribers could be set by the telecom operators concerned. Furthermore,
the NCCIR approved maximum tariffs meant for universal telecommuni-
cations services. Such services include a connection to telecommunication
networks meant for public use at a fixed location (universal access); calls to
emergency services and enquiry services; and communication via public pay
phones.
When consumer demand for publicly available telecommunications ser-
vices was not sufficient in the rural regions of Ukraine, the NCCIR could
impose a Universal Service Obligation on the operator with a dominant posi-
tion in the market. This obligation was aimed at extending universal service
to regions of interest, where the basic telecom service was lacking. These
obligations were part of the licensing agreements with the NCCIR. As part
of this obligations the operators were expected to contribute to the cost
of rolling out the telecom infrastructure to provide access to telecom services

in underserved areas. For losses incurred by the operator when fulfilling
these obligations, compensation may be required according to the mechanism
determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Due to the need to protect investments and revenue flows of the incum-
bent, and in order to ensure its ability to extend its coverage geographically
more broadly by deploying its infrastructure at a lower cost, the NCCIR
used its power to restrict the number of licenses issues to network operators.
According to the Telecommunications law, a decision towards restricting the
quantity of licenses for certain kinds of business activity in the delivery
of telecom services can be adopted to ensure the efficient utilization of
telecom networks and scarce resources in the interest of consumers. If a
decision towards restricting the quantity of licenses is made, the licenses
shall be granted on a competitive basis in an open, non-discriminatory and
transparent procedure. It should also be granted under equal requirements
and conditions for all participants. This implies that individual requirements
cannot be included in the license terms.
2.4.2.2 Emerging outcome to telecom regulations

in the Ukraine
The promotion of locally established Ukraine network operators: Foreign
investment in Ukrainian telecommunications led to the improvement of the
market in the mid-2000s, particularly in international, cellular and mobile
communications. Obsolete analog systems were being circumvented by the
growing number of fiber optic and wireless “overlay” systems. Only locally
incorporated company were mandated to provide telecom services in the
Ukraine. They are the only mobile networks that could apply for any telecom
or frequency license unless it joined the Ukrainian market through a local
subsidiary. However there are neither restrictions to the extent of foreign
ownership nor restrictions on the type of services to be provided by network
operators. Thus a foreign company can enter the Ukrainian market through a
local subsidiary.
The increase of awareness on the potential of ICT for civil action:

The so called Orange Revolution which occured in January 2005—when
opposition groups successfully changed the outcome of the November 2004
Ukrainian presidential elections that were allegedly deemed unfair - was a
form of “convergence” of information infrastructures (cell phones, Internet,
and independent media) and political mobilization. Here the member of

the opposition made full use of these technologies to mobilize and direct
supporters in acts of civil disobedience and general strikes. Although ICT did
not play a determining role in the success of the Orange Revolution, its use
during those events helped to foster the perception of telecom technologies
as an important strategic tool in organizing the political opposition. However
this perception prompted neighboring authoritarian governments such as
Belarus to decrease Internet openness. Following the Orange Revolution,
the Ukrainian society has become more aware of the power of using ICT’s
towards bringing about political change. The use of the Internet by political
parties and the government became widespread and served as an effective tool
of political competition while employing ICT platforms as online political
games, unofficial voting, and blogs.
Uncoordinated policy development and implementation: National policy

initiatives within this period frequently suffered from slow and sporadic
implementation processes. Aside the NCCIR, at the policy making and
implementation levels, there are other governmental bodies involved in ICT
governance. These bodies are established by the Telecommunication law.
Such bodies include, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian State
Centre of Radio Frequencies, the State Service of Special Communication
and Information Protection in Ukraine, the State Informatization Committee,
the State Committee on Telecommunications and Informatization, the State
Agency on Science and the Innovations and Information, etc. The main
problem was that their actions were not sufficiently coordinated. There was
no clear distinction between the national bodies in terms of who designs the
ICT policy and those that implement the ICT policy. This is because local and
regional authorities can develop their own programs and individual ministries
could also develop ICT programs and ICT projects. This has resulted in an
ineffective use of very limited financial resources. Furthermore there were
no special mechanisms for appraising the impact of policy and regulatory
proposals with respect to the performance of the ICT sector in the country.
The effects of national ICT policy could be found in the annual reports
issued by the Cabinet of Ministries or by the NCCIR to the Parliament of
Ukraine. This is an element of accountability from the executive bodies to
the legislative authorities. However the statistical data used in these reports
were insufficient to create a snapshot of the current view on ICT development
in the Ukraine.
2.4.3 2009–2016 Decisive and Pro-Investment Regulatory

Intervention
Though much has been achieved from 2001–2010, in which regulatory
interventions were considered a priority, five critical issues that needed to
be addressed were identified. This was aimed at developing short term and
medium term plans for the further development of the ICT sector in Ukraine.
These issues were:
• The promotion of further competition on the market,
• The privatization of Ukrtelecom,
• The Introduction of 3G technology and promoting universal access of
broadband communications.
2.4.3.1 The promotion of competition

Competition has proven to be the foundation of successful ICT development
in many countries at different stage of their economic development. In the
beginning of 2010 effective competition in Ukraine was limited. This was due
to problems with respect to interconnection and network access; spectrum
licensing and pricing. For an extended period of time, telecom operators
had problems with accessing other telecommunications network. This was
because, as mentioned earlier, the interconnection rates were not regulated
by the state. The state owned incumbent, Ukrtelecom, did not provide suffi-
cient and equitable interconnection and access to its network elements to its
competitors. And in some cases, Ukrtelecom would require interconnecting
parties to supply at their own cost equipment not necessarily linked to the
provision of the interconnection service. NCCIR has adopted different steps
to solve this problem. The solutions are as follows:
Setting up maximum tariffs: One of the key issues in ensuring a level

playing field is a fair and transparent interconnection regulatory framework.
In order to maintain the level of competitiveness in the telecoms market,
the NCCIR established mandatory tariffs for interconnection and transfer of
traffic for operators having significant market power in 2009. The regulator
also sets maximum tariffs for lease of electrical communications channels by
telecom operators with significant market power on the respective markets.
However in 2010, NCCIR stipulated that the rates for lending the electrical
communications channels be fixed by them. Operators with significant market
power have no right to reject request for interconnection with other telecom-
munications network unless a telecom network to be interconnected fails to
meet certain requirements (i.e., certification of telecom equipment, etc.).
Setting up new Settlement rate schedule: Still in 2010 the issue, with
respect to, settlements for traffic transmission among the leading operators
and the other players in the telecommunication market appeared to be aggra-
vating. In order to address the problem, the NCCIR adopted a new Settlement
Rate Schedule. They did this by setting a fixed (uniform) set of prices for
traffic transmission to the networks of the operators holding a dominating
position in the telecommunications market. This occurred in 2011.
Adopting Reference Interconnection Offers: Reference Interconnection

Offers (RIOs) are recognized as one of the best practices in the regulation
of interconnection today. This practice ensures that all competitors are aware
of and can benefit from the same interconnection rates. Since 2011 telecom
operators holding a monopolistic (dominant) position in the market are
obliged to submit to the NCCIR detailed offers for interconnection. These
offers are published by the NCCIR in its annual Catalogue of Proposals on
Interconnections. This is an initiative to promote transparency.
Introduction of general authorization regimes: One of the ways of sup-

porting effective competition on the telecommunication market was an
introduction of the general authorization regime. The authorization proce-
dure required a prior notification to the NCCIR and being registered in the
NCCIR Register of operators and providers of telecommunications. This
process could be accomplished by a network operator within a week. The
general authorization regime was applicable until the Market Access Law
was adopted in 2011.
Regulation of operators with significant market power: The concept of

significant market power (SMP) did not exist under Ukrainian law until 2011.
NCCIR had no judicial competence to define markets and declare dominance.
NCCIR would normally refer to a company as dominant after an assessment
has been made by the national competition authority. In 2011, the NCCIR
developed the competence, via capacity building, to conduct an analysis of
the telecoms market in order to identify operators with significant market
power. This was a way of ensuring a balance in the market as well as improve
the conditions for competition. However, the NCCIR still cannot impose any
obligations on undertakings in order to control anti-competitive behavior of
the network operators. NCCIR often refers to any material, relevant to pos-
sible violations of the general competition law, provided by the competition
authority.
Regulation of right of way: In February 2017, the new long-awaited law was
adopted. This law defined the new “rights of way” regulation which imposes
obligations on utility enterprises, such as public ways, electrical, water
and sewage companies, to share their infrastructure with telecommunication
operators.
Spectrum management and licensing: Access to the radio spectrum in

Ukraine is still constrained by the slow progress in the reallocation of the
large portion of spectrum held by the military for the usage by civilians. The
radio frequency spectrum may be allocated either on a competitive basis via
public tenders or auctions or on a non-competitive basis. The competitive pro-
cedures are adopted by NCCIR for administering licenses when the demand
for the spectrum exceeds the supply. The procedures and conditions for the
competitive procedure is established by the NCCIR. Due to the large amount
of money paid as license fees and the scarcity of the radio spectrum, the issu-
ing of the spectrum licenses is the sphere of governance in the Ukraine that is
quite vulnerable to corruption. Licensing is a key tool for telecommunications
regulation. It is use to control market entry and, therefore, can be used to
shape the market by limiting the number of players and/or types of services
provided. Licensing can also be used to distort healthy competition in the
market in the favor of corrupt telecommunications operators and providers.
There used to be a great number of media reports, investigating conflicts of
interests, with respect to NCCIR’s activities associated with the assignment
of spectrum licenses.
The Twinning Project tagged, “Supporting enhancement of the regulatory and

legal competence of the National Commission for the State Regulation of
Communications and Informatization regarding telecommunications sector
regulation”, created in cooperation with the partners from Spain, Sweden and
Latvia provided an enhancement of “the independence and administrative
capacity of the NCCIR in order to take relevant measures regarding regula-
tion, to provide fulfilment of their own decisions and implementation of all
regulatory standards that guarantee rivalry on the market”. According to the
final project report, this project made a great contribution towards increasing
transparency and administrative capacity of the NCCIR which resulted into
more transparent decision making, e.g. scarce resource allocation.
2.4.3.2 The privatization of Ukrtelecom

In this chapter, the privatization of Ukrtelecom has been mentioned many
times. This is because the privatization of Ukretelecom was protracted and
problematic. The first time the government of Ukraine announced its inten-
tion to privatize Ukrtelecom was in late 1990s. The special Law “On the
peculiarities of the privatization of the Open JSC Ukrtelecom” was adopted in
2000. Since then the sale of the operator has been delayed a number of times.
The government failed to create an equal playing field for the privatization
process by trying to limit competition from outside of Ukraine. This was due
to political reasons which raised doubts about the transparency of the process.
Political interference in the process: The formation of policy and legal

framework adjustments in the privatization process was spontaneous and
operationalized at random under the influence of contradictory interests lob-
bying for their own interests. The numerous elections and political conflicts
in the mid-2000s resulted in the blocking of the privatization process by
the opposing political parties, who found themselves left out in the decision
making process at that particular moment.
Lack of strategic vision for privatization: In that circumstance, Ukrainian

officials did not have the strategic vision towards the privatization of a state
property and were late with the adjustment of legal documents to complete
the privatization process. In order to increase Ukrtelecom’s market value
prior to privatisation, the company was awarded the country’s first third
generation (3G) mobile license – as mentioned earlier in this chapter. Until
2015 only one operator – Trimob LLC, a subsidiary of Ukrtelecom – held
a 3G license in Ukraine. However under the stipulated tariff structure meant
for the incumbent, which discouraged the development of the long distance
and international calls and broadband access, Ukrtelecom was unable to make
sound investment in the development of the 3G network. Being in a privileged
position of being the sole 3G license holder, Trimob LLC was reluctant to
make sufficient investment towards the rollout of the necessary infrastructure.
As a result, 3G services were provided only in few of the largest Ukrainian
cities. Ukrainian consumers mainly used 2G technology then. The postponed
privatization of the incumbent hindered the introduction of new telecom
technologies and the overall ICT development in Ukraine.
Ukrtelecom’s existing social obligations: Another issue that posed prob-

lems to the successful privatization of Ukrtelecom was that Ukrtelecom
implemented the social obligations already determined by the government of
Ukraine. These social obligations included, special privileges for pensioners,
government employees, war veterans, etc. Where to transfer these social
obligations to, after Ukrtelecom was privatized was an issue. In line with this
problem was the fact that, in the late 2000s Ukrtelecom had around 120 000
employees and 30 000 pensioners. This became a burden to the operator and
resulted in low labor productivity within the company.
Lack of interest from foreign investors: Ultimately, the lack of tariff reform,
and the lack of an independent regulator and transparent regulatory system
dissuaded investors from outside. As a result of these problems with respect
to privatization, Ukrtelecom’s performance as a network operator was falling
far behind that of its peers in Europe. The performance indicators include,
the teledensity, the rate of network expansion and revenue per employee.
The company faced competition from the then mobile network providers.
It was also obliged to comply with regulated tariffs, which did not reflect
the cost of delivering their fixed and mobile services in unprofitable rural
areas. Ukrtelecom in this circumstance lost its market share dramatically.
The company reported losses for the year 2008 and the first quarter of
2009. The down turn in the fortunes of the company made the privatization
of Ukrtelecom an urgent issue. The private sector was seen as the source
of the sizable investment needed to develop the telecommunication sector in
Ukraine.
In order to remove prior bottle necks, prior to the privatization process, the
regulator modified the tariff regulation. NCCIR established that tariffs should
reflect the market value (full and actual costs, including capital expenditure
costs) of delivering the service. In the approval of conditions for the tender
for sell of 93 percent Ukrtelecom’s shares (N 1948-p, 2010), the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) decided to lower the market entry barriers for
the new investor. Technology neutrality was adopted as a measure to lower the
market entry barriers. New market entrants and not the state could not decide,
which network to develop, the choice of technology to be deployed and the
corporate restructuring process aimed at resolving the issues with low labor
productivity. The un-balanced tariffs, the burden of social obligations were
removed and the new investor was not obliged to retain the operator’s staff
after privatization.
Although these decisions were not popular, given the then critical state of
Ukrtelecom any clause preventing labor reduction would certainly decrease
the investor’s interest in the firm. Late 2010, when the sale of the firm was
finally scheduled, the outdated equipment of Ukrtelecom made the company
less attractive to investors, the company had lost its value over the years
as successive governments had been wrangling over its sale. The CMU
initially planned to sell Ukrtelecom in an auction, late December 2010 but
the Austrian investment company EPIC was the only bidder then and the
auction was cancelled. Ukraine offered the company for a direct sale after
carrying out an additional valuation of Ukrtelecom in February 2011 for
$1.3bn. Though domestic investment banks argued that the government could
have generated up to $1.8bn for its cash-starved budget through a competitive
sale. Several conditions were set for the auction but it excluded a number
of bidders. This is because potential investors could not be companies in
which any government or state-owned firm, owned more than a 25% stake.
This prevented many top European network operators such as Deutsche
Telekom, Telenor, France Telecom, Rostelecom, TeliaSonera and Telekom
Austria from taking part in the privatization as they have been discouraged
by the regulator’s bidding conditions. In addition, companies with revenues
accounting for over 25% of the Ukrainian telecoms market could not be
part of the tender: this excluded the mobile operator Kyivstar (part of the
Vimpelcom group). Rules governing access to cable ducts (90% of which are
owned by Ukrtelecom) were amended to regulate ceiling tariffs on wholesale
cable duct services. The measure was intended to prevent a new owner
from gaining an unfair commercial advantages. Cable duct access tariffs
were previously dependent solely on the commercial negotiation between
alternative operators’ and Ukrtelecom.
The sale of Ukrtelecoms was made to the Austrian-based investment com-
pany Epic. They invested UAH 10.5 billion (US$ 1.3 billions) for a 93 percent
stake in Ukraine’s state fixed line monopoly Ukrtelecom after competi-
tors were excluded from the privatization tender. Generally, this deal was
perceived by many in the media, market players and the government’s polit-
ical rivals as lacking in transparency and one of the most controversial.
The government was accused of designing the tender conditions in favor of
the political cronies of Viktor Yanukovitch, the then President of Ukraine.
This was a charge the government and company officials denied. After
the privatization process, the company’s management launched initiatives
for streamlining the business processes and organizational structure, which
made a positive impact towards improving Ukrtelecom’s operations in 2014.
Also, the company used efficient tools to improve equipment maintenance,

cut down on fuel and energy resources, repaired and overhauled the facilities
as well as provided security and office services. Ukrtelecom invested heavily
in the modernization of the network. For the last few years Ukrtelecom’s
priority was to create the market for Internet access services and data trans-
mission. The growth of the company stems from the fact that Ukrtelecom
built broadband access networks and launched about 4000 km of optical fiber
links in 2014. The company expanded its coverage geographically into small
towns and villages across the country and increased its broadband subscriber
base up to 1.67 million users at the end of 2014.
2.4.4 Regulation. The EU – Ukraine Cooperation

In the previous sub-sections in this section, how previous regulations were
utilized in the development of the telecom market were discussed. Allu-
sions were made towards the telecommunications law (2003) and the Radio
Frequency law (2002). These are the current legal frameworks guiding the
telecommunications sector currently in the Ukraine. There are other laws
and regulations that exists, but these are the significant regulations. The
Telecommunications Law sets out the basic principles of telecommunication
market regulation in the Ukraine. This includes, the public use of telecommu-
nications networks, the rules of interconnection, telecommunication services
that are subject to licensing, requirements for obtaining telecommunications
licenses, listing of public telecommunication services, conditions for provi-
ding telecommunication services, principles for granting numbering resource
as well as tariff policy regulation. The Radio Frequency Law establishes
general rules for the allocation and use of the radio spectrum. This includes,
requirements for obtaining a license for the use of radio frequency resources
and permits for the use of certain types of electronic radio facilities and/or
emitters, the state control and monitoring of the use of radio spectrum and lia-
bility in the event of its misuse. The terms and conditions of the provision of
telecommunication services are also regulated by the state authority by-laws,
namely the Rules on rendering and obtaining telecommunication services”
and the “License terms on rendering telecommunication services subject to
licensing in Ukraine.”
The development of a modern regulatory framework and institutions for
ICT sector is of utmost importance to the creation of a competitive level
playing field for all market participants. It boosts the confidence of investors
and promotes the broad application of ICT across the whole economy and
for social activities. Key laws regulating the telecommunications sector were
adopted more than 10 years ago. They are outdated and do not meet the
recent challenges faced by Ukraine as seen in the previous sub-sections. It
does not meet the requirement for the European integration process as well.
While the Telecommunications law of 2003 is generally seen as a good
starting point towards building the EU-compatible regulatory framework,
there was never a regulatory framework for this sector in the Ukraine. For
many years, the sector was guided by secondary legislations and regulations
which if combined together will fully implement the Telecommunications
law of 2003. By 2010, the ICT market was in need for a strategy designed for
the sector in the midst of numerous regulatory acts in regulating the provision
of telecommunications services, interconnection and network access, dispute
resolution, tariff regulation, licensing and tenders, universal service, quality
of service, spectrum management, etc.
Ukraine, as mentioned earlier in the introduction has participated actively
in the review of the European Neighborhood Policy and in the implementa-
tion of the agreed priorities within the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The year
2014 was the turning point for the development of the EaP. The Association
Agreement (AA) - a new and the most advanced form of the EU - Ukraine
cooperation was introduced in that year. The AA and its counterpart, the Deep
and Comprehensive Free Trade Area are legislative and business frameworks
that will provide Ukraine with the opportunity to develop its governance
structures and economy in accordance with European values and on the basis
of European Union standards and regulations. The agreement with Ukraine
is unprecedented in terms of ambition and depth. It lays the foundation for
a political association and an economic integration between the EU and
Ukraine. It also provides the framework for the country’s modernization
effort based on the legal model of Europe. The AA between the EU and
Ukraine is the legal embodiment of the political declaration made by Ukraine,
under which the country is to progressively liberalize both the establish-
ment and trade in electronic communications services and to cooperate on
electronic commerce. The real value-added by the AA lies in the detailed
provisions on domestic regulation for several sectors of economy, including
electronic communications and e-commerce. Under the AA the parties sign
up to cooperate on the development of an Information Society by facilitating
access to electronic communications markets, encouraging competition and
investments in the ICT sector.
All requirements of the sector specific commitments originate from the
EU’s legal and regulatory framework for electronic communications and even
the wording of the framework is the same as that of the EU Directives.

The AA contains not only lists of EU legislative acts to be transposed
into a Ukrainian legislation, but it names the exact Articles to be borrowed
from these acts to the Ukrainian legislation. As an example, Ukraine is to
transpose in its national law selected provisions of five major EU directives
regulating the internal market for electronic communications services. These
are namely, the Framework Directive, the Authorization Directive, the Access
Directive, the Universal Service Directive, the Competition Directive and the
Decisions on radio policy. The listed directives contain specific provisions
promoting certain notions (single market power, universal service, network
facilities) and principles (transparency, non-discrimination) that are central
to EU legal framework. The regulation and law play an enabling role and
create conditions and incentives for competition by strengthening user’s
rights, introducing number portability and ensuring efficient use of radio
spectrum. These conditions and incentives, are expected to help in fostering
the development of a competitive domestic economy. It is also expected
to prepare the Ukrainian electronic communications providers for a new
regulatory environment and fierce competition in the EU internet market. It is
hoped that will regulatory initiatives will help Ukraine sustain free trade with
the EU.
An analysis of the Ukrainian regulation governing telecommunications
sector against the backdrop of its international obligations demonstrate that
Ukraine has utilized the accession guidelines in order to substantially revise
its legal basis. They have liberalized the market, provided open access to the
telecom networks and lowered regulatory barriers. At the moment, majority
of Ukraine’s commitments towards electronic communications regulation is
influenced by the AA. It is also a way of indicating that the legal foundation
for electronic communications is in place.
Presently, Ukraine’s parliament is working on drafting laws that seek
to ensure a level playing field in the telecom market. This includes the
establishment of an independent regulator, the protection of players in the
telecoms market against discrimination and the effective allocation and usage
of frequencies. Additionally, Ukraine has taken steps in order to strengthen
the country’s cyber resilience. A cybersecurity strategy was adopted in
February 2016 and a new cybersecurity law has just passed the first reading
in the parliament.
In February 2015 the NCCIR published the draft law “On Electronic
Communications”, which would substitute the outdated Telecommunications
law (2003). The draft law provides for the elimination of the licensing.
This will be substituted by the introduction of a notifying principle for

registration of entities that will perform any activity in the field of electronic
communications. It also proposes to exclude the possibility of the planned
audits of electronic communication services providers and, instead, introduce
the monitoring of activities within the field of electronic communications.
According to Article 2 of the draft, the law aims to: “Ensure the widespread
provision of electronic communications services of sufficient range, volume
and quality through limited regulation of market relations to facilitate effec-
tive functioning of an open and fair competitive market. The law defines
principles of consumer protection in electronic communications market by
the state.” Also in line with European regulatory standards, violations in the
field of electronic communications will be classified into minor, serious and
very serious ones; and administrative-economic sanctions in the form of a
fine will be put on entities only for serious and very serious violations.
A new approach towards the financing of the national regulator toward
enhancing its independence is being discussed. Currently, the regulator is
financed from the state budget. Instead of adopting this means of financing,
these service providers may be charged a levy of certain percentage on their
revenue to fund the regulator. This new approach - also common in other
European countries - is believed to make the regulator independent from the
government.
The government is planning to implement a range of measures aimed at
the deregulation of the telecommunications market in Ukraine. On March
18, 2015 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the Action Plan
for Deregulation of Commercial Activity (n Decree N 357-p), which inter
alia includes 16 measures with regard to telecommunications. The most
significant measures are as follows:
• harmonizing the procedure for allocation of radio frequencies and
spectrum re-distribution with the EU Directives by Quarter 2 of 2017;
• Implementing the technological neutrality in different spectrum by
Quarter 2 of 2017;
• Abolishing of range of licenses and introducing the notification proce-
dure by Quarter 3 of 2015;
• Implementing mobile number portability by Quarter 3 of 2015;
• Simplifying a range of technical procedures in 2015 and 2016.
It is worth mentioning that currently the state authorities’ conducting inspec-
tions on small and medium enterprises in all spheres are temporarily pro-
hibited, unless such an inspection is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers
of Ukraine or initiated by the same enterprise being inspected. Reducing

such government interference in the telecommunications market should have
a positive impact on the market and support fair competition.
2.4.4.1 ICT benefits from the EU-Ukraine cooperation

Research and innovation: Apart from cooperation on legislation and reg-
ulatory approximation, ICT development in Ukraine enjoys strong support
from the research and innovation policy of the EU, both within the EU -
Ukraine Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The part
of the Europe 2020 strategy which is concerns research and innovation is
the Horizon 2020 program. The EU - Ukraine Agreement on Scientific
and Technological Cooperation was renewed in March 2015. It estab-
lishes a legal framework and defines the major principles, areas and forms
of EU - Ukraine cooperation in the field of scientific and technological
research.
Another EU -Ukraine Agreement relating to Ukraine’s participation in the
EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, “Horizon 2020”, was
also signed in March 2015. During implementation of the previous program –
the 7th EU Framework Program for research and innovation, Ukraine took a
leading position among the EaP countries and joined the top ten most active
partners after the United States, Canada and the BRICS countries. However,
the main priorities of the current program, “Horizon 2020” is to promote
fundamental scientific research, increase the competitiveness of the industry
sector, including ICT. Ukraine joined 11 leading scientific countries and was
identified as key strategic partner of the EU in the EU program “Horizon
2020”.
The EaP Regulators Network for electronic communication (EaPeReg)
was developed in 2012 as the main instrument for providing technical assis-
tance in the field of ICT. It establishes the grounds for cooperation between
the EU and EaP countries, including Ukraine, in the fields where experiences
and expertise are exchanged; best practices are promoted, and approximation
of legislation occur and the development of the ICT market is monitored.
2.5 e-Government Implementation in Ukraine

In the previous sections a component of developing an information society
was discussed. That was the infrastructure aspect. Another aspect of an infor-
mation society is the governance aspect. In the Ukraine, there have been regu-
lations aimed at facilitating e-government implementation. And civil societies
2.5 e-Government Implementation in Ukraine 65
have also played a role in the development of e-government in the Ukraine.

This section describes the role of regulation in e-government implementation
and the role of civil society in the development of e-government.
2.5.1 Regulations and e-Government Implementation

There is a close relationship between ICT development and the uptake
of e-government services by citizens. The United Nations e-Government
Survey for 2015 shows a substantial progress by Ukraine in the develop-
ment of e-Government development. In 2 years, the country has jumped
by e-government implementation ranking improved by 25 points while the
e-participation index improved by 45 points. The country now ranks 62nd
out of 193 countries across the globe.
Today, local government bodies in Ukraine are at the initial stage of
implementing elements of e-governance and e-documentation. The office
automation activities carried out by separate local authorities suffer from lack
of coordination and funding. These problems are as a result of the insufficient
attention given towards automation by senior Government officials However,
in the last couple of years, despite the lack of progress at the national level,
Ukraine has seen very impressive e-government initiatives springing up at
the regional and municipal levels. Several municipalities have introduced
e-document flows, developed online services for citizens and created one-
stop-shop centers for the provision of administrative service with e-terminals
for self-service, etc.
Ukraine’s efforts towards promote electronic government and the
increased adoption of computers within the Ukrainian society dates back
to the 1990s. The Government of Ukraine then expressed its interest in the
adoption of ICTs to support transition. Computers were also adopted to
provide the functional and operational efficiency in the delivery of economic
activities and social development. However for a protracted period of time,
the only policy aimed at developing ICT and an information society was the
National Program of Informatization, adopted by the Parliament in 1998. The
program outlined a set of ambitious tasks for Ukraine. Such tasks included
the adoption of ICT for public administration and the support of innovation
across the business sector and social environments. The Program underscores
that integrating information systems and telecommunications system within
government bodies and activities will enable the general public, the state,
commercial organizations, and foreign users, access to a wide variety of
information services.
The implementation of e-governance technologies was further stimulated

by the order of the President of Ukraine “On additional measures to ensure
transparency of state government bodies operation” in 2002. The order
obliged the national and local governmental bodies to develop websites to
publish:
• Official information on their operations,
• The performance of programs and plans,
• The execution of effective and cancelled regulations,
• The provision of forms and sample documents,
• Archived information, etc.,
In a timely fashion (within five working days).
The next set of information society related laws were approved by the
Parliament in late 2003. There was the laws on Electronic Digital Signature
and the law Electronic Documents and Electronic Documents Circulation.
These two laws were supposed to foster the development of e-Commerce
within the country.
The legal basis for the further development of ICTs in all spheres of the
economy was created by the Law of Ukraine titled, “On the Basic Principles
for the Development of an Information Society in Ukraine for 2007–2015”
in 2007. The law was aimed at improving the state of governance; the
relations between the state and citizens; the establishment of electronic forms
of interaction between the national, local governmental bodies, individuals
and legal entities.
One of the priorities designated by this law is the increase in funding
for the National Informatization Program (hereinafter referred to as “NIP”)
and the placement of all informatization projects funded by the State Bud-
get of Ukraine within its scope. Its objectives and principles included, the
facilitation of the use of ICTs within and without the public sector to ensure
greater efficiency, openness, transparency of public administration, universal
access, social inclusion and strengthening of the Ukrainian economy. The
new program also included the analysis of factors that slowed down the
development and implementation of the expected Ukrainian information
society from the previous Program on Informatization. But there was the
lack of a coordinated efforts made by public and private sector entities with
respect to the utilization of available resources for the previous program on
informatization. This resulted in the inefficient usage of financial, material
and personal resources aimed at computerization and the implementation
of ICTs; the insufficient progress in the development of ICT infrastructure;
the lack of local and relevant content and the lack of Ukrainian - language
information resources in the internet. The previous document, which was
analyzed, was clearly inspired by the EU eEurope Plus program. The program
borrowed provisions without sufficient adaptation to the local context. The
technological, social, regulatory factors were not considered which made this
former document inoperable. The unsuccessful implementation of both (1998
and 2007) programs has been attributed to the several reasons, most important
of them are:
• No action plan towards the implementation of the provisions of the
programs’ to foster a further development of information society in
Ukraine,
• No relevant program created to address the growing digital divide
with respect to accessing electronic communications and information
resources as well as low level of computer literacy,
• No sectoral and cross-sectoral implementation program towards increas-
ing the low level of ICT penetration in education, science, culture,
health, agriculture and in other sectors of economy and society,
• Support of the deepening of democratic processes was poorly coordi-
nated and unsystematic. This could be seen in the conduct of elections,
voting, national and local referendums, surveys and consultations, the
introduction of public-government partnership, public control based on
widespread use of ICT and the Internet,
• Poor government management as there was no single central executive
power responsible for the formation and implementation of public policy
for the development of an information society. This resulted in the lack
of coordination between various government bodies and the absence of
unified and effective mechanism for implementing the provisions of the
programs.
One of the most significant achievements of the government in 2010 was the
plan for the implementation of technologies that will facilitate e-governance
from national and local government bodies. The following actions have been
defined as the project’s primary objectives: electronic document circulation,
establishment of permanent storage and protection of electronic resources,
providing of standard electronic document formats and electronic digital
signature, development and implementation of software and hardware to
ensure compatibility of electronic document circulation systems, creation of
a national electronic registry of information resources and a backup licensed
key certification centre for the government bodies, establishment of a national
centre for e-governance support. However there has been no application

of e-government in the governance activities by the executive branch and
local governments. There are no programs providing administrative services
electronically and the national electronic register for information resources
has not been established.
In May 2013 the CMU adapted the Strategy of Information Society
Development in Ukraine. The Strategy was created as enhanced version of
the 2007 Principles whose aim was to address the current trends of global
digitalization and particularities for the prospective development of Ukraine
by the year 2020. The Strategy has not been implemented. This is partially
because its objectives were too ambitious and did not correspond with the
actual level of technical and regulatory development of the framework. The
other reason it was not implemented was due to the absence of an Action
Plan and an enforcement mechanisms for its implementation and the political
turmoil of 2013–2014.
The Revolution of Dignity which occurred between 2013–2014, also
known as a revolution against corruption, increased the demand for trans-
parency and accountability in public administrations by the public. It also
created a demand for quality public services delivered without corruption
and a transparent competition for procurement services to the public sector.
That gave the impetus to the rapid advancement in the implementation of e-
Government. Most initiated reforms include the application of ICTs towards
exposing and stopping corruption, and the increase in the efficiency and
effectiveness of public administration.
The Government has demonstrated its commitment towards introducing
e-Governance by passing laws related to access to information, e-petitions,
increased fiscal transparency, and electronic procurement. However, the
implementation of these laws in a country as large and diverse as Ukraine,
is riddled with challenges. These challenges stem from an inherent resistance
at most levels of government to increased transparency. Despite consistent
pressure for a more rapid implementation of e-governance from the public
and civil society organizations, the pace of change has been slow, which
results to a high level of frustration among citizens.
Ukraine’s international commitments, includes the AA and member-
ship in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which includes aspects of
e-Government, such as public procurement reforms and the creation of an
Open Data regime. Ukraine’s OGP National Action Plan (NAP) includes
24 specific actions, including increased access to public information, publi-
cation of public data in open data format, creation of a single portal for
administrative services, transparency in the extractive industries, and access

to urban planning information (see (N 1176-p, 2014)). While there is progress
in numerous areas, there are three key areas, such as the use of electronic
procurement, creation of an Open Data regime, and delivery of e Services,
where significant opportunity exists and momentum is building. However
e-Government implementation requires complementary changes in policies
and processes, the training for civil servants, and increased awareness among
the citizens in order for it to have significant impact. For instance simply
providing public information in an Open Data format without building the
capacity of civil society towards accessing and analyzing that data will have
limited impact. Given the lack of resources towards the implementation
process and the inability to communicate comprehensive changes presents
a certain rick to the implementation of e-Government.
The process of decentralization, which is underway in Ukraine, depends
on a successful e-Government implementation. This will ensure that the
information flow between regions and the central government are transparent
and effective. At the national level in July 2015, the Inter-Ministerial ICT
Council was revived with the purpose of coordinating across branches of the
national government, civil society, and the private sector on key issues related
to e-Government. The Council consists of five working groups namely, the
Interoperability; the Electronic Services; the Electronic Identification; the
Open Data; and the Legislative/Policy Issues groups. Key ministries are also
fully engaged in the establishment of e-Government platform. For instance
the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) has released an
updated single portal for access to services. Also the MEDT teams are work-
ing on technology platforms to train civil servants and raise the digital literacy
levels of citizens across Ukraine in support of a Knowledge Society strategy.
With respect to decentralization, local governments have sufficient budgets
for implementing a range of reforms enabled by technology. This includes
improved public services, participatory budgeting, and citizen engagement.
In September 2015, the Ministry of Justice started a couple of initiatives
to provide governments services on-line. For instance, the receipt of infor-
mation on private property registration and civil status acts registration are
processed online. An important initiative is the online open data publication
on e-government procurement and expenses6 . In July 2015, the project of
electronic petitions was signed by the President, thus Ukrainians can both
individually and collectively submit appeals electronically (e-petitions) to the
6
edata.gov.ua
President, Parliament, Government and the local municipalities. These initia-

tives may seem insignificant, but after the long years of no activity within
these areas, these are ice-breaking activities. It is important to note interna-
tional donors also provide financial support for e-government initiatives in
Ukraine. The international donors include, the Soros fund “Vidrodzhennya”,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development among others.
Though the Government, with the supervision and assistance provided
by various international institutions, made significant progress in estab-
lishing legislative and regulatory framework for the implementation of an
e-Government, implementing these laws and regulation presents a great chal-
lenge. Despite consistent pressure for more rapid implementation from public
and civil society groups, the pace of change has been slow, resulting into a
high level of frustration among citizens.
2.5.2 The Role of Civil Society in e-government Reforms

Throughout 2014–16, the civil society in Ukraine performed design and over-
sight functions in the reform process. The Civil Society Platform under the
Eastern Partnership, the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform operating within
the Association Agreement and other members of civil societies have been
participating actively in consultative meetings with government institutions in
connection with European integration. Taking to account the positive impact
of the values of an information society in the European integration processes,
the need to develop a national information infrastructure; e-governance; e-
democracy; information security; implementation of international standards;
the adoption of best practices in the development, implementation and use of
ICTs is the main item of public discussions and points of actions.
Shortly after the Revolution of Dignity a grassroots initiative led to the
introduction of electronic procurement in Ukraine. This effort was made by
individuals with relevant technical experience and living in countries such
a - Georgia, which rapidly introduced electronic procurement in 2010. The
initiative quickly gained support from the government, including the Presi-
dent’s administration, MEDT, and Kyiv City Administration. It was further
endorsed by international organizations such as Transparency International.
Thus by 2015 the ProZorro initiative7 , as it was called, is an example of
a successful collaboration between the Government and civil society. The
system also provides a business intelligence tool, which is open to the public.
7
http://prozorro.org/
Legislative amendments expanded the use of ProZorro8 toward full

implementation, with mandatory compliance required in the implementation
phases during 2016. For instance in June 2015, the Ministry of Defense
reported that all public procurement will be made through the new electronic
portal. This was an effective way to arrange logistic support for the Ukrainian
army, which is repelling the Russian attack on Ukraine. However, many
challenges to successful rollout of ProZorro exist. These include policy and
technical challenges as well as capacity within the public sector towards
reforming public procurement through the use of e-procurement.
In April, 2015, amendments to the law on Access to Public Information
introduced the requirement for government entities in Ukraine to make their
data available in an open data format. Based on a prototype developed by an
NGO called SocialBoost in early 2016, the State Agency for e-Governance
launched a new version of the Open Data Portal for Ukraine9 Eventually,
the site will include an application programming interface (API) catalogue to
encourage greater public access to and effective use of data.
In May 2015, the Verkhovna Rada adapted legislation requiring greater
fiscal transparency from government entities in Ukraine. Most government
bodies, including municipal governments, will meet this requirement through
an open data approach. Kyiv City has introduced a transparent budget tool in
late 2015, where citizens can gain access to the city’s administration expenses
in a real time.
In addition to giving civil society and individual citizen’s greater access to
information is a means of holding government accountable. Providing access
to open data can be a way towards introducing new public services as NGOs
are increasingly able to use public data to create new tools and services. Civil
society groups and businesses have identified opportunities towards providing
citizens with access to public data. This includes an up-to-date traffic and
information on the activities of the public sector. This is taking the burden
off the public sector in the development and maintenance of a full range of
public services. An emerging example of the interface between open data,
innovation, and public services is the open data incubator “1991”10 launched
in 2015. Similar efforts are taking place under smart city initiatives across
Ukraine.
8
Prozoro means transparent in Ukrainian.
9
http://data.gov.ua/
10
http://1991.vc
2.6 Conclusion
In the chapter various regulatory and policy tools adapted in Ukraine to
promote ICT development in the country have been presented. How these
policies affect the delivery of ICT infrastructure and e-governance has been
described. In the course of exploring these subjects, it was refreshing to
see the Ukrainian government provide regulatory and policy remedies to
correct the challenges in the market and to enhance e-governance. Although
these measures are in place, some challenge towards the implementing these
policies exist. These challenges are as follows:
The low number of impact assessment for existing policies: This point is
not only a challenge, but the challenge stems from the fact that no national
indicators exist to aid impact assessment. As a result, impact assessment
on the success or otherwise of these regulations and policies are rare. It is
difficult for the country to identify, where they need to improve or where they
need to relax regulations or market interventions. That makes the Ukrainian
position quite different from what the EU member states are enjoying, having
access to all relevant national data using ICT as well as digital development
easily assessed on Digital agenda scoreboards.
The existence of multiple strategies: It is also difficult to speak of an

“overall” national ICT policy strategy. This is because of the frequency of
new priorities and funding challenges. Therefore there exists numerous con-
tradicting and overlapping laws and regulations, governing ICT sector, with
no mechanisms for implementation have. The National ICT policy initiatives
frequently suffer from slow and sporadic implementations. Thus it is difficult
to find one clearly defined ICT plan. Consequently, there is a big gap between
original stated ICT policies and targets and what has actually been achieved.
In fact, this is a general problem in the domain of ICT development in
Ukraine. This calls for the creation of a State program of the development of
ICT in Ukraine. This program which should include provisions on electronic
identification, electronic administrative services, provision of health services
with the use of ICT, distance learning, free sharing of public information
resources and data. According to the recommendations of Parliamentary hear-
ings of 2016, such program must be aligned with the relevant EU legislation
and international law and must be developed with the involvement of the
leading scientists and specialists, research institutions and universities as well
as ICT business representatives.
2.6 Conclusion 73
Multiple ICT agencies: The lack of a single central executive body that
will ensure the development and implementation of the state’s policy in
the field of ICT, communications, information society, and implementation
of e-government constitutes another problem. This leads to an uncertainty;
insufficient coordination of state and local government’s entities towards
developing ICT and e-government services and the lack of interoperability
of various information systems, etc.
Deficient Infrastructure: The weak ICT infrastructure is a key problem in

Ukraine. There is the need for a strong regulatory intervention to further pro-
mote competition and facilitate the implementation of new technologies. The
government’s regulatory involvement is needed to promote the construction
of the infrastructure in rural and remote locations to ensure the diffusion of
ICTs to these areas as Ukrainian telecom operators and service providers are
very reluctant to extend their operation beyond large cities at the present time.
Lack of requisite human resources in the public sector: Another key

problem for the effective application of ICT and e-governance in Ukraine
is the inadequacy of human resources. Government finds it difficult to recruit
and retain qualified ICT staff as there is often the tendency for such personnel
to leave for a better job. This can seriously hamper systems development or
daily operations. In addition, the digital skills of other public employees are
not very developed, which leads to delayed and inconsistent ICT development
and contributes to inadequate data security. This problem is also associated
with lack of special knowledge, competences and awareness among public
servants on the importance of the role that ICT can play in supporting
economic and social development. This results in the reluctance of public
personnel to adopt new technologies which stands on the way to the online
public services development. Capacity building has to be strengthened to
create the necessary human resource.
Lack of technical capacity: The lack of technical and policy capacity on ICT
issues creates barriers towards the effective formulation and implementation
of ICT policies. Especially on emerging issue in such areas as the migration to
IP based networks, the implementation of feature generation mobile commu-
nication systems, e-commerce applications, cybersecurity and personal data
protection. It seems very unlikely that Ukraine has all necessary capacity to
effectively address the abovementioned issues. They will need the assistance
and cooperation with international bodies and institutions. The Ukrainian
government has recently, in February 2017, initiated an arrangement that

coordinates global software and hardware vendors to promote data protec-
tion, cybersecurity, and other advanced technology products by the use of
cutting-edge solutions is aimed at improving the efficiency of Ukrainian
public services.
Political interference: The complicated political situation and periodical

conflicts between various political powers in the Parliament contribute into
weaknesses in the development ICT policies. That results in an ineffective
ICT policy formulation and implementation due to the lack of political
leadership, absence of national ICT strategy, ineffective coordination between
different government departments and agencies with ICT responsibilities, and
the absence of ICT policies processes.
Regional crises: The conflict in the East of Ukraine, followed by the Russian
military aggression led to the loss of capital in combat and the ban on
Ukrainian goods in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This led
to decrease in GDP in 2014 (–7%) and 2015 (–9%). According to the State
Statistics Service, due to the occupation of the Crimea, Internet Service
Providers lost 110.6 thousand broadband internet subscribers. Also, judging
by statistics, a significant number of users remained in the temporarily occu-
pied areas of Lugansk and Donetsk regions.
Hurried project implementations: Many e-government applications are

implemented with fast time-frames, which does not allows for the re-
engineering of processes. When online systems are implemented, it is difficult
to make subsequent changes. Thus the re-engineering of administrative pro-
cesses and the re-organization of ownership of information are important
steps needed for the implementing e-government applications. Process re-
engineering requires that an state agency implement substantive reform in
the organizational structure; initiate a change in culture and mindset; train
and improve skills of its state employees; deploy the appropriate ICT infras-
tructure to enable online processes that are timely and efficient to both - the
users and the government agency. Thus it is deemed necessary to introduce
a single project office, responsible for determining and implementing the
government’s re-engineering program. Such programs should be devised in
close collaboration with the administrative reform bodies and it should bring
about a new governance framework that is enabled by ICT.
2.6 Conclusion 75
Though certain successes have been touted in this chapter, with respect
to ICT development in Ukraine, one cannot overlook these problems. The
implication of this problem is the digital divide alluded to in this chapter
between urban and rural dwellers, with respect to access to Broadband infras-
tructure and online services. To avoid this geographical discrimination in the
delivery of e-services, there is the need for market incentive policies aimed
at the development of Broadband networks. And market incentive policies
aimed at developing platforms and contents for e-services - such as e-health,
e, learning etc. There is also a greater need for capacity building in Ukraine
both for public servants and citizens, as the existing initiatives mentioned are
not sufficient. This will encourage social inclusion in rural areas as well.
There is the possibility that Ukraine’s desire to improve global competi-
tiveness by developing an information society will occur one day. But the
speed or otherwise of this desire rests on how these problems are tackled. It
also rest on a more coordinated effort towards implementing the existing ICT
policies aimed at developing ICT infrastructure and e-governance.
3
The Will to Innovate in Colombia:
ICT Policies as a Means
for Improving Education
Gary Cifuentes
University of Los Andes, Colombia
Abstract
Innovation in education has become a topic of interest in the contemporary
educational arena, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
are at the forefront of these interests. What we refer to as the ‘will to
innovate’ is analyzed through the rationale of a set of ICT policies. In the
Latin American region, higher educational institutions have been producing
policies, programs and practices to steer innovation through the integration
of ICT. This chapter analyses the case of Colombia who has adopted five
different ICT policies aimed at educational innovation. The argument is that
more attention should be paid to the production and outcomes of these poli-
cies. The conclusions in the chapter are addressed to highlight if educational
change and the improvement of the educational system can be successfully
achieved in a region where issues of development and inequity are still at the
forefront.
3.1 Introduction: ICT Policies as a Will to Improve

This chapter is an analysis on how the will to improve (innovate) affects the
formation and implementation of ICT for education policies in Colombia.
It is a summary of outcomes from a research embarked upon by the author.
Policies represent an effort to imagine a future for both individuals,
organizations and society. They represent an assemblage of responses
to perceived problems, equally imagined and therefore contested
77
78 The Will to Innovate in Colombia: ICT Policies
(Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). However the implementation of these policies can
only occur, if there is the will to improve (will to innovate). How the Will
to improve helped Colombia in developing and implementing its ICT for
education policy is discussed. In this chapter, the policy context of the discus-
sion is the educational policies aimed at integrating ICTs into the educational
system. These educational policies are significant to the global agenda on
education.
In this section, the concepts of the National ICT for education policy and
the will to improve are introduced. In the following sections, how innovation
is applied to ICT policy implementation in Colombia is discussed. This is
followed by instances, where the Colombian Government exhibited the will
to innovate in the delivery on the ICT for education policy. The discussion
and the conclusion follow next.
3.1.1 Overview of National ICT for Education Policies

According to Kozma, ICT policies and the programs they operationalize
are the means to achieve those promises allocated to ICT for education
(UNESCO, 2011). ICT for education policies that are drafted for reasons
other than this perspective provides a justification for an in-depth study
of such a policy. ICT policies are not just about the infrastructure or the
introduction of new pedagogies, but they are also about the planning and the
concerns about what to use, how and when, as political dimensions require
strategic and coherent decisions (UNESCO, 2014).
According to Kozma there are two types of ICT policies namely, strategic
and operational policies (UNESCO, 2011). The former provides a vision for
sustained change in education while the latter is the means to achieve that
vision.
National ICT for education policies are strategic, as they provide a ratio-
nale, a set of goals and a vision of an educational system improved by ICT
(UNESCO, 2011). They are also strategic because they coordinate disparate
efforts necessary in educational settings. If it is to be said in another way,
without national guidance, local innovations cannot be easily sustained, and
even if they achieve change, it will not affect the educational system on a
broader scale (UNESCO, 2011). Examples of strategic policies are long-term
national or international documents that state a vision of what is intended for
education in a particular area.
3.1 Introduction: ICT Policies as a Will to Improve 79
The national ICT for education policies are also operational. Framed as
action plans, programs and projects, operational policies provide the means to
achieve a stated vision (UNESCO, 2011). Some of the following components
can be found in any operational ICT policy:
• Professional development: A professional teacher’s development pro-
gram is an essential component of any operational ICT policy and
should be above and beyond the teacher’s traditional training. Formerly,
it was common for ICT policies to include operational skills in hardware
and software; however, in order to integrate ICT into the curriculum,
more advanced skills are now required for any teacher-training program
(Kozma, 2008).
• Pedagogical change: A key element of the operational ICT policy
is the articulation of ICT related changes with respect to innova-
tive pedagogical practices. Teachers are expected, in such policies, to
organize and provide resources as well as model cognitive and social
processes.
• Curricular development: In operational ICT policies provisions are
made for the teacher’s shift from ICT literacy to the acquisition of
advanced skills. The emphasis on the curricular often implies the
integration of ICT throughout the curriculum to support learning.
• Assessment reform: In operational ICT policies, the shift in the teacher’s
skill set is also depicted as a continuous assessment of a new set of
21st century skills that consistently apply new assessment methods
(performance tasks and portfolios, for example).
• Restructuring the school: Such policies also create a new disposition and
or with the allocation of space, time and resources for each educational
institution.
• Technological infrastructure: The allocation of technical resources was
typical of the early stages in any national ICT policy.
In this regard, it is necessary to consider ICT policies and their components
as part of a contemporary rationality that is beyond the ‘problem-solving’ of
educational and social issues but rather shaping a desired future or a state of
things. Hence, strategic and operational policies belong to the social imagi-
nary of education policies, representing an ensemble of technical responses
to perceived problems (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Given this particular nature
of ICT policies, it is possible to draw on the work of Li (2007), in order to
understand ICT policies as a will to improve in education.
3.1.2 The Will to Improve

Li states that the will to improve characterizes the contemporary rationality
for national governments. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the rationality
behind these programs designed to foster improvements, i.e., analyze what
they want to change, and the calculations they hope apply to foster that change
(Li, 2007). The ‘Will’ does not only refer to the gap between the attempted
and the achieved, but also to persistence (Li, 2007). When developing an
intervention for a particular population, there is a need to frame the problems
that be solved technically, i.e., circumscribe them into areas of intervention
disposed to calculation, measurement and control.
In this endeavor the population being helped is not dominated (Li, 2007).
As such programs are aimed at improvements that produce change that people
want for themselves. This is being stated from Foucauldian perspective
(Foucault, Governmentality, 1991) that later become the analytics of the
governing populations (Dean, 2010; Miller & Rose, 2008). Compared to a
coercive power that looks for constraining actions, the aim of government
is to improve conditions of wealth by selecting the best means at hand (Li,
2007). Thus, governance is exerted over a population, educating desires, and
configuring habits, aspirations and beliefs (Dean, 2010). Therefore it is a
critical endeavor to analyze the rationality of the government, its practices
and technologies (Foucault, 1988; Foucault, 1978; Foucault, 1977).
According to Li (2007) two practices are required to enact a will to
improve. The first one is problematisation, i.e., identify a problem, an object
of concern that mobilizes an interest and a need for intervention. Once the
problem has been identified, the second practice is rendered technical, i.e.,
diagnosing, measuring, comparing and, generally speaking, allocating a set
of strategies to intervene in the problem “assembling information about that
which is included and devising techniques to mobilize the forces and entities
thus revealed” (Rose, 1999).
3.2 Innovating in Higher Education: The Colombian Case

The integration of ICT in education as a force for change has been formalized
in Latin America, both in national education policies, and in higher education
policies (OECD, 2004; Sunkel, 2009). This proliferation in ICT policies
occurred in the 1990s across Latin America. This was when technologies
revolutionized different sectors, including education. The trend towards the
integration of ICT into education began in Costa Rica and Chile and did
3.2 Innovating in Higher Education: The Colombian Case 81
diffuse to other countries through the decade from 1990. ICT in education
policies in Latin America have three common points (Sunkel & Trucco,
2012).
• Education is a strategic area needed to aid the reduction of the digital
gap.
• The formal educational system is a privileged realm for the imple-
mentation of public policies, oriented towards the democratic access to
ICT.
• There should be an acknowledgment of the different stages and levels
of maturity necessary for digital inclusion, when introducing ICT for
education initiatives within institutions.
The existence of the digital divide represents a challenge for educational
policies within the countries in Latin America. There are three types of such
digital gaps. These are namely: the inability to access the technology by a
certain population of a particular country; the inability by certain groups to
use the technology beyond social use, this is more oriented toward educa-
tional appropriation; and expectations of the use of technology, referred to as
the real possibilities that institutions can offer and what youth populations are
expected to use (UNESCO, 2014).
The implementation of ICT polices occur in a heterogeneous manner
across Latin America. This is because of the social, economic and geographi-
cal conditions and problems facing each individual Latin American country.
Despite these differences, in 2008 a common regional agenda was developed.
This agenda was called the “Educational Goals 2021”. The aim of the agenda
was to promote quality and equity in education delivery. As expected, ICT
policies were at the forefront of such an initiative (UNESCO, 2011).
A common issue in the last two decades across the region is the
low usability and appropriation of technologies at the classroom level,
despite high investment on equipment and professional teacher develop-
ment (UNESCO, 2014). In this regard, a common trend has been the
1:1 model, which includes the provision of an individual device for each
student in the classroom, a strategy originated in 2006 in the CEIBAL plan in
Uruguay.
However, Hinostroza and Labbé (2011) have claimed that more research
should be undertaken to gain a deeper understanding of ICT policies in the
region. However, from a regional perspective, the introduction and use of ICT
in education in Latin America is no different than in the rest of the world.
Where the region differs from many developed countries is that there is very
little evidence of the characteristics of policies and the extent to which they
are being implemented’ (Hinostroza & Labbé, 2011).
Their report was based on a survey completed by selected staff at the
Ministries of Education in 17 countries. It is worth mentioning that the rate
of response on the characterization of ICT policies or initiatives was high,
but responses to questions regarding their implementation were substantially
fewer (Hinostroza & Labbé, 2011). When characterizing ICT policies in Latin
America, the report refers to policy institutionalization, i.e., when there is an
official national policy (Figure 3.1). According to the study, this formalization
was linked to the establishment and functioning of a dedicated unit involved
in the implementation of such ICT policy at a national level.
One of the countries where technology has been increasingly integrated
and formalized through higher education policies is Colombia (Hinostroza &
Labbé, 2011; Osorio, Cifuentes, & Rey, 2011)., where different initiatives
have been deployed in this regard (OECD, 2004). As Ball mentions, Colom-
bia can be identified as one of the countries in which the general elements
of contemporary international education policies operate, just as it occurs in
developed economies (Ball, 1998).
The panorama of ICT policies in Colombia is neither homogeneous nor
simple to define. With more than 25 years of history in the development of
policies, programs and projects on ICT for education, Colombia has been
regarded as one of the most active countries in Latin America with respect to
Figure 3.1 Index of institutionalization of ICT policies.

3.2 Innovating in Higher Education: The Colombian Case 83
Figure 3.2 Number of students per Computer in Colombia.

Source: NME, 2016.
the integration of ICT into education (Cifuentes, 2015). Actually, only a few
countries in this region have developed policies in this sector, establishing
a public policy for ICT in education (Sunkel, 2009). The following graph
(Figure 3.2) depicts the increased penetration of ICT in education in the last
years.
Compared with undeveloped countries but also with the rest of the world,
Colombia is well positioned among the countries in which population have
access to Internet:
Figure 3.3 Percentage of people using the Internet.

Source: ITU World telecommunication – Commission for regulation in communication.
In Colombia, different initiatives at different times from different sources

have produced a diversity of ICT policies: several legal acts, plans of govern-
ment, educational decennial plans, social policy documents, reports, and
national guidelines comprise the landscape of initiatives launched by the last
governments (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF, 2014)).
In general, the initiatives in Colombia have been divided into programs and
projects with four different emphases:
• Enhancing teaching practices through ICT innovation,
• Development of human talent,
• Management and production of digital educational resources,
• Informatics and communicational infrastructure
Colombia has a decentralized national administrative context, in which
responsibility and resources are delivered to departments, district and munici-
pal levels (UNICEF, 2014). In this regard, the Ministry of Education deploys
national guidelines and articulates their efforts with other sectors (Ministry
of ICT, COLCIENCIAS1 , SENA2 ). In other words, vertical and horizontal
alignment is practiced (UNESCO, 2011). However, the secretaries of edu-
cation in different territories across the country are in charge of channe-
ling these guidelines and national efforts to the municipal and local
levels.
Recently there have been attempts from the Colombian government to
elaborate a discourse on ICT policies in terms of a system. In 2013, the
Ministry of Education launched a National System for Innovation with ICT.
This attempt from the government depicts ICT policies as solutions for eco-
nomic and social problems. Attending to the three positions that characterize
ICT policies according to Kozma (UNESCO, 2011), i.e., support economic
growth, promote social development, and advance educational reform, it
is possible to argue that this National System of Innovation represents a
promise of enhancement to the quality of the educational system: “The
national system of innovation aims to settle innovation as a condition and
aspect that frames educational practice, enhances conditions and capacities
regarding ICT integration in the Colombian educational sector, and attends to
the necessities of educational communities” (NME, 2013).
Hence it is possible to illustrate from an historical account how these
initiatives were configured as a network, both at governmental and insti-
tutional levels. It is worth saying that this national system was not the
1
National Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.
2
Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje – National Service for Learning.
3.3 Enacting the Will to Innovate 85
outcome of one specific government as it is usually described from a state-

centered and top-down analysis. Instead, such a system was possible because
of the mobilization and support from institutions, both public and private,
and at school and higher education levels (Cifuentes, 2015). These mobi-
lizations took place once a perceived problem of inequity and a lack of
quality in education were recognized both from the government and the civil
society.
In the next section, the Colombian case is analyzed as a good example
of a will to improve the delivery of education using different kinds of ICT
policies that did aid in mobilizing as well as being mobilized from educational
institutions. This case is underpinned by a multiple case study produced
from a three-year research project. The project analyzed policy enactment
practices across several higher education institutions. In these institutions,
different actors mobilized efforts to fulfil their needs and goals (Cifuentes &
Vanderlinde, 2015). In tracing the network of ICT policies that were appro-
priated in concrete practice within these institutions, I found that a set of
operational ICT policies were key to understanding the enactment of the
will to innovate in Colombia. The empirical work used for the case were
from document analysis of ICT policies, interviews with leaders in higher
education institutions, and tracing how these sets of policies were enacted
differently in each setting.
3.3 Enacting the Will to Innovate

In relation to the network of initiatives aimed at steering innovation in
Colombia, I would now like to characterize those initiatives, as a part of the
will to innovate that was not just based on the interest and support of a specific
government in power. On the contrary, its articulation and sustainability
also came from the educational institutions, who to some extent mobilized
themselves. My main contention is that 2007 is key towards understanding the
turning point in the educational agenda in Colombia, once a set of operational
ICT policies were designed and enacted within higher education institutions.
It does not mean that previous efforts are not relevant, however, the will to
innovate was conceived in 2007. That exist the present.
In this section, I will describe each operational ICT policy, its origin, the
focus of the problematisation (intervention), how it was technically delivered,
and some examples of policy development which are related to the will to
innovate argued in this work.
3.3.1 The Will to Innovate by Virtualising

In 2007, the National Ministry of Education appointed an association of
universities called ‘E-Learning 2.0’. The essence this association was to
develop a proposal towards transforming traditional classroom environments
into online programs for higher education delivery. This initiative was a
conceptual and methodological framework developed as a response to a
broader need in Colombia, with respect to the need for developing national
guidelines on e-learning, that later became a broader strategy called the
‘National Strategy for E-Learning’ (NME, 2014).
Hence, what was problematised was the environment needed for teaching
and learning. And how this new form of delivery of the educational process
could be transformed. The document ‘Methodology to Transform Classrooms
to Online Programs’, referring to the methodology of the process (NME,
2007) became a useful tool for the selected group of higher educational
institutions participating in the early stages of the project. This program was
intended, not just for expanding coverage for the academic programs online,
but also to become an e-learning policy – a perceived need for over a decade
for Colombia and for other Latin American countries (Rama, 2013).
As an operational ICT policy, the three dimensions that any institu-
tion should take into account are described. These dimensions include, the
organizational, pedagogical and technological issues.
• The Organizational issues involve the description of the vision on the
expected e-learning outcome, the administrative and academic guide-
lines, and the financial strategies. These points are based on a previous
diagnosis that presents the analyses of the appropriate conditions for the
organization to facilitate e-learning.
• The Pedagogical issues are issues that consider the academic staff, the
design of the educational resources, and the development of a peda-
gogical model. The pedagogical model should describe how pedagogy
would be delivered in an on-line environment. Special attention should
be given to issues relating to learning, paying attention to the interaction,
connectivity, and support during the process.
• Finally, the technological issues refer to the provision and adop-
tion of the appropriate infrastructure and facilities that should be
deployed during the implementation of the on-line program. Such
issues include the provision of IT support for the academic staff and
students.
This methodology became widespread throughout the country. It has been

applied by many institutions as a guideline for designing online programs.
The Minister of Education, in a first stage of the ICT, facilitated a training
program for the participating. The facilitation was by the means of financial
and administrative support.
Each higher educational institution adopted the policy methodology in
different ways. This was influences by certain localized institutional dyna-
mics such as, their organizational structure, their pedagogical vision and their
vision of technological integration. Within these three dimensions, institu-
tions allocated the conditions towards transforming their academic program
from the offline model to the online model.
In order to increase the virtual learning environments, the goal of the
policy was to achieve at least 80% of interaction online in any educational
program. In total, 37 institutions participated in this initiative, but it was
because of their attempt to receive some support from the government. At
these institutions at least one off-line academic program was transformed
into an e-learning program (model) at the advent of this policy. It is worth
mentioning that inequity in education has been difficult to tackle by these
policy initiatives alone. In fact only few higher education institutions are
participating in this policy initiative. This is because there are 280 higher
education institutions that are tertiary institutions in Colombia, but only few
have signed up to this policy. Aside the lack of interest from institutions,
the truth is that some of them have no suitable pedagogical, technological
or organizational conditions for developing online programs. For instance,
in some institutions lack financial capacity which will obviously affect the
sustainability of the program. Therefore these institutions are unable to join
the program.
In terms of a will for these educational institutions to virtualize, the
policy objective could be translated as, ‘They will learn to virtualize academic
programs’.
3.3.2 The Will to Innovate by Training

In 2008, the National Minister of Education formulated a policy ‘The Route
for ICT Integration in Professional Teacher Development’. Subsequently, the
Route (NME, 2008a), was outlined as a staggered process. The origin of the
Route has to be traced historically, as it is a part of a strategic ICT policy
divided into three lines of action (Figure 3.4):
Figure 3.4 Axes of educational policies for ICT.

Source: NME, 2008.
As seen in the Figure 3.4, the strategic ICT policy (the ‘National Plan of
ICT 2008–2019’) placed the Route for the integration of ICT within the scope
of developing professional teachers. This development process enables the
usage and appropriation of technology in education by the teachers. It is worth
saying that, within this context, teachers are considered as key actors who
are able to add value to the educational sector once they become skillful in
using ICT pedagogically, participating in virtual communities and networks,
and leading collaborative projects on ICT for education (NME, 2008a). This
implies the development of a framework of competences needed to facilitate
ICT pedagogy.
A framework of competencies is embedded in the Route. Here, the Route
is designed to enable a progressive development of the ICT pedagogy skill of
the teacher. The development starts from the initial level (the personal appro-
priation stage) and then moves gradually to the professional appropriation
stage. These levels were structured as a set of competencies (pedagogical,
communicative, and technical) that every teacher should develop in order to
innovate and transform their educational practices. In terms of the problema-
tisation, what is at stake with this ICT policy is the construction of the idea of
‘an innovative teacher’. Thus, the discourse on the competencies that frame
this ICT policy represents the foundation for the ideal of ‘a new teacher’, one
that emerges in the context of educational technologies that foster different
practices and identities.
The program, just like its methodology (NME, 2007), was equally signifi-
cant at a national level. In 2013, the updated version of the document tagged,
‘ICT Competencies for Teacher Development’, was launched (NME, 2013).
This document expanded and defined, in more details, the set of competencies
that ought to be developed. It also made provisions for two new competences
namely, management and research competences. In an attempt to facilitate
the technical (Li, 2007), ICT for innovation, a five-competence pentagon
was deployed. The competence pentagon involved three different levels of
appropriation for each competence (NME, 2013).
With respect to the actual institutional adoption of the Route, there are
visible examples where the development of the professional teachers in
Colombia involved the development of their ICT competences. Workshops,
badges, online communities of practice and many other activities and strate-
gies were deployed in order to transform the existing teaching practices into
innovative experiences.
It is however, difficult to trace the impact of this particular initiative on a
national scale even though the Ministry of Education launched a special certi-
fication, Digital Master Teacher, which was aimed at reaching out to 145,000
teachers across the country. It is also difficult to find an impact assessment
study that did objectively deploy information on the actual number of trained
teachers. Additionally, it is hard to believe that the existing certification
strategy transforms traditional practices or that the ICT competences assigned
for each component (pedagogy, communication, technology, management
and research) can be developed successfully.
In terms of a will for educational institutions to train, the policy objective
could be translated as, ‘They will learn to train teachers and students in ICT
competencies’.
3.3.3 The Will to Innovate by Planning

Between 2005 and 2006, the National Ministry of Education undertook a
survey on existing virtual models adopted by higher education institutions
in Colombia. This study is an extraction of the particular findings related to
the level of planning in the tertiary education system in Colombia. In these
findings it was revealed that less than 50% of all the higher education institu-
tions had a strategic plan to integrate ICT for educational purposes. Relying
on these results, the Ministry of Education initiated a program aimed at
enhancing and supporting the formulation of plans needed for implementing
ICT policies aimed at Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
The project, christened PlanEsTIC (NME, 2008b), was designed to sup-

port more than 100 HEIs in formulating, implementing and assessing those
plans in seven regions of the country where the project was allocated (Osorio,
Cifuentes, & Rey, 2011). Although the methodology adopted (NME, 2007)
made the leadership and organizational dimensions explicit, PlanEsTIC did
set conditions to either appoint or strengthen units that were at the fore
front of the integration ICT in educational delivery in higher education
institutions.
One could say that ICT integration at an institutional level became
problematised from a strategic viewpoint. Obviously ICT integration can be
traced historically at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. However, in
Colombia, ICT policies only became a matter of concern recently when
PlanEsTIC established the know-how and did spread this knowledge at the
national level. One could also say that PlanEsTIC established the needed
capacity within institutions; in other words, this ICT policy developed condi-
tions for appointing leaders and teams that would lead in the implementation
of the plans in the ICT policy.
Technically speaking, different artifacts were devised for the enactment
of this policy. Such artifacts included a set of guidelines needed for planning
the integration of ICT into the educational process, a strategy for staggering
and following up the process of planning, and a diagnostic tool for measuring
the e-maturity level. It is worth saying that the guidelines were more than a
set of best practices. Indeed, they are carefully structured and detailed. The
guidelines provided an insight into the strategic vision, taking into consider-
ation local, regional, national and international frameworks. The frameworks
involved the designing and managing of the strategy, the selection of the
infrastructure, the setting of activities, an action plan, and finally delivery
of a financial strategy.
After five years of running the project, more than 120 institutions were
able to deliver, not just a document (report) but also developed strategic plans
for the integration of ICT in their institutions. Many of these institutions
devised concrete strategies that enhanced their vision towards the integration
ICT into their pedagogical practice (Osorio, Cifuentes, & Rey, 2011). A
community of practice online portal on strategic planning was launched. This
initiative promoted best practices and resources for interested institutions3 .
3
This community of practice is located here: http://comunidadplanestic.uniandes.edu.co/
ComunidadPlanEsTIC.aspx
In terms of a will for educational institutions to plan, the policy objective

could be translated as, ‘They will learn to strategically plan ICT integration
according to their own vision’.
3.3.4 The Will to Innovate by Producing Digital Resources

The basis for the production and management of open digital educational
resources was realized in 2004. In 2004 the National Ministry of Education
steered higher education institutions towards cataloguing and reporting all
their learning objects. The sector minister organized a national contest on the
learning objects assembled. Based on the assembled learning objectives, the
digital education resource was conceptualized. The aim of the conceptualiza-
tion was to clarify what the concept of open education resource implies to
Colombia. They further contextualized the concept by qualifying the concept
with the adjective “open”. Therefore “An open digital educational resource
is any material that has an pedagogical purpose, its information is digital,
and its usability, adaptability, modification and customization is accessible
due to a public infrastructure such as Internet, including an open source
license” (NME, 2012). This effort in conceptualizing the concept, “digital
education resource”, led to institutions being mobilized to design, catalogue,
and manage their own digital resources. The aim of this activity was to steer
the country toward a massive production of digital education resources.
If the Route (2008a) was an operational ICT policy that problematised the
ethos of the ‘innovative teacher’ by challenging their identity and pushing the
boundaries of their pedagogical practices supported by technology, then this
massive production of learning objects was an attempt to align with a new
trend in education, in which open source platforms and mobile learning were
promoted (NME, 2008a).
Similarly to the programs described above, this initiative later became
more defined and structured, transformed into a ‘National Strategy for Digital
Educational Open Resources’ (NME, 2012). Presently, many institutions
across the country have these digital resources repositories. These reposi-
tories keeps expanding and serves as a useful (and, in many cases, public)
source for open education. By 2014, this National System was operating in
more than 97 institutions. Such institutions included schools and private orga-
nizations. Similarly, more than 65 higher education institutions are involved
in this initiative of launching a common platform in which institutions can
share their digital resources. In terms of a will for educational institutions
to produce digital resources the policy objective could be translated as,

‘you will learn to design and share open digital resources for education
within your institution’.
3.3.5 The Will to Innovate by Researching

The last policy initiative was RENATA. It was created in 2007 by the Ministry
of ICT. The initiative was the result of a previous alliance between the
European Union and different Latin American governments which occurred
in 1999. One of the main problems the European Commission attempted
to solve was the digital divide in Latin America. RENATA was created in
order solve the digital gaps identified in a previous study related to the
interconnection of academic and research networks. Later, RENATA was
linked to the Ministry of Education and the institution involved in national
research funding (COLCIENCIAS).
Similar to the PlanEsTIC policy, the RENATA process was also initiated
by diagnosing the dilemma of the lack of strategic planning within institu-
tions. Compared to the previous programs, which are articulated with the
National Systems for Innovation in Education, RENATA is integrated with
the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation. The latter repre-
sents a strategic policy that RENATA operationalizes through the provision of
technical conditions for institutions in order to develop collaborative research
projects.
From a more technical point of view, RENATA is a national network
for research. This platform aims towards supporting collaborative projects
between researchers and other academic staff from different higher educa-
tion institutions. Moreover, the institutions that subscribe to RENATA can
hold academic activities and share information aimed at developing research
projects. Professors and researchers are expected to master this platform in
order to promote its use for the development of academic projects. What is
also problematized, to some extent, is the need for breaking down institutional
and geographical barriers towards developing projects that technology can
facilitate.
Currently, the goals stated in RENATA have been achieved. The goals
includes the training of the academic staff within institutions, the devel-
opment of a common platform to connect higher education institutions for
research purposes, and a cloud-based system for the delivery of IT support
across the country. The latter enhances all the services offered by RENATA
even more. These services include, the delivery of collaboration tools, the
provision of connectivity services, and the provision of a hub of networks

meant for research within the National System of Science, Technology and
Innovation. In terms of a will for educational institutions towards research, the
policy objective could be translated as, ‘They will learn to use the technology
for research and produce knowledge in their respective institutions’.
3.3.6 Summary on the will to Innovate in Colombia

Figure 3.5 illustrates the set of initiatives that historically led to the deve-
lopment of the will to innovate in Colombia. In each initiative, ICT for
education has been problematised and rendered technical in different ways.
In other words, this will to improve (Li, 2007) serves as a means to an
end (Li, 2007).
Overall, these five programs represent the government’s effort towards
innovation with the help of ICT with policy objective being the improvement
of access and quality in education throughout the country (UNICEF, 2014).
Nevertheless, what the current government has called the National System for
Innovation was an effect of sustained interest and participation from partici-
pating institutions. Although successive governments have allocated experts,
funding and regulations, within the period described represented in the
Figure 3.5, it is very important to highlight the role of bottom-up mobi-
lizations as an expression of the will to innovate with ICTs. Therefore, the
question is how this will is enacted within higher education institutions.
If the global and national debate on contemporary education policies is
underpinned by change and leadership (Fullan & Scott, 2009), there is a need
to understand how such a discourse can be facilitated.
Figure 3.5 Colombian initiatives for ICT policies 2007–2008.

Source: Li, 2007.
3.4 Discussion
Considering that educational innovation enabled by ICTs is intended to foster
change, one can say that the examples of such mobilizations, mentioned in
this chapter, reveal that ICT policies are being used to address such change. In
this regard, there is the need towards acknowledging the level of improvement
achieved so far. Unfortunately, in Colombia there is a little research on the
impact or effects of ICT policies in the long term with respect to the change
in the delivery of education. Recently, though, the Ministry of Education has
been conducting studies in which educational institutions can demonstrate
the effects of integrating ICT in different areas of this sector. But the results
of this efforts are often reports related to the results for each program. They
do not represent a clear assessment of real change identified on the basis of
grounded findings. This lack of evidence-based research does not reduce the
relevance of the will to innovate in Colombia but opens up a debate on how
much has been achieved beyond all these disparate efforts.
The low level of general research is not the only challenge, there is
also the lack of impact assessment studies by Universities on their own
initiatives. With regards to educational change in higher education, Fullan
and Scott (2009) did mention that “universities, with all their brainpower,
are much more resistant to change than other institutions. Universities are
great at studying and recommending change for others, but not for themselves
(Fullan & Scott, 2009).
However, in Colombia, ICT integration into higher education has been
recently linked to university reforms. For instance a recent proposal for a
public policy in higher education (‘Agreement 2034’) led the Council of
Higher Education to identify ICT as the key toward educational transfor-
mation and even as a catalyst for higher education reform (CESU, 2014).
This document promotes the acceptance of e-learning as an alternative in the
higher education pedagogy:
• A report about the active programs in the National System of Informa-
tion in Higher Education reveals that there is an arithmetic increase in
the number of new programs delivered in the traditional (off-line) mode
whilst the there is a geometric increase in the number of new online
programs – with a high probability that in the upcoming semesters there
will be more online than traditional programs. According to estimations
from the National Minister of Education, around 85% of higher educa-
tion institutions in the country already have online platforms, LMS, or
IT support for online programs; this becomes a significant factor towards
the increase in the number of these programs. (CESU, 2014)
3.4 Discussion 95
It can be asserted that whenever an educational reform is proposed nowa-

days, ICT plays a key role. Perhaps this reform proposal is not the first
in Colombian history (Orozco, 2013), nor does it represent the best of all
possible reforms. However, this proposal indicates both a governmental and
an institutional mobilization in Colombia that is consistent with the will to
innovate described above.
It is worth to mention that Colombia is a challenging country for the
implementation of education policies. This is due to several issues of inequity
in areas where the will to innovate is enacted. For instance, the rate of access
to higher education in Colombia is still lower than the average in Latin
American countries.
Inequity is also manifested in the gap between public and private edu-
cation in Colombia. Such gap will lead to the increase social inequalities
between poor and rich population. In general, young people attempting to
receive quality education in Colombia face the dilemma of competing for a
few slots in public schools or pay expensive tuition fees to attend the best
private universities. By 2015, 50.9% of eligible students enrolled in public
universities, while 49.1% of then enrolled in private universities. However,
considering that in Colombia there are 287 higher education institutions, it
is worth saying that 22% of that percentage are public institutions, while the
rest (78%) are private institutions. This means that 22% of higher institutions
accounted for the enrolment of 50.9% of the students, while 78% of higher
institutions accounted for the enrolment of 49.1% of the prospective students.
Put it differently, public institutions enroll more students than the private
sector with less quality conditions (facilities, academic staff, etc.)
Figure 3.6 Educational coverage rate in Latin America.

Source: NME, 2016.
The quality of education offered at Colombian higher education institu-

tions is embedded in a long tradition that can be viewed using two different
approaches. The first tradition approaches quality as a byproduct of regulation
and supervision. That is, verifying if the minimum standards are achieved
according to a specific norms. A second tradition adopts the quality assurance
approach implemented by the accreditation processes within institutions.
Framed in terms of globalization of higher education, accreditations are
aimed to the alignment of national and international standards (Facundo,
2011). The first approach was the trend in the 80’s and the latter approach was
the trend in the 90’s. Currently these two trends coexist as another national
system for ensuring quality in higher education. Once again, this can be
another case with the same rationale of improvement aligned with the will
to innovate.
As stated above, from an analytics of government there is no coercive
power exerted over a population. Instead, the contemporary rationality for
governing implies, educating desires, and configuring habits, aspirations and
beliefs (Dean, 2010), in this case on teachers, academic staff and institutions
that claim to improve their own practices and accountability. As shown
in each operational ICT policy, subjects and institutions strive differently,
locally and persistently in order to change.
3.5 Conclusions
Five ICT policies have been described in order to demonstrate how they
operationalize what has been claimed as the will to innovate. I have shown
how this ‘will’ does not only represents an ideal far from the concrete and
daily realities of educational institutions. On the contrary operational policies
enact such a ‘will’ to innovate by the allocation of human, technical and
economic resources. Based on the analysis made so far, it can be stated
that there are also human, technical and economical mobilizations which
exemplify that the will to innovate is not a state-centered dynamic discon-
nected from local initiatives. In other words, the will to innovate implies
that civil society undertakes efforts towards improving education as much
as the government does. The empirical study summarized in this chapter
demonstrates that, despite the efforts of governments to integrate disparate
initiatives, such as national systems, what can be found in Colombia is a great
variety of local initiatives.
Tracing this will to innovate in Colombia is relevant as this country has
been developing ICT policies for 25 years. What has been analyzed here
3.5 Conclusions 97
surpasses a simple document analysis. In fact the contention in this chapter is

both theoretical and methodological since the study of ICT policies implies
understanding differently its nature and approach.
Firstly, this chapter considered two definitions of ICT policies. However
attention was paid to the second type of ICT policy (operational poli-
cies), assuming that they render technical attributes to the will to innovate
in Colombia. Operational policies compel institutions to carry out imple-
mentations that involve more than technical and linear implementations
(Cifuentes & Valero, 2016). Hence, what are important is not only the official
policy statements but guidelines on how institutional and local groups can be
mobilized – hence there is the possibility to enact a will.
As it has been claimed, improving the quality of the delivery education
in Colombia implies improving the lot of society at different levels to enable
educational change. This improvement will occur if there is transformation
in the educational practices. Transformation in the educational practices
will result in an ‘innovative teacher’, a transformation of the classroom
environments into virtual learning environments, the production and sharing
of digital resources for education, collaborative research using technologies,
and the establishment of a strategic plan for integrating ICT into education.
These results represent a means towards improving the educational society
(teachers, students, administrative staff, and institutions). Also, what is at
stake here is obviously the improvement of education as a whole system.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider the sociocultural and political
context in which this improvements will be enacted. The 60 years civil war
has just ended in Colombia. This phenomenon is one of the reasons for the
inequity in the Colombian society. This inequity is also evident in the delivery
of educational services resulting in a digital divide between the rural and
urban populations. If ICT represents a promise towards closing this social
gap, in order for ICTs to succeed, then one has to take into considerations
other issues that are create the inequity. Hence, the privatization of edu-
cation has become a provisional solution. But is not helpful. Here recent
governments have embraced privatization in order to delegate education as
a fundamental right to profit oriented institutions. Both at school level and
tertiary level the cost of accessing to quality education reinforces the gap. The
existence of these gaps will pose challenges no matter how much efforts is
made towards integrating ICT in Colombian educational institutions. A well-
paid teacher, a well-trained teacher, a socially oriented educational institution,
a non-violent environment for learning – in which equal opportunities can
be guaranteed-, are the basic conditions for improving society. Once these
sociocultural and political issues are considered in educational policies, there

will be better conditions for the improvement of the educational system in
Colombia.
Acknowledgements
I want to thanks Martha Espitia and Ana Marı́a Bejarano for their contribu-
tions and critical assessment in this chapter. Their comments and feedback
were meaningful for expanding and re-elaborating initial drafts of this
chapter.
4
The Role of Zero-Rating and Free Data
in Promoting Next Generation Networks
in Emerging Countries
Roslyn Layton
Strand Consult, Copenhagen
4.1 Introduction
Zero-rating, the practice of not charging data to a mobile broadband sub-
scriber’s contract, can play a role to support next generation networks in
emerging countries. A related concept is that of free data, the provision of
discrete or bundled service that is not charged. The cost may be underwritten
by the network provider, a third party content provider/advertiser, or even via
the usage of a particular app or service (e.g. the user accumulates free data
“points” for usage). This chapter reviews the key reasons and applications
of the practice in relation to next generation networks in emerging countries.
In spite of the many benefits of zero-rating and use of differential pricing to
maximize public goods such as communications infrastructure, zero-rating
has come under debate in recent years. This chapter attempts to set the set the
appropriate context for discussion and to dispel both of the myths that zero-
rating is either a silver bullet for or a global threat to broadband deployment
and adoption.
This section reviews the debate and then proceeds to explain the reasons
for and benefits of zero-rating to support the goals of realizing next generation
investment in emerging countries. The chapter describes the role of zero-
rating vis-à-vis adoption; improving the economics for capital investment;
supporting app and content development; and promoting competition in the
market for mobile subscriptions, content and advertising (Layton & Elaluf-
Calderwood, 2016). It concludes with a list of 5 questions for regulators and
policymakers to assess zero-rated offers should concerns emerge (Howell &
Layton, 2016).
99
100 The Role of Zero-Rating and Free Data in Promoting Next Generation Networks
4.2 Debate
The debate on zero-rating of mobile service contracts is relatively new even
though the practice has been ongoing by half of the world’s mobile operators
for more than a decade with little to no controversy (Elaluf-Calderwood &
Layton, 2015; Geekzone, 2005; Morris, 2014). Moreover the actual num-
ber of zero-rated mobile service contracts is quite small in relation to all
mobile contracts. In a survey of 8000 mobile users in developing countries,
about 4 percent had used a zero-rated contract at some point (A4AI, 2016).
Among the dozens of offers a mobile operator may have at any one time,
only a handful includes zero-rating or free data. It is interesting to note
that the zero-rating has only come under debate with the shift to mobile
broadband, bringing with it the potential to disrupt established advertising
revenue streams.
In fact the term “zero-rating” comes from the international trade and tax
policy of the European Economic Community in the 1950s (Wallop, 2010).
When value added tax (VAT) was imposed on goods distributed in what is
today the European Union, certain “essential” items such as food, medicines,
books, equipment for the disabled and were “zero-rated” and not taxed. It
lends some credibility to the notion that the provision of essential internet
services for health, education, and employment could indeed be discounted
or offered free. In fact people experience zero-rating everyday through tra-
ditional advertising supported media (radio, TV or print) and ad-supported
internet services (and ad or freemium supported business models).
It is not logical why every other consumer service should enjoy the
benefits of differentiated prices but not internet services,but some suggest
that the internet is “exceptional” and therefore needs to a special set of laws
(Katz, 2014; Wu, 2010).
Zero-rating programs are mainly services allowing certain types of Inter-
net traffic not to be counted as part of the total data plan to which the
consumer subscribes. It is then a discrimination based on specific contents
and their relation to payment, but it is not discrimination based on access. In
other words, it is a commercial but not technical discrimination. Yoo refers to
the discrepancies on the understanding and observes;
Differential pricing is something of a misnomer, since that term

suggests that different end users are being charged different prices
for the same service. A similar critique applies to the tendency in
European debates to refer to service differentiation as positive or
negative price discrimination. A more appropriate term would be
4.2 Debate 101
service differentiation, since ISPs vary the services being offered

and charge the same price to every end user purchasing that service
plan (Yoo, 2016).
As such, the word “discrimination” is a word frequently used by critics

of zero-rating. This word appears to be misunderstood both in the eco-
nomic and technical context (Bronwyn & Layton). The primary definition
of “discrimination” is to recognize a distinction, to differentiate, or to per-
ceive differences, as in “babies can discriminate between different facial
expressions (Oxford dictionaries, 2016).”1 The economic concept of “price
discrimination” is predicated upon this primary meaning. When a vendor can
perceive differences between two or more customers, then it may be possible
to charge them different prices for the same product (price discrimination)
or to customize the product offered to each in a manner that reflects the dif-
ference (product differentiation). If the customized products impose different
expended or expected costs on the vendor, then charging different prices does
not constitute price discrimination (Carlton & Perloff, 2004).
Similarly technical discrimination as is traffic management would imply
a similar ability to differentiate. Tim Wu’s non-discrimination principle is
predicated on the legal meaning of the word, the secondary definition of
discrimination, which has to do with prejudice, for example “an employment
policy that discriminates against women.” In fact, the flat and unlimited
plans that users enjoy are forms of price discrimination, just as zero-rating
is (Howell B., 2015). From an economist’s perspective, these offers are
not different. Price discrimination, of which zero-rating is one variant, is a
fundamental tenet of economics, and its value to promote social welfare has
been recognized for at least a century. Google’s Hal Varian described the
social welfare effects of price discrimination in 1985, Schmalensee in 1981,
Robinson in 1933, and so on (Varian H. R., 1985; Schmalensee, 1981; H &
Robinson, 1934).
Price differentiation is commonplace in ticket sales for movies, sports,
and cultural events. For example discount tickets for students and the elderly
are a matter of course, as are reduced prices for off-peak performance times.
With regard to transportation, whether bus, plane, train, or ferry, reduced
ticket prices are also offered to certain segments of the population. Addi-
tionally there are discounts for early purchase, off peak purchase, and so on.
1
“Discriminate – Definition of Discriminate in English from the Oxford Dictionary,”
accessed June 27, 2016, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/discriminate
Many plan their visits to restaurants to take advantage of early bird specials,
late night specials, half-priced happy hour, and so on.
Even the US Federal Trade Commission recognizes that loss leader
pricing strategies can be competition enhancing, the practice of selling one
product at below cost to stimulate related products and services (Commis-
sion & DeGraba, 2013). For example, supermarkets may stock bread and
milk at or below cost but earn revenue on other items. Pubs may sell low-
priced food but earn a profit on alcohol. Many establishments may offer low
cost entertainment but earn revenue on refreshment.
Similarly the freemium model is widely practiced in digital industries.
This consists of a free digital offer for software, media, games, or other
service, but a charge or premium charged for special features, increased
functionality, or virtual goods (Jarid, 2014). LinkedIn, Amazon, online
newspapers, and countless other companies offer freemiums.
Telecom regulators are generally permissive of zero-rating. In fact tele-
com regulation can be interpreted as a regime for price discrimination.
Historically telecom pricing has been subject to much variation including
discount and volume pricing, high/low volume pricing, business/consumer,
and so on (Frieden, 2016). Corporate services were offered at a premium
so consumer services could be offered at a discount. People in rural areas
enjoyed relatively lower price telephony as people in cities paid a relatively
higher price. Indeed as Internet traffic grows and alternatives emerge for
traditional communications services, it is consistent that offers should evolve
as well.
Indeed if the Internet is to be a public utility like the telephone network,
as some suggest, then differential pricing must be applied to Internet service,
especially if the goal is to make it affordable for the maximum number
of users. For example, mobile telephony was sold by the minute and SMS
per message. As substitute services emerged such as Skype (VOIP) and
WhatsApp (third party messaging), operators started to bundle data with
traditional voice and messaging. In mature markets it is common to pay for
a data package while traditional voice and SMS are offered free. This kind
of bundling, a form of price discrimination, effectively zero-rates SMS and
voice. The bundled offer gives the consumer more value.
It is significant in that more than half of the world is offline. Policy
decisions are made which have a material effect on non-users, and yet,
these non-users essentially have no voice or representation in the discussion.
Moreover there is a lack of research about the needs and desires of people
who have no Internet access and what kind of plans they would prefer.
4.3 Adoption 103
Some limited and small scale research has been performed by Kak in India
who noted the fears mentioned in the debate about lock-in from zero-rating
are probably exaggerated and by Gebhart in Ghana who found that users
are concerned with marginalization of local content rather than zero-rating
(Amba, 2015; Gebhart, 2016).
Löblich suggests that stakeholder positions on net neutrality ad zero-
rating line up along lies of race and class, with groups whose members
include the digital elite opposing the practice while its supporters are organi-
zations whose members are largely minorities and people of color (Löblich,
2016). For example the Minority Media Telecom Council notes, “The digital
elite can afford to intellectualize the value of free data, but for communities
of color, it can mean an affordable digital connection to the future. This is
even truer for small, multicultural businesses that rely on mobile connec-
tions to reach their audiences (Gadson, 2016).” Regarding zero-rating Africa,
Williams suggests that regulators and policy makers are primarily concerned
with supporting network deployment and viable business models for telecom
operators which return essential tax revenues (Williams, 2016). Moreover as
there is little to no African content, zero-rating of other country’s content is
not seen as a threat.
4.3 Adoption
While world population is increasing, expected to be 9.5 billion in 2050,
internet adoption is slowing (DESA, 2015; Fried, 2016). About 43% of the
world has adopted the Internet today (about 3 billion people). Growth of new
users has fallen from 15 to 9 percent since 2009, just 270 million new users
per year. To close the digital divide in the next decade, internet adoption
needs to increase to 400–500 million new users annually. “The easy growth
is behind us,” notes Internet analyst Mary Meeker, a statement indicating the
significant constraints for first time internet users in cost, lack of relevant
content, and lack of incentive to try the Internet (Fried, 2016). The section
discusses zero-rating with regard to overcoming the barriers of affordability,
relevance, and readiness.
4.3.1 Affordability
The cost of internet adoption is a function of three factors, income, sub-
scription price, and device and associated costs. The ITU has a benchmark
that connectivity should cost no more than 5 percent of personal income
(ITU, 2013). While 90 percent of the developed world can find a broadband
plan of 500 MB or more at this threshold, only one-third people in the
developed world (Analysysmason, 2016). But even though lower amounts
of data are still beneficial. For the world’s poorest, the price of data is still a
barrier, particularly if one’s income is only a few dollars per day. Moreover
while device prices continue to fall, purchasing a device is a significant
outlay in addition to the cost and availability of electricity in a number of
countries. For many of the world’s poor, using a mobile device may only
occur intermittently, and frequently, a number of friends and family may share
the same device. For people who are not online, they face a cost barrier that
may be 2–3 times higher than those already connected, including the costs of
devices and electricity (Policy by the numbers, 2015).
The obvious role of zero-rating and free data is to reduce the cost of
adoption. The Internet in the global sense is similar to a public good in
that its consumption is non-rivalrous, that one person consumes it does not
lessen another person’s ability to consume it, nor does it lessen the amount
of the good available. Indeed when more users join the Internet, it becomes
more valuable, the so-called network effects. Eisenach observes the double
benefit stimulated by zero-rating in that users are both content consumers
and creators. One of the few empirical papers on zero-rating was produced
by Oscar Saens de Miera Berglind of the study center of the Federal Institute
of Telecommunications, the Mexican telecom regulator, which examined the
practice of zero-rating on mobile broadband demand. He presents a regression
model based on panel data of price, income, platform competition, and cost
conditions, as well as the presence of zero-rating, He finds that the presence
of zero-rating “is a statistically significant determinant of mobile broadband
demand” (de Miera Berglind, 2016).
Because of the positive externalities of public goods, they are frequently
subject to price discrimination and/or cross-subsidy by a public or private
party. For example, because the consumption of health care can have benefits
beyond the person who consumes it, it is frequently subsidized or price
discriminated. A nation may collect taxes and then redistribute the revenue
in the form of health services. Alternatively a non-profit health clinic may
offer services at full price for those who can afford them and for free or at a
discount to those who cannot. This strategy maximizes the number of people
who can receive care and increases the overall level of health in the society, a
shared benefit.
Pricing of valuable goods and services can be a part of a company’s
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effort. For example a pharmaceutical
4.3 Adoption 105
firm may adapt drug prices to the purchasing power of consumers in different
geographical or socio-economic segments to improve access to medicines
for people living in low and middle-income countries (Yadav, 2010). Zero-
rating electricity, a practice called demand response, is a strategy used to
stimulate the consumption of renewable energy, a strategy to combat climate
change (Woodruff, 2015). Wind-generated electricity may be free when the
wind blows, as there is an abundance of energy, just as some forms of power
are free at night when demand is low. CSR proponents may recognize zero-
rating as one way a company makes its product more affordable and available
to disadvantaged communities, particularly as a means for global companies
which may be profitable in developed countries to extend these benefits to
developing countries. In this way, the customers of the developed world
subsidize those in the developing world. French telecom provider Orange
employs zero-rating as one of its CSR initiatives (Orange, 2015).
4.3.2 Relevance
While there may be over 1 billion websites on the Internet today, this content
is relevant for a subset of the world’s population. For any content or applica-
tion to be relevant, it must be useful, relatable, and accessible. That is, users
must find value in the content; it must be compatible to their interest, culture,
and needs; and users must be able to find the content either through word of
mouth, marketing, or some other means.
That content is relevant also assumes that it appears in a language that
the users understands. While key applications such as Wikipedia, Google
Translate, and Facebook cover over some 100 languages (which comprises
about 80 percent of the world’s primary or secondary languages), there is
need for content in another 700 languages to cover 98 percent of the world’s
population. Indeed even of the world’s major languages, (Mandarin, Spanish,
English, Hindi and Bahasa Indonesia), content is still overwhelming created
in English. There is a lack of content in relevant languages for new users in a
number of emerging countries, comprising the leading barrier to new adopters
(Kende, 2016).
4.3.3 Readiness
In addition to having the income to purchase a subscription and the relevance
of content, a user must be ready to go online. Readiness reflects a user’s
skills, awareness, and acceptance to use the Internet. While the notion of
universal adoption may seem unassailable, using the Internet, or any digital
technology, assumes a number of economic and cultural predispositions. For

example two-thirds of the unconnected do not know what the Internet is and
lack a compelling reason to try it. Moreover there are still 1 billion who lack
basic literacy, and women are 25 percent less likely to be online than men
(UNESCO, 2015; UN, 2013).
The internet is an experience good. Its value cannot be ascertained until
it is consumed (Nelson P., 1970). In markets with heterogeneous products,
consumers with different preferences and information make it costly, if
not impossible for consumers to identify the attributes of the products or
the fit with their preferences before they have been consumed. Similarly the
provider cannot accurately match the offer to the consumer without some
amount of trial and error. This process of the user switching, learning, and
adjusting comprise a user’s “search costs”. The larger are the search costs,
and the smaller is the expected benefit of the second product over the first,
the less likely it is that the consumer will try to find a better match, even
though there is definitely a better one out there. Thus, high search costs lead
to suppliers having some market power over their existing customers – akin
to monopoly – even though there are many different variants of the product-
competitors – available. Thus zero-rating may be helpful to reduce the user’s
search costs to find alternative applications and to lower entrance barriers for
entrant applications.
4.4 Reasons to Use Differential Pricing, Zero-Rating

and Free Data
4.4.1 Improve the Economics for Capital Investment
Mobile broadband networks cover about 78 percent of the world’s population,
but still 1.6 billion don’t have mobile coverage. In remote locations, mobile
infrastructure can cost 2–3 times as much as in urban areas and covers
significantly less people. Thus maximizing the number of people that can
use a network reduces the marginal operating costs.
Zero-rating is a type of price differentiation, the practice of offering the
same or similar product to different segments and different prices. Network
industries, such as broadband networks, have high upfront costs which are
generally fixed for a large set of users. Once established, the cost of incre-
mental output declines. It makes sense, therefore, to charge users with lower
willingness to pay a discount, and thus cover the overall costs (Baumol,
2015).
4.4 Reasons to Use Differential Pricing, Zero-Rating and Free Data 107
Simply put, zero-rating is a way to increase the number of users on a

network, which increases the value of the network (Eisenach, 2015).There
is a value to get more people on the network, whether it’s through universal
service, broadband subsidies, or zero-rating. The pricing of the public good is
such that marginal cost is equal to the marginal rate of substitution. In other
words, the service is offered at a lowest cost as possible by the operator to
ensure the uptake by the end user. The expectation by the operator is that the
provision of a service at a free or reduced price will be recovered over the
lifetime value of the customer.
There are certainly cases where government provision of telecommuni-
cations networks may be justified, for example in extreme rural areas where
there is no business model for a private provider to invest. Such an example
is Greenland, a country with 56,000 people, roughly the size of Alaska and
covered mostly by ice. The state owned monopoly TELEGreenland offers
telemedicine and education services effectively zero-rated while users have
a data cap for video entertainment services (Layton, 2015). This rational
decision reflects the prioritization of socially beneficial uses of the network
and a constrained optimization of a 1 mbps DSL network to double for
emergency medical services. That Greenlanders have enjoyed telemedicine
since 2008 is a testament to prudent telecom policy and smart design of
applications in constrained conditions.
There is no doubt that government can support infrastructure provision,
but it’s important that government efforts not crowd out private sector ini-
tiatives. This is especially true in developing country contexts where pubic
resources are extremely limited. The government will likely already be
stretched in the provision of basic services for food, water, shelter, education
and so on. See (Skouby & Falch, 2014) on role of public private partnerships
for communications infrastructure. See the other chapter by Layton in this
book for a further discussion on how government’s contribute to the deploy-
ment of next generation networks through policies that maximize private
sector investment.
4.4.2 Support Competition in the Market for Mobile

Subscription, Content and Advertising
Zero-rating can also be a driver of competition in the marketplace and it is a
model most frequently used by entrant operators. Zero-rating is frequently
deployed by Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and resellers.
As they cannot differentiate on network quality or price, they only have
marketing and customer service. Zero-rating becomes increasingly important

for them both to establish themselves against incumbents, and perhaps to offer
zero-rated forms of customer service applications, similar to an 800 toll free
number for support.
For many users, selecting a provider purely on speed and price is not
only difficult, it’s boring. It is preferable for some users to select a plan
based upon brand identity, cross marketing, cross selling, a particular phone,
features, benefits, or functionality they value (Postrel, 2004). In this way,
users are looking for operators who best cater to their needs, not necessarily
the provider that provides the most data at the lowest price. As such, offering
zero-rated partnerships with appealing application and content providers is a
particularly helpful strategy for the smaller operator.
Marketing and advertising to support the provision of service, content,
access to users has been a quintessential part of every medium, whether
radio, TV, print, search engine, social network, and music streaming. Clas-
sified advertisements, a forerunner to search advertising, supported Benjamin
Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette in 1728. The telephone newspaper of the
1890s, a forerunner of today’s mobile broadband, was funded both by spoken
ads and price-differentiated subscriptions for different audiences (Layton,
2015). Radio broadcasting would have been unknown in America had it not
been for content providers’ zero-rated programming.
To stimulate purchase of receivers from the De Forest Radio Company,
owner Lee De Forest negotiated the Metropolitan Opera and the Columbia
Graphophone Co., to zero-rate their music content. Free broadcasts helped
introduce America to this new medium. Thereafter it became commonplace
for consumer product companies to sponsor radio shows. This was a norm for
American television. Revenues from advertisers were used to expand radio
and television networks and technologies. Unsurprisingly Internet companies
such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others have availed themselves to zero-
rating style business models, so that their users need not pay money for the
service. Google zero-rates search and its other products. Facebook sponsors
its platform with advertising.
Marketing is also important to promote devices. Imagine if AT&T had not
able to make an exclusive distribution agreement with Apple for the iPhone
in 2007. Nokia, in fact, invented the smartphone in 1996 but never got the
credit because it failed to communicate to customers in a compelling way
(PDAdb.net, 2015). Consumers were able to take advantage of the iPhone
in spite of its high price of $399 because AT&T, through its subsidy of the
phone, created a form of zero-rating of the cost of the phone to the end
4.4 Reasons to Use Differential Pricing, Zero-Rating and Free Data 109
user. Additionally Apple could leverage the marketing and distribution of

its device in AT&T’s subscriber network. Such a partnership was needed to
launch the idea of the smartphone in the consumer imagination; it opened the
door to other smartphones and fostered the development mobile platforms
on which WhatsApp, Spotify, Netflix, and other mobile applications have
flourished (Strand Consult, 2009). A zero-rating like ban on partnerships
between operators and device makers could have precluded significant mobile
innovation.
Ideally emerging countries will experiment with models in which content
and application providers subsidize the cost of subscriptions so that end users,
particularly the poorest, need not pay so much for network subscriptions.
4.4.3 Supporting App and Content Development

Just as zero-rating can support end users and network providers, it can also
support application and content developers. Layton and Elaluf describe how
the zero-rated platforms help overcome scale and sustainability barriers to
m-health (Crentsil, 2014), how emerging country app developer/entrepreneur
can use zero-rating to exploit complementary assets of marketing and product
development (Teece, 1996), and how emerging country digital economy
policymakers can leverage zero-rating to support ICT development for their
national innovation system (Lundvall B. A., 1993).
4.4.3.1 Free basics

Facebook’s Free Basics, now deployed in more than 40 countries, is the lead-
ing zero-rated platform of social benefit apps by local and global providers,
optimized for first time users with feature phones on low bandwidth networks
in more than 40 countries. Of the many socially beneficial uses of Free Basics
is its ability to deliver m-health solutions to people of low-income in devel-
oping countries. It offers a reason for people to try the internet for the first
time as well as to overcome the scale and sustainability barriers to m-health
(Crentsil, 2014). Tens of millions of users have availed themselves to dozens
of m-health applications in Free Basics including Girl Effect, UNICEF,
Baby Center, Malaria No More, Totohealth, 1Doc3, Maya, Maternitech, Club
Internet, and others (Layton & Elaluf-Calderwood, 2016).
The m-health apps in Free Basics take advantage of more than a decade of
practice and research in the field, particularly for poor people suffering from
AIDS. Over 71 percent of the world’s people living with HIV/AIDS are in
sub-Saharan Africa, some 25 million people (AVERT, 2013). The m-health
apps in Free Basics address both the supply and demand challenges of
providing health care in rural and low-income areas in emerging countries.
These challenges include a shortage of health care workers in rural areas,
treatment adherence and compliance, disease diagnosis, and patient care and
management. These apps can deliver care to where people are, not just at
clinics, providing patients a measure of anonymity by accessing sensitive
information by phone, and reducing anxiety patients in talking about their
disease in face-to-face encounters. Moreover AIDS information shared via
social networking has proven effective both in dispelling myths about the
disease and supporting behavioral change. Free messaging in Facebook is
used to provide patient support (as call centers are cost prohibitive) as
well as to verify the authenticity of medicine (fake AIDS drugs proliferate
because of their high cost). Leading m-health academics have recognized
that technology companies such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook have been
“outstanding” in the provision of “platforms and methods to optimize and
sustain personal and public health” (Crentsil, 2014). These benefits are not
limited to AIDS treatment. Prenatal care information and medical messaging
are key components of the medical information shared on Free Basics. Mobile
Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) in Bangladesh and South Africa
reported that 55% of its app users spend 30min or more on site on every
visit on the account of zero-rated data (MAMA, 2016).
Facebook reports that about half of Free Basics users adopt the internet
after 30 days. While impressive, this effort at current rates delivers less than
10% of the needed new users globally. The problem thus appears to be not
too much zero-rating, but too little. As such, existing programs need to be
ramped up and supplemented with more experimentation. Other parties can
likely learn from the Facebook example and launch similar offerings.
Platforms such as Free Basics also help entrepreneurs and app developers
take advantage of complementary assets, such as the expensive and timely
“trial and error” design costs as well as some costs for marketing and
distribution. For example, the high cost of user acquisition is the leading
reason why startups fail. The cost of finding a user is greater than the lifetime
value an app provider can earn from the user. The Free Basics program allows
the app developer to leverage both the network and marketing efforts of the
mobile operator and Facebook, saving valuable time and resources for the
app developer.
Moreover first time internet users have difficulty navigating most apps
and websites. The Free Basics platform is optimized for low bandwidth
environments. This includes reducing the use of complex JavaScript, making
4.5 Strategies for Building the Digital Economy of Developing Countries 111
the app mobile compatible, and optimizing it for feature phones. Data Heavy
elements such as videos and pictures are reduced, content in made locally
and linguistically relevant, providing the redirects are removed, and design
elements are simplified. The apps also explain upfront who the developers so
that a connection is made to the individual app, not just Facebook. This also
speeds the first time user to the mainstream app of the developer. Apps in Free
Basics have gained between 500 to 10 million new users by participating in
the program.
Layton and Calderwood (2016) detail how app developers leverage the
Free Basics platform for content development, noting two modes of activity,
the globalizing of local services and the localizing of global services. Once
the optimization has been developed in Free Basics, a number of services
leverage this functionality to move beyond their own country. For example
Tambero, an Argentina-based cattle management and animal husbandry ser-
vice is now used Iraq and Benin because of the distribution via Free Basics.
Similarly apps such as FundZa (South Africa-based digital library of 100,000
e-books optimized for searching and reading via mobile phone); Jobberman
(a Nigeria-based startup with 125 employees, is the single largest job place-
ment site in Sub-Saharan Africa, used by 35,000 companies, and has helped
35,000 people find jobs.); and the Colombian 1Doc3 (a Spanish language
health information site) are used my millions of low-income users in multiple
countries because of the distribution of Free Basics (Boswell, 2014). Large
established companies such as Wikihow, Accuweather, Wikipedia, and BBC
leverage Free Basics by “localizing” their global services to, optimize their
services for low bandwidth environments and first time users.
The app developers describe that Free Basics is an on ramp to get first
time Internet users on to the flagship versions of their apps, as there are no
ads or monetization features in Free Basics. But without Free Basics, they
would never be able to get these first time, “long tail” users.
4.5 Strategies for Building the Digital Economy

of Developing Countries
Modern digital economies have evolved in a linear fashion moving through
agricultural, industrial, and informational paradigms. Developing countries,
on the other hand, may evolve in a non-linear way, for example importing
digital technologies directly into agricultural societies, without experienc-
ing an industrial revolution. The presence of industrial formation is an
important input to the digital society because it supports much of the overhead
cost in investing the infrastructure to support digital technologies. Trying to

develop digital technologies without an industrial base can be difficult. Thus
developing digital applications at scale can help improve the economics for
deployment and adoption of next generation networks.
Lundvall presented the idea of the National Innovation System (NIS)
where he described the role of learning in the economy and how the various
agents interact to create innovation. The particular importance of a set of
Information Communications Technologies (ICT), and how they are devel-
oped marks a key point of study in the field. Based upon transformation of
countries such as the Nordics and Singapore as digital nations, these concepts
have been implemented in emerging country contexts.
Lundvall described the goal of building an economy based on learning,
and this concept has been evolved in the paradigm of the National Innovation
System (NIS), the most salient idea in the innovation literature in the last
half-century (Fagerberg & Sapprasert, 2011; Lundvall B., 2010; Nelson R. R.,
1993; Freeman, 1995). NIS offers a conceptual framework to link ideas and
policies to economic and political governance and evolution. It describes the
importance of the co-evolution of institutions, technologies, and knowledge
as well as the creation of the appropriate incentives to support the co-
evolutionary dynamics of these inputs and linking of actors to achieve goals
and objectives.
The NIS school observes that Adam Smith’s “cosmopolitan” approach,
focusing on resource allocation among countries and the notion that nations
were engaged in producing and exchanging a finite set of goods, is not
sufficient to explain innovation does not offer the necessary motivation for
a country to support its own ICT development. Thus it incorporates Friedrich
List’s “infant industries” argument as justification for government support of
ICT development.
While NIS was first predicated on the notion of how small European
nations could compete in the larger European Union and globally. NIS is
a paradigm that has been well applied in emerging countries as well. A
significant literature exists on the experience of applying a particular set
of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) within the larger NIS
among developing countries. Countries are constituted differently across the
globe; any nation may have a better or worse set of assets. However the
outcome is not predetermined, and ideally a nation will constantly evolve.
For example the Gulf States have high institutional capacity in ICT, but
it is not used for knowledge development, in part because of limitations
imposed by the cultural contexts for education (Wiseman & Anderson, 2012).
4.5 Strategies for Building the Digital Economy of Developing Countries 113
Consequently, the number of apps and other ICTs produced and exported
from this region may be limited. NIS was adopted initially as a tool to
promote economic and cultural development, but is now recognized to have
important social benefits (Baskaran, 2007).
Baskaran is a leading academic on ICT in emerging countries. He
describes how the NIS theory achieves nothing on its own but needs to be
embedded in the proper institutional, social, political, and cultural environ-
ment. The degree to which the NIS succeeds will be a function of the quality
of key inputs: the relationships of learning institutions, R&D, transnational
networks, human capital, investment and infrastructure (defined broadly). It
will also be dependent on the linkage between the NIS, the industrial objec-
tives and the social objectives. The experience of NIS as applied in practice
is mixed. Some nations succeed in developing their NIS (Nordic countries,
Singapore and Malaysia2 ) (Monroe, 2006), while others are disharmonious
(Brazil, China, Thailand, South Africa).
There has been an important evolution in the view of ICT in developing
countries. The pre-2000 view was related to industrial production, ecom-
merce, business process outsourcing. Today the perception has evolved that
ICT facilitates poverty reduction, e-education, e-government, telemedicine,
e-agriculture etc. There is no doubt that ICT has helped countries on the
industrial side; the opportunity now is on the social and human development
side.
ICT infrastructures are public goods and creating them requires large
investment. The extent to which a country can benefit from ICT depends
on the quantity and quality of its human capital. Education therefore holds
the key to a country’s ICT development and diffusion. Typically policies
may be well developed but fail in implementation. There is a need for
bottom-up rather than top-down strategy in achieving wider ICT diffusion.
It is imperative to address root causes for unsatisfactory results of ICT for
development programs such as poor access to ICT, obstacles to computer
literacy, and failure to “localize” ICT contents and applications.
Programs such as Free Basics are not panaceas for all ICT challenges but
they can play a role in helping to realize some goals and to economize on lim-
ited resources. Free Basics can be helpful to build regional ecosystem among
countries and in industries, this is best exemplified in the use of m-health
in Africa and e-Agriculture in Latin America. Each country has champions
2
Trevor Monroe, “The National Innovation Systems of Singapore and Malaysia,” 2006,
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan027022.pdf
who evangelize Free Basics for human empowerment, social development,

and poverty alleviation, which the nation leverages to add visibility for their
overall ICT goals.
Lucy Quist, CEO of Ghana Airtel, sees Free Basics as form of corpo-
rate social responsibility and part realizing Africa’s increasing relevance for
global innovation. Thai mobile operator DTAC has a staff of 60 Internet
facilitators who teach the elderly in remote areas who to use the Internet
through Free Basics. Both the President of Colombia and its head of the
Ministry of ICT helped launch Free Basics, calling the effort a way to pro-
mote peace, equality and education. The Colombian version of Free Basics
includes e-government apps.
4.6 Five Questions for Regulators to Adjudicate

A key tenet of regulation is that cost of regulation needs to be justified by the
expected benefit produced or harm averted. Requiring regulators to devote
energy and resources to politically driven issues deprives citizens of the key
function of regulators whether spectrum, universal service, market entry, and
so on. Moreover, it compromises the expectation that regulation should be
expert and independent.
These questions are by no means comprehensive or prescriptive, but
they can facilitates both a clearer understanding of the interactions occurring
within the internet ecosystem, indicate more appropriate selection of the rel-
evant economic models for assessing the effects, and increase the likelihood
that case by case assessment will facilitate total long term welfare. Given
that policymakers in emerging countries may be resource-constrained, these
questions. Following are the 5 questions which are detailed in the following
section.
• What perfect or very close substitute would the zero-rated offer fore-
close?
• Does the usage of zero-rated application cost to the operator less than
equivalent usage of non-zero rated applications?
• Is zero-rated access to a subset of applications intended to increase the
number of individuals using the Internet?
• Which party makes the zero-rating complaint?
• Is zero-rating being used to access a site for which the user then pays a
fee?
4.6 Five Questions for Regulators to Adjudicate 115
4.6.1 What Perfect or Very Close Substitutes Would

the Zero-Rating Offer Foreclose?
One concern of zero-rating opponents is that if users perceive two applica-
tions as close substitutes, then they will chose the zero-rated one over the
non-zero-rated one. This presumes the content market conforms to perfect
competition (no market power of any actor, homogeneous products, no trans-
action costs, and no barriers to entry, perfect information). This reality of
the content market is different, so the model of imperfect competition is
preferable for analyzing the situation. The regulator can then assess to what
degree the content is substitutable or differentiated and to what degree the
users’ preferences are differentiated. Foreclosure via zero-rating only works
if there is a close substitute. If content has different value propositions, zero
priced offers won’t succeed to force out the one that is not zero-rated.
Reviewing the traffic in the mobile apps market is instructive. Layton
and Elaluf (2015) show that, prior to zero-rated WhatsApp being banned in
Chile, more than half a dozen competing messaging apps enjoyed signifi-
cant popularity in the country (Elaluf-Calderwood & Layton, 2015). That
MVNO Virgin Mobile, which had less than 1 percent of market revenue
and subscribers, offered non-metered use of WhatsApp did not foreclose
other messaging competitors. Virgin wanted to appeal to the youth segment
which valued WhatsApp above other applications. This WhatsApp strategy
was used by the MVNO, EPlus, in Germany to poach subscribers from
incumbent Deutsche-Telecom. Entrant operators and resellers need such
offers to compete as they have limited ability to differentiate on network
parameters.
Frequently the service being zero-rated comprises such a modest amount
of traffic that its impact is negligible and the cost of measuring it exceeds
the benefit of scrutiny. Similarly the practice may be conducted by a small or
entrant operator of which no offers could be deemed anti-competitive given
the operator’s market share. By banning this offer, the Chilean regulator
reduced the competitive parameters upon which the entrant operator could
compete, unwittingly sabotaging its own goal of increasing service-based
competition. A good regulatory practice would be to review the past decision
to determine whether the ban has succeeded to deter the purported harm and
what externalities may have resulted.
In the US, T-Mobile attempts to differentiate by zero-rating an open
and growing subset of its users’ most desired content. Traffic to the music
and video apps on T-Mobile’s zero-rated offers are up across the board.
The practice has given visibility and traffic to more than 40 music stream-
ing providers which otherwise would not have experienced the new users
(P3-Group, 2016).
4.6.2 Does the Usage of Zero-Rated Application Cost

to the Operator Less Than Equivalent Usage
of Non-Zero-Rated Applications?
It could also be the case that two applications are homogeneous but one
costs less to deliver than the other. Is it wrong for the operator to zero-rate
the cheaper application? The situation emerged in New Zealand in which
operators offered locally developed content for free (as it was cheaper to
deliver) but charged for international content as it was expensive to deliver.
But the zero-rating was not enough to keep New Zealanders on their own con-
tent; they preferred the international content. The free option was withdrawn
because it only amounted to 5 percent of the traffic and was not worth the
metering cost.
4.6.3 Is Zero-Rated Access to a Subset

of Applications Intended to Increase
the Number of Individuals Using the Internet?
This is an important question needed to distinguish those instances of zero-
rating which is more likely to lead to positive network effects arising from
net new Internet users versus those designed to arbitrage range and usage
by individuals already purchasing internet connections. Pro-net neutrality
advocates frequently argue that it is ‘unfair’ to provide free or discounted
access to a narrow range of internet applications or applications with some
functionality removed. They assert that users should pay a higher fee for
unrestricted access to the unrestricted applications. While such detractors
may assert that the flat rate offer as morally superior, it obliges some users to
pay for capacity they don’t want. This is effectively pure bundling, which in
some cases could amount to a competition violation.
The presumption that all end users should pay identical prices to access
the same applications ignores economic realities and more than a century
of academic wisdom about the pricing of utilities and public goods. To
maximize distribution, healthcare and water are priced on a myriad of factors,
including the income of the user. Zero-rating is a strategy used by renewable
energy providers to make their electricity more attractive than that from
fossil fuels. Price and product differentiation are important ways of enabling
individuals with low valuations of internet use, or those facing significant

financial constraints, to become internet users. Otherwise only those who can
afford internet access would pay while those who can’t will go without.
This brings up a related point in that the demand for internet access
is based on derived demand and that of the value of underlying services.
Users do not adopt the networks themselves but the services offered by the
network. This explains why there is low incentive for operator to impede
user’s connection because doing reduces the value to the user such that he or
she would not buy the access.
4.6.4 Which Party Makes the Zero-Rating Complaint?

The party that makes the complaints may reveal important competition infor-
mation. For example, if existing operators complain, it may be that they
want to foreclose rival operators. If the complaint comes from an existing
content or app provider, they may want to foreclose entry by rival providers.
While less likely, complaints could come from existing customers which
don’t want to share surpluses with other users. However the complaint could
be credible if a potential provider complains that the offer creates a barrier
to entry. This information is indicative of the fact that the Internet is an
ecosystem of complex interactions of multi-sided platforms, and reminds
telecom regulators, charged with policing just a subset of the many actors,
not to overlook of parts of the system.
Zero-rating regulation is asymmetric, as there is no parallel obligation on
content and application providers to refrain from activities that inhibit innova-
tion in the network elements of the internet ecosystem, or from “picking ISP
winners”, either in particular technologies or firm identities. Unsurprisingly,
inconsistencies have emerged in the determination of acceptable behaviors in
different jurisdictions.
The presumption that all internet users should pay the same price for
access to the same applications prevents the surfacing, utilization and sharing
of private information that could lead to more efficient outcomes. Requiring
only one price for one standard access product requires transactions to pro-
ceed as if all consumers are homogeneous, when in fact their preferences are
inherently heterogeneous. Artificial imposition of the homogeneity assump-
tion via regulatory rulings is a substantial intervention infringing upon the
rights of consumers to use their information as they see fit – and could in
some circumstances be interpreted as a regulatory taking, in the same manner
as restricting the range of products an ISP can offer or requiring it to make
regulated products available at regulate prices is also a regulatory taking. In

principle, such takings should proceed only when there is a clear empirical
case that the net harm, that would result if the right is not taken, is both
substantial and difficult to compensate (Wilkinson, 2008). It seems somewhat
paradoxical to claim to be preserving consumer sovereignty by taking real
rights from real consumers to uphold an artificial ‘right’ for consumers to
participate in to an outcome that exists only in a theoretical model of perfect
competition.
Furthermore, imposing the assumption of consumer homogeneity reduces
the amount of information available to both ISPs and CAPs to customize
their offerings to individual consumer preferences. Information, that would
otherwise have been efficiently signaled or screened in customized offers,
can only be obtained subsequently by other means – inevitably with higher
transaction costs. In the long run, this would seem to impose impediments
to, rather than incentives for, the development of new applications and con-
tracting arrangements. That is, banning zero-rating because the practice may
pose entry barriers for new application providers must be balanced against the
entry barriers that will be created if information about underlying consumer
heterogeneity that would be efficiently signaled, screened, and shared if zero-
rating proceeds cannot emerge due to regulatory intervention banning the
practice.
4.6.5 Is Zero-Rating Being Used to Access a Site

for Which the User Then Pays a Fee?
The markets for internet application adoption and usage are monopolisti-
cally competitive. Customers make investments in using specific applications
(learning costs, emotional investments etc.,) that make them reluctant to
try new variants. When a new application enters a market where customer
preferences are already well established, overcoming these high search costs
is likely one of the most significant barriers to be faced. The more mature
is the application market, the more established are these preferences and the
harder it will be to overcome them. Even if the new product is superior to
all others in the market, customers will be reluctant to try it, because they
do not know that it is better for them until they have tried it. If the same
price is charged for the new and existing products, the new product will not
attract any new customers, because of the high search costs customers face.
In this case, the only way that the new product will attract new customers is
by charging less than the existing products – that is, undertaking to meet the
search costs incurred by the customers. For this reason, new products in this
market are typically introduced with free trials.
However, if a new internet application is offered free of charge to con-
sumers, because the costs are recovered from advertising or other sponsored
revenues (e.g. donations, tax funding), it is not possible to discount the appli-
cation cost to encourage switching. The only way that potential customers’
search and switching costs can be reduced is by reducing the internet access
charge. Hence, zero-rating may be the only viable way of inducing existing
consumers to try a new product. Not being able to offer zero-rating thus
constitutes an entry barrier to new applications seeking to compete with
established ones. In these instances, it will be existing applications providers,
and not new entrants, who would prefer that zero-rating not be allowed.
5
Digital Divide: The Case of Africa
Gregory Kunyenje
Chancellor College, University of Malawi, Malawi
5.1 Introduction
This chapter provides an overview on the concept of digital-divide and its
implications on the diffusion of mobile networks in Africa. The aim is
to sensitize African policy makers on the reality and nature of the digital
divide. It is also aimed at encouraging policy makers and researcher to take
the challenge based on knowledge from research. This is different from
the current approach, where the policy solutions are not based on research
on reasons why the digital divide exists in a particular jurisdiction. The
perspectives presented in this chapter are mostly theoretical and based on
literature reviews. But they are supported with practical examples as well.
This chapter uses the term digital divide to refer to the broader meaning
where privileged groups are able to access technology better than the less
privileged. In this regard, an aspect of this chapter discusses the differences
between those people that have access and those that do not. The chapter also
considers dimensions of the digital divide based on groups of people that are
disadvantaged in terms of access to or use of technology especially from an
African perspective. The groups that are discussed are women against men
and the elite against the poor. The women and the poor have been chosen
for discussion in this chapter on the basis that they are generally vulnerable
(Grindle, 2002).
The chapter is divided into three parts. The first part presents a theoretical
outlook to the concept of digital divide. Here the concept of digital divide is
discussed from the point of view of history, topical perspectives and research.
The second part presents the existing digital divide in the adoption of mobile
telephony in Africa. In that section, an overview on mobile technologies
and their possibilities is presented. This is followed by the discussion on
121
122 Digital Divide: The Case of Africa
the divide that still exists. The third part presents current policy solutions
adopted by African governments to bridge the digital divide. There is a
greater emphasis on the policy approaches adopted by Rwanda and Malawi.
Still in this section an effort is made to highlight why the problems still exist
in Africa despite the policy interventions. In Section 5.8, recommendations
towards solving digital divide in Africa are offered.
Part 1 – Historical and Theoretical Overview

on Digital Divide
5.2 Historical Overview of Digital Divide
Historically, research on the diffusion theories that emerged in the 1950s and
1960s has influenced the research on digital divide (Tsatsou, 2011). Initial
research into the concept of digital divide emerged in the 1990s and was
largely influenced the works of scholars such as Rogers (1995). In the early
2000s, advocates of the concept - digital divide - showed that the diffusion
theories provided a limited view of the divides and therefore argued that the
acquisition of, and access to computers and Internet equipment are important
aspects to overcoming the challenge (Bradbrook & Fisher, 2004; Selwyn,
2003). Beyond the early 2000s, scholars “have articulated a more popular
research notion, which maintains that access to ICTs and the provision of
the required equipment do not eliminate divisions and exclusion from digital
opportunities. Such a notion presents a complicated picture of digital divides,
ignoring the contrast between the haves and have-nots and at the same
time taking into consideration the quality and efficiency of technology use”
(Tsatsou, 2011).
The digital divide has been considered from different dimensions. Cullen
(2001) suggested one dimension as “the gap between the state of ICTs,
and levels of access and utilization of the Internet in developed nations and
the situation in less developed countries”. Most modern scholars define the
term as the disparity in access to the Internet access between developed and
developing countries (Chinn & Fairlie, 2004; James, 2009).
The debates about the digital divide have been ongoing for the last
two/three decades (Tsatsou, 2011). The concept was first coined in the 1990s
and has mainly been understood in the context of access to and the usage of
digital technologies (Davison, Harris, Vogel, & Jan de Vreed, 1999; Miller J.,
2002). Another dimension of the divide is where some scholars describe it
5.3 Perspectives on Digital Divide 123
as “unequal access to technologies or digital exclusion at an international

as well as at a local level” (Cammaerts & Van Audenhove, 2003). Scholars
have generally defined digital divide in terms of the information they have
and that they do not have (Wresch, 1996), or using such economic terms as
the information poor and the information rich (Adam & Gillwald, 2007).
Tsatsou (2011) argues that definitions have lacked sociological meaning.
However, a recent study has argued that the digital divide presents differences
in different contexts, which include: socio-cultural, economic, political, and
time (Friemel, 2014). Thus through a third dimension, some scholars note
arguments from other studies that have strongly linked the Internet access
with a number of socio-demographic dimensions such as income, education,
gender and age (Zickuhr & Smith, 2012). In the past, scholars argued that
there is no single and universally accepted indicator that can determine the
digital divide (Vehovar, Sicherl, & Husing T, 2006). As mentioned earlier,
this chapter uses the term digital divide to refer to the broader meaning
where privileged groups are able to access technology better than the less
privileged.
5.3 Perspectives on Digital Divide

This section provides different brief research perspectives to the concept of
digital divide. The topics covered include, what is digital divide; what
is digital dividend and digital divide; the internet and digital divide; why
discuss digital divide; the nature of digital divide; and previous studies on
digital divide.
5.3.1 What Is Digital Divide?

There is a lot of literature about the digital divide mostly from the context
of developing countries (Heeks, 2006; Mansell, 2008; Miller & Rose, 2008;
Skaletsky, Galliers, Haughton, & Soremekun, 2016). The digital divide is
described as the overall gap that exists between developed and developing
countries in the utilization of information and communication technology
(Davison, Harris, Vogel, & Jan de Vreed, 1999). Digital divide is defined
as “the huge and widening gap between developed and developing world as
regards availability and cost of computer hardware, software and access to
telecommunications facilities, including telephones and the Internet” (Miller
J., 2002). Table 5.1 provides a summary of other definitions of the term digital
divide. The definition by Barclay & Duggan (2008) as the difference in the
Table 5.1 Other definitions of digital divide

Author Definition
Barclay & Duggan (2008) The difference in the availability of, and access to digital
technology across various social groups
Chen & Wellman (2004) Involves the gap between individuals (and societies) that have
the resources to participate in the information era and those
that do not
Cullen (2001) The gap that exists in most countries between those with
ready access to the tools of information and communication
technologies and the knowledge that they provide access to,
and those without such access or skills.
Hilbert (2011) An inequality in the power to communicate and to process

information digitally
Miller (2002) The notion refers to the huge, and widening, gap between
developed and developing world as regards availability and
cost of computer hardware, software and access to
telecommunications facilities, including telephones and the
Internet.
Source: Kunyenje (2016).
availability of, and access to digital technology across various social groups
reflects the approach adopted in this chapter.
The ratings of the digital divide for most of the countries in the world
are estimated every year. Recent statistics (see Table 5.2) between Africa and
the rest of the world, including other developing countries and sub-continents,
Table 5.2 Global internet penetration and population statistics 2016
Source: www.internetworldstats.com (2016).

present some (Avgerou, 2008; Gillwald, 2010; Skaletsky, Galliers, Haughton,

& Soremekun, 2016).
5.3.2 Digital Dividend and Digital-Divide

Digital dividend is often proposed as a possible solution towards bridging
the digital divide. The utilization of digital dividends to bridge the digital
divide will help in improving access to various ICT services such as e-health,
e-education and the e-economy across the globe (Vidyasagar, 2006). The
term digital dividend is conceptualized in two ways. The first implies the
gains accrued by the usage of ICT in a society (Vidyasagar, 2006). The latter
and most commonly used term refers to the vast amounts of TV broadcast
spectrum that exist when a switch from analogue to digital TV transmission
is made. Hence digital dividend (freed spectrum) can be freed up for better
use in delivering ICT services (Cramton, 2008; Cambini & Garelli, 2011).
5.3.3 The Internet and Digital Divide

Digital divide in recent times has been viewed with respect to Internet
adoption. The Internet has helped many lives and economies but the Internet
has also widened the digital divide within and between countries (Skaletsky,
Galliers, Haughton, & Soremekun, 2016). Research projects the Internet to
have an impact in “transforming patterns of social inequality, strengthen-
ing linkages between citizens and representatives, facilitating new forms of
public engagement and communication, and widening opportunities for the
development of a global civic society” (Norris, 2001).
The focus on the Internet presents an opportunity for the Information
Systems discipline to be utilized in bridging societal issues with regards to
the digital divide (Desouza, et al., 2007). In using the Internet, for example,
health information systems may assist countries to address social inequalities
through provision of health-related services (Ragnedda & Muschert, 2013).
A thorough research is needed have a grasp of the socio-economic challenges
that create the digital divide. This research can shape appropriate policies
that would address the associated injustices and inequities of technology
(Skaletsky, Galliers, Haughton, & Soremekun, 2016).
5.3.4 Why Discuss Digital Divide?

Based on statistics (Internet World Stats, 2016) as seen in the Table 5.2,
Africa makes up nearly 16 percent of the world population. Yet as the Internet
penetration increases in other parts of the world, Africa faces the risk of being
left behind - if the digital divide dilemma is not fully addressed. Because
of this problem, different reasons for discussions on the digital divide have
emerged.
One of the reasons, is the value of its absence. Based on this argument,
national developmental agendas can be achieved if there was no digital divide.
A case for this argument is Rwanda. The gradual introduction of ICTs in
Rwanda has led to an increase in national productivity as the traditional
steps towards the accumulation of investment and capital is replaced with
the capabilities of ICT (Steinmueller, 2001). Invariably if there is no digital
divide, then the national productivity will increase.
Another reason why digital divide is discussed is the failure of policy
interventions. An angle to this discussion is the ignorance by the public
sector on why the digital divide exists. Skaletsky et al. (2016) suggest that the
digital divide is a policy issue, and that policies cannot be effective without
an extensive understanding of the phenomena causing the divide.
A more common reason for discussing the concept is the need for equi-
table access to information. An example is this quote from Gebremichael &
Jackson (2006). They state that “. . . equitable access to information is one
of the most vital principles in the emerging global information econ-
omy” (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006). In their analysis, they considered
four dimensions of ICT namely, technology, economic dimensions, infor-
mation access and, information literacy. The infrastructure dimension is
where the digital divide exists. In order to solve the digital divide debacle,
Gebremichael & Jackson (2006) proposed the use of potential gains (digital
dividend) of the technology to facilitate the diffusion of the infrastructure. In
this manner, the desire to provide equitable access to information serves as a
driver towards bridging the digital divide.
There are many other reasons why the digital divide dilemma in Africa
is discussed. This indicates that these reasons, in the face of the existing
statistic represented in the Table 5.2 are important. There is an indication that
as long as the digital divide of any ICT exists, in Africa, there will be room for
discussion. Therefore there is the need for more sustainable policies that will
actually solve the problem, no matter which ICT infrastructure is adopted.
5.3.5 Nature of the Divide

The digital divide is thus not just between the developed world and devel-
oping countries. Within developing countries, there are other divides. There
are several people with no access to ICTs within the same country in Africa
(Dada, 2006). There is also a divide between the elite and the poor in Africa
(Basu, 2004). The elite can afford ICT services but that is not the case for the
poor. The digital divide can also be observed between genders, where African
males have more access to ICTs than their female counterparts (Hilbert, 2011;
Brännström, 2012). Another form of digital divide exists with the inability of
people with disabilities to access technologies due to their physical or mental
state (Clark & Gorski, 2001). There are other forms of digital divide, inter
alia, gender, the elite versus the poor and people with disabilities, this chapter
will only focus on the first two divides.
5.3.6 Previous Studies on the Digital Divide

Several studies have been conducted on the digital divide. Mansell (2008)
proposed more research in the area and observed that research on the digital
divide was being simplistic. The suggestion was for researchers to consider
a wide range of communication and information capabilities or literacies,
especially for young people in terms of access. “Literacies need to be inves-
tigated with respect to different social groups and their specific needs taking
age, gender, class, ethnicity, disabilities, and minorities into account. Access
questions need to be extended to include literacies related, for example, to
education, political participation, entrepreneurship, and the management of
new kinds of networks of partnerships” (Mansell, 2008). Research shows
that local involvement, local sustainability and local language and content
play a vital role in providing real access and real opportunities for those
who are disadvantaged (Gudmundsdottir, 2010). This position is corroborated
by Kasusse et al. (2016) who suggest that digitization of content promotes
international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety
of cultural content on the Internet, provide resources for educators, scholars,
and general audiences, and build capacity in partner institutions to narrow
the digital divide within and between countries. Literature suggests that
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is more challenged in terms of the digital divide.
It is argued that bridging the digital divide in SSA and the developing world
goes beyond information sharing (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006).
Several studies have considered the relationships among the predictors
of the global digital divide and digital development. For example, research
undertaken in 40 countries between 1985 and 2001 revealed that there is
a relationship between income per capita and IT penetration. The study
identified that “feedback effect” between levels of income per capita and IT
penetration is the primary driver of the digital divide: the higher the level
of IT penetration, the higher the positive association between income per
capita and IT penetration (Dewan et al., 2005). Furthermore, the study con-
cluded that developing countries benefit more than developed countries from
improvement in education, lowering costs of infrastructure and increasing
participation in the global economy. However, countries from Africa were
excluded from the study sample due to lack of data. The analysis therefore
excluded many countries with the lowest levels of IT penetration. A further
limitation is the omission of a measure of institutional quality, which was
found to be important in other studies (Chinn & Fairlie, 2007), among others.
5.4 Overview of Factors Influencing the Digital Divide

There are different factors that have been identified as contributing to the exis-
tence of a digital divide. These are categorized as: physical access to ICTs,
ICT skills and support, attitudes, and content (Cullen, 2001). Barriers that are
identified under physical access include: lack of a robust telecommunications
infrastructure with sufficient reliable bandwidth for Internet connections, and
cost, the ability to purchase, rent or travel to utilize without financial hardship,
the necessary equipment and provision of access for people with disabilities
(ibid).
Some scholars have argued that “determinants of inequality in access
to ICT are known as first order effects, while those impacting inequality
in the ability to use ICT are known as second order effects” (Dewan &
Riggins, 2005). An example of research on the international digital divide
explores and explains findings on 18 members of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (Hargittai, 1999). This
study evaluated wide-ranging variables at the macro level and concluded
that the most important determinants of international disparities in ICT
include economic wealth and telecommunications infrastructure, findings
that would be echoed in nearly every subsequent study, irrespective of data
scope and timeframe. Specifically, the research concluded that income alone
explains only 38 percent of the variation of Internet penetration among OECD
countries.
A study on the relationship between IT literacy and the digital divide
policy needs found out that basic IT literacy is an important factor in
determining access and use of the Internet (Ferro et al., 2011). The study
showed that “basic IT literacy significantly increases the likelihood of greater
Internet access and greater extent of Internet use. Since not everybody has
5.4 Overview of Factors Influencing the Digital Divide 129
the same level of skills, for research and practical purposes, it is important to
understand the differences and similarities among internet users” (Ferro et al.,
2011). These differences include policy, culture, technology, education, posi-
tion in society, among others. West (2015) identified factors that significantly
contribute to the digital divide especially on access to the Internet as poverty;
high device, data, and telecommunications charges; infrastructure barriers;
digital literacy challenges; and policy and operational barriers. Chinn & Fair-
lie (2007) identified other factors and classified them into economic variables,
demographic variables, infrastructure indicators, telecommunications pricing
measures and regulatory quality. Additional variables that Chinn & Fairlie
(2007) used during the study include economic variables (income per capita,
years of schooling, illiteracy, and trade openness), demographic variables
(youth and aged dependency ratios, the rate of urbanization), infrastructure
indicators (telephone density, electricity consumption), telecommunications
pricing measures, and regulatory quality. Other studies have identified the
contributors of the digital divide as differences in income, human capital,
regulatory effectiveness, and telecommunications infrastructure (Dasgupta,
Lall, & Wheeler, 2001; Wallsten, 2005).
Chinn & Fairlie (2004) examined 161 countries between 1999 and 2001
to identify the determinants of cross-country disparities in personal computer
and Internet penetration. The study revealed that public investment in human
capital, telecommunications infrastructure, and the regulatory infrastructure
can mitigate the gap in PC and Internet use. Chinn & Fairlie (2004) claim
that telecommunications policies, infrastructure and education are the basic
requirements for disadvantaged communities if they are to participate in the
information society. The scholars also note that high costs, domination of the
English language, the lack of relevant content, and the lack of technological
support are barriers for disadvantaged communities using computers and the
Internet.
Deichmann et al. (2006) used three variables: socio-economic, ICT price-
related and ICT policy and infrastructure-related; to understand the relation-
ships among the variables that are commonly used as predictors of the divide
and digital development. In a study conducted in 2003 in 160 countries, it was
shown that most relationships are not linear and that the interactions among
variables have an effect on the level of digital development (Deichmann
et al., 2006).
Using socio-economic and demographic variables to determine Internet
penetration in developed and developing countries, Chinn and Fairlie (2007)
examined the relative importance of factors, such as income, human capital,
infrastructure, cost of use, and regulatory quality and concluded that income
per capita is a key determinant of Internet penetration and computer use. The
study also confirmed the importance of the level of infrastructure, measured
by the number of telephone lines per 100 people and electric power con-
sumption. The study also showed that the price of ICT use is not a significant
predictor and that regulatory quality is an important determinant of computer
and Internet use.
Other scholars have argued that results of the digital divide research can
be classified under four successive types of access: motivational, physical,
skills and usage (van Dijk, 2006). A study has identified the contribu-
tors of the digital divide as differences in income, human capital, regula-
tory effectiveness, and telecommunications infrastructure (Dasgupta et al.,
2001). The scholars also note that high costs, domination of the English
language, the lack of relevant content, and the lack of technological sup-
port are barriers for disadvantaged communities using computers and the
Internet.
The sub-sections that follow will catalogue a brief description of some
of the critical factors namely economic variables, demographic indicators,
telecommunications pricing indicators and policy and operational barriers,
amongst others.
5.4.1 Economic Variables

Studies show that the digital divide is widening and deepening within devel-
oping countries, in spite of efforts at bridging it (Chen & Wellman, 2004).
Literature shows a stark contrast between those who are living in major
urban centers with better education, higher income and closer connections
to developed countries (both culturally and economically), and those who
are even more on the periphery (Chen & Wellman, 2004). Only about 50
percent of the world’s Internet users are native English speakers, and about
75 percent of all websites are in English (World Economic Forum, 2002).
Using data from 22 developed countries and 18 developing countries, Dewan
et al. (2005) examined the extent of the digital divide at the country level
from 1985 to 2001 to test the magnitude and changing trends of the divide
across three technology eras namely (i) mainframe, (ii) personal computer
and (iii) the Internet. The analysis examined the impact of several factors
on the divide, including economic, demographic and environmental factors
and confirmed that national income level (an economic variable) is a primary
driver of the adoption of IT at the national level.
5.4 Overview of Factors Influencing the Digital Divide 131
5.4.2 Demographic Variables

Demographic variables such as gender, age, income, education, race, marital
status, children and work status play a role on the digital divide (Rice &
Katz, 2003). Using sociological-based measurements and surveys it has been
elaborated that various demographic factors contribute to the digital divide.
A study on the differences between academic and non-academic use of the
Internet for 1,029 children between the ages of 10 and 14 according to family
income levels showed that family income is the primary factor in determining
which side the youths fall along the digital divide, while other demographic
factors are not as significant (Eamon, 2004). Similarly, a study shows that
the primary factors predicting Internet usage are income level and age, while
mobile phone usage is associated with income, work status, and marital status
(Rice & Katz, 2003).
5.4.3 Telecommunication Pricing Measures

High charges in telecommunication infrastructure are a major concern in
developing countries (Chinn & Fairlie, 2007). The scholars examined 161
countries between 1999 and 2001 and used a number of variables in the
research on the digital divide between countries. One such variable was on
telecommunications pricing measures. The study concluded that telecom-
munication costs do significantly contribute to the measure on the digital
divide.
5.4.4 Policy and Operational Barriers

The importance of a national ICT policy as a tool to guide implementation
of ICTs in a country cannot be over-emphasized. Several studies have been
conducted on ICT policy in Africa. Adam & Gillwald (2007) looked at the
political economy of ICT policy making in Africa. The study considered the
historical perspective of the regulatory frameworks and policy performance
with regard to ICT policy making in Africa. One conclusion drawn from this
research was that policy and ICT program agendas in Africa emanate from
foreign actors rather than through participatory policy formulation within the
countries. Rwanda appears to be making advances in mobile technologies
especially with regard to access to the Internet (UNPAN, 2016). It will be
interesting to conduct a study relating the national ICT policy in Rwanda
and its policy outcomes. What has driven the ICT policy in Rwanda for the
country to be progressing? In terms of ICT, it is presumed that the developed
world has always led the way and Avgerou (2008) notes that the pace and
direction of innovation in ICT are set by the advanced economies of the world
especially North America and Europe. However, the scholar argues that “local
IS implementation experience constitutes an innovation for the organization
undertaking it and may well constitute innovation for its socio-economic
context” (Avgerou, 2008).
5.5 Disadvantaged Groups in the Digital Divide in Africa

The word disadvantage, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means “being in
an unfavorable position in relation to someone or something else”. Research
and policy papers show that a number of groups are disadvantaged in their
uptake of ICTs. These include: people on low incomes, people with lower
educational qualifications or with low literacy levels, the unemployed, elderly
people, people in isolated or rural areas, people with disabilities, sole par-
ents, women and girls (Cullen, 2001). Chinn & Fairlie (2004) used some
variables, which include: economic (income per capita, years of schooling,
illiteracy, trade openness), demographic (youth and aged dependency ratios,
urbanization rate), infrastructure indicators (telephone density, electricity
consumption), telecommunications pricing measures, and regulatory quality
to determine cross-country disparities in personal computer and Internet
penetration using a sample of 161 countries. According to Keniston (2004),
there are four categories of the digital divide regarding differences in each
country. These are classified as (i) the rich and the poor, (ii) the educated
and powerful and the uneducated and marginalized, (iii) the developed and
developing countries and, (iv) the product of the growing intra-national digital
elite.
Cullen (2001) noted that different research and policy papers that have
tried to address the issue of the digital divide identify disadvantaged groups
of people as: people with low incomes, people with low educational qualifica-
tions or those with low literacy levels, the unemployed, elderly people, people
in isolated or rural areas, people with disabilities, sole parents, elderly people,
women and girls. The scholar identified education, income and health status
as the major contributors to the low uptake of ICTs and the disadvantaged are
already prone to these characteristics.
Another study used a different classification scheme based on access. This
classification uses concepts of (i) material, (ii) mental, (iii) skills and, (iv)
usage (van Dijk, 2006). Material access is based on infrastructure - the notion
of owning computers or having access to network connections. The second
5.5 Disadvantaged Groups in the Digital Divide in Africa 133
type of access is one which considers issues of motivation, experience and

computer anxiety. Skills access is referred to issues of digital competence,
support, and user friendliness. Usage access is the type of divide, which
borders on the utilization and opportunities to use ICT (van Dijk, 2006).
Women constitute one of the disadvantaged groups on the digital divide. It
is for this reason that most public policies now embrace the notion of gender
in all the relevant areas. A national ICT policy is an example of a public
policy (Makoza & Chigona, 2013). Whilst the first version of the national
ICT policy in Malawi, released in 2003, did not consider gender issues, the
latest version, which was officially launched in 2012, has themes related to
gender (ibid). Similarly, in other countries within Africa such as South Africa,
Mozambique, Uganda and Senegal, national ICT policies have taken on board
issues of gender seriously (Makoza & Chigona, 2013).
There are several models and policy documents that have been discussed
by different authors but the discussion in this chapter subscribes to the
stratification model, which relates to categories such as: (i) gender on the
digital divide (Olatokun, 2008) and (ii) the divide between the elites and
the poor (Dada, 2006). Two of the models are highlighted in Table 5.3.
Van Dijk (2006) argues that these “two models lead to quite different
projections of the evolution of the digital divide from the current situation”.
5.5.1 Gender Issues in the Digital Divide

The first category of the digital divide that is discussed in this section centers
on gender. Gender studies generally show that females are disadvantaged
compared to their male counterparts. They cut across many disciplines from
legislation, education, agriculture and health amongst many. In a review about
poverty and gender, Grindle (2002) focused on four key areas related to
gender imbalances in agriculture as: (1) technological resources, (2) nat-
ural resources, (3) human resources, and (4) social and political capital.
Table 5.3 Models on the digital divide

Model Description
Normalization model Presupposes that the differences between groups only increase in
the early stages of adoption and that differences disappear with
saturation in the last stages
Stratification model Assumes that (1) there is a different point of departure of the
access curve for the higher and the lower social strata and (2) a
different point of arrival
Source: van Dijk (2006).
The scholar argued that across different areas, generally men have higher
input measures than women (Grindle, 2002). Research in national legislatures
showed striking differences across representation of women in electoral sys-
tems (Matland, 1998). The study, which compared women in some developed
and developing parts of the world, showed a negative effect on women
participation in electoral systems in developing countries compared to the
developed world (ibid).
Hilbert (2011) observes that the debate regarding women’s access to
and use of ICT in developing countries remains inconclusive. The scholar
acknowledges two schools of thought with the first one claiming that women
are technophobic compared to men in terms of using digital tools and the
second which suggests that women have the enthusiasm to embrace digital
communication (Hilbert, 2011). To validate these claims, Hilbert (2011)
analyzed data sets from 12 Latin American and 13 African countries between
2005 and 2008. The study concluded that the reason why fewer women access
and use ICT is a direct result of their unfavorable conditions with respect to
employment, education and income.
Most women within developing countries are also at a deeper part of
technology compared to men (Olatokun, 2008). For example, women on the
digital divide are “further removed from the information age than the men
whose poverty they share” (Olatokun, 2008). Studies show that access to and
use of ICTs is directly linked to social and economic development (Chinn &
Fairlie, 2004; Deichmann, et al., 2006; Dewan, Ganley, & Kraemer, 2005). It
is therefore appropriate that women in developing countries understand the
significance of these technologies and use them. Some quarters dismiss the
concern for gender and information technology (IT) in developing countries
on the basis that development should deal with basic needs first (Olatokun,
2008). However, the scholar observes that IT can be an important tool in
meeting women’s basic needs and can provide access to resources to lead
women out of poverty.
Traditionally, the tendency has been to view new technologies introduced
into the global marketplace as gender neutral, having equal potential to be
used by either men or women. Based on previous documentation, less women
than men in Africa, as elsewhere, specialize in the sciences or engineering
(Rathgeber, 1995). The scholar also notes that fear of using new technologies
are associated with women. Rathgeber (1995) argues that if women have not
been active participants in the development and use of new technologies, then
it is assumed that this has been because of: (1) their own choice or (2) the
fact that they have been slow to recognize the importance of a particular
5.5 Disadvantaged Groups in the Digital Divide in Africa 135
new technology. Olatokun (2008) observes that women have not been active
participants in the development and usage of new technologies because they
play diverse roles and have limited time. Rarely do women take interest in
new technologies out of their need to deal with a multitude of tasks, meet a
variety of demands, and play diverse roles with limited time. In other words,
whether or not some women have a “fear” of technology, they have a pressing
need to attend to many diverse duties and have little time to experiment with
new technologies simply out of a sense of interest (Rathgeber, 1995).
Largely, this traditional pattern of male and female attitudes toward
technologies is replicating itself in the development of the new ICTs. Not
much statistics are available on the involvement of women in this sector
but preliminary observations indicate that women are greatly underrepre-
sented. For example, in Europe and North America, some anecdotal evidence
indicates that women who involve themselves in information technologies
tend to bring with them interests and expectations different from those of
their male counterparts. Early research has shown that women and girls in
IT and engineering tend to be more interested in the social applications of
technologies (Keller, 1992). Similarly, research in the United States suggested
that girls are less likely to be interested in violent computer games, which
are often very popular with boys. However, developing software for children
has become a substantial industry in North America, with the result that a
wide range of computer games is now available, including some designed
specifically for girls.
There is correlation between gender and ICT usage with respect to the
Internet access. Hilbert (2011) conducted research in 13 countries in Africa
and found that 21.1 percent of all men had been online in 2007/8 while only
11.5 percent of all women used the Internet. The study also revealed that
56.0 percent of all men use a mobile phone, versus only 46.9 percent of all
women.
5.5.2 The Elite versus the Poor

The second discussion this section focuses on is the elite versus the poor. The
Oxford dictionary defines elite as a select group that is superior in terms
of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society whilst the poor is
defined as those lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered
comfortable or normal in a society. These definitions entail that there is a gap
between the elite and the poor in society. In developing countries, the gap
between the elite and the poor is getting wider (Heeks, 2006). The educated
population possesses the necessary resources and means to use information
and communication technologies (Basu, 2004). For example, resources such
as telephone services, mobile phones and notes would enable the elite to
access the Internet more easily compared to the uneducated poor who do not
have such resources readily available (ibid). The scholar further observes that
in most least developed countries, the poor are largely located in rural areas.
The cost of the network services is such that most of the poor people cannot
afford. A World Bank report in 2000 showed that 11 percent of the wealthiest
households in Nepal had access to a telephone compared to 0.5 percent of
the households in the next richest quantile within the same country (World
Bank, 2000a). James (2009) argues that there is a dearth in research with
respect to absolute divide as opposed to the relative divide. Relative divide is
defined as the ratio of information technology stock in developed countries
divided by the stock in developing countries (James, 2009). This gap will fall,
rise, or stay unchanged depending on whether the developing countries grow,
respectively, faster, slower or at the same pace as the developed countries.
Absolute divide on the other hand is defined as the stock of information
technology in developed countries minus the stock in developing countries
(ibid).
Similar trends in which the elite dominate in terms of the digital divide are
noted in computer related community projects. Heeks (2008) argues that the
design of community projects is dominated by the elite minority because of
this group’s position in society. The elite minority is vocal, has the economic
capacity and is better educated compared to the poor. Consequently, projects
are designed not to meet the needs of the poor. In discussing the digital divide
care ought to be taken when using the terms, the elite and the poor. Women
may also be among the elite or the elite themselves (Gabbett & Mulvey, 2008)
and the poor women (Jiggins, 1989). However, the term elite woman is mostly
used in sports (Gabbett & Mulvey, 2008).
Part 2 – Mobile Telephony and Digital Divide in Africa

5.6 Cellular Mobile Communications
The greatest potential to solving digital divide with digital dividend (gains
from ICT) in Africa exists in the mobile industry. In the last decade, Africa
has experienced rapid growth in cellular mobile communications and Internet
5.6 Cellular Mobile Communications 137
subscription (Internet Live Stats, 2016; Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma,
2013). The growth rate of Internet users in Africa between 2000 and 2016
has been pegged at 7.4 percent compared with the Middle East, which was
next at 3.9 percent during the same period (Internet World Stats, 2016).
This phenomenal growth is attributed to mobile technology subscription
(Kwaku & LeMarie, 2006; Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013), where
cellular or mobile networks play a vital role. A cellular or mobile network
is described as “a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each
served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, known as a cell site or base
station. In a cellular network, each cell uses a different set of frequencies from
neighboring cells, to avoid interference and provide guaranteed bandwidth
within each cell” (Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013). The nature of
the mobile network provides the potential for the level of digital dividend
(gains) that can be derived. The higher the transmission capacity and data
rates the greater the digital dividend (gains). Mobile networks of higher
capacity are more likely to support varied ICT services that would support
the socio-economic and socio-cultural way of life in Africa - which can help
bridge the digital divide. Examples of such initiatives include the mobile
money. A summary of the different mobile technologies is in Table 5.4. But
in the next subsection, an overview of each mobile technology is presented.
This is followed by an insight into how they impact on the digital divide in
Africa.
Table 5.4 Comparison of all generations of mobile technologies
Source: Sapakal & Kadam (2013).

5.6.1 Cellular Architectures

The first generation (1G) mobile systems, which came in the early 1980s,
were based on analogue (or semi-analogue) circuit switched technologies
using the Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) method and mainly
offered voice traffic and related services. It was noted that voice traffic and the
services were highly incompatible with each other (Shukla, Khare, Garg, &
Sharma, 2013). Other challenges with this technology included: low capacity,
poor voice links and lack of security since voice calls were played back in
radio towers, making these calls susceptible to unwanted eavesdropping by
third parties (Sapakal & Kadam, 2013).
The second-generation (2G) mobile technology, which was introduced in
the 1990s, offered services such as short messaging and lower speed data
in addition to voice traffic. This 2G deployed Global System for Mobile
(GSM) technology with the aim of improving voice quality but the network
still offered limited data service. GSM is a digital and global technology that
uses circuit switching for better services such as higher capacity, encryption
and roaming (Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013). GSM also supports
digital voice communications over switched networks. The key feature of the
2G technologies is that the radio networks use digital signals (Suwamaru &
Anderson, 2012). Due to an increasing demand for advanced wireless data
communication through Internet usage, a transition standard known as 2.5
generation (2.5G) was introduced. This mobile technology adopted General
Packet Radio Service (GPRS). 2.5G systems enhance the data capacity of
GSM and mitigate some of its limitations, which 2G could not provide
(Sucheta & Yadav, 2013). 2G was introduced following a joint decision
by regulators and incumbent telecommunications providers of the 1990s
(Koski & Kretschmer, 2003).
In the 2000s, the third generation (3G) technology was introduced follow-
ing specifications by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as
part of the International Mobile Telephone 2000 (IMT-2000) project (Shukla,
Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013). With this technology, mobile telephone
customers were accorded the opportunity to use audio, graphics and video
applications in addition to voice communication and global roaming (Sapakal
& Kadam, 2013). This technology offers “a vertically-integrated, top-down,
service-provider approach to delivering wireless Internet access. 3G is a tech-
nology for mobile service providers” (Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013).
The fourth generation (4G) mobile technology, which surfaced around
2010 (Shukla, Khare, Garg, & Sharma, 2013), was designed to enable
5.6 Cellular Mobile Communications 139
transmission of high quality video images in addition to the other services

available at 3G (QingXia, Gang & HaiYan, 2015). The bandwidth of 4G
network is much higher than that of 3G network cellular systems. Some of
the advantages that the 4G technology was deployed for are communication
quality and the speed of the data call (Sucheta & Yadav, 2013). 4G mobile
technology is built differently from the core technology of 3G mobile com-
munication system. Whilst 3G is fundamentally a Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) technology, 4G mobile systems are mostly based on a
different technology known as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex-
ing (OFDM). This technology was developed to improve performance and
transmission speeds that were set by applications such as wireless broadband
access, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), video chat, mobile television
(TV), High Definition television (HDTV) content, Digital Video Broadcast-
ing (DVB), minimal services like voice and data, and other services that
utilize bandwidth (Sapakal & Kadam, 2013).
Research is underway regarding the fifth generation (5G) mobile tech-
nology, which is expected to be deployed in the 2020s (Mitra & Agrawal,
2015; Sapakal & Kadam, 2013). Researchers claim that the previous mobile
architectures of 2G, 3G and 4G have failed to sustain universal service
provisions because the architectures depend on having enough users per cell
for their economic viability - this implies that the technology has not been
suitable generally for sparsely populated rural areas (Onireti et al., 2016).
5G is an “all-IP based model for wireless and mobile networks interoper-
ability”, which is expected to provide mobile applications and services such
as M-portals, M-commerce, M-health care, M-government, and M-banking,
amongst others (Sapakal & Kadam, 2013). The proposed benefits of 5G
technology are many and include providing very high speed transmission,
high capacity, and low cost per bit in addition to supporting interactive
multimedia, voice, video, Internet, and other broadband services (Shinde
et al., 2016).
5.6.2 Impact of the Wireless Technologies on Digital Divide

in Africa
The world has witnessed a rapid evolution of cellular communication tech-
nologies in the last three decades from the 2G Global System for Mobile
(GSM) to the 4G Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) system. These
have largely been motivated by the need for more bandwidth and lower
latency (Mitra & Agrawal, 2015). At the same time, Internet World Stats
(2016) shows a growing rate of Internet users across the world, particularly
in Africa. However, the digital divide for the African region appears to remain
despite these advances in technology. Scholars argue that each nation, culture,
and community faces its own internal levels of the digital divide (Adam
& Gillwald, 2007; Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006). Other scholars have
concluded that there is no need to align culture with a country’s initiatives
in implementation of ICT policy and argue that many countries do not have a
common basis in race, culture or language (Myers & Tan, 2002).
Although different mobile technologies such as 2G, 3G and 4G have been
introduced across the globe at different times, it has been difficult for Africa
to take advantage of the technologies because of certain challenges. These
challenges include: the high costs associated with the telecommunications
infrastructure and demographic variables, amongst others, which are still in
existence (Basu, 2004; Brännström, 2012; Clark & Gorski, 2001; Hilbert,
2011). Based on definitions of the digital divide, which are at different levels
and in different contexts (Table 5.1), the underlying concept is the gap in
use of ICT in different social settings, be it in the developed world or the
The focus of the mobile technologies has largely been on higher speed
network, multimedia and data consideration, improved coverage, amongst
other reasons (Mitra & Agrawal, 2015). It is difficult to predict the immediate
impact of the cellular technologies given the fact that Internet usage is only
one aspect of the digital divide. Although there has been an improvement in
the growth rate of Internet users worldwide including in Africa, there is no
evidence to date that these architectures alone have helped bridge the digital
divide.
Furthermore, the digital divide phenomenon is not only linked to Internet
usage but also to the one of unequal usage to and usage of new technologies
(Cullen, 2001). This chapter adopted the definition of the digital divide as
the difference in the availability of, and access to digital technology across
various social groups (Barclay & Duggan, 2008). Economic (Billon et al.,
2010), demographic (Chen & Wellman, 2004), institutional stability and
infrastructure development (Skaletsky et al., 2016) in Africa are some of
the challenges that contribute to the digital divide. In this case, techno-
logy through infrastructure development (Skaletsky et al., 2016) may only
address part of the digital divide. This supports the view that the positive
growth of digital wireless phones in a country is related to a well-developed
telecommunications infrastructure, more competition in the wireless market,
lower wireless network access costs, and fewer wireless technology standards
5.7 Enabling Policies 141
(Kauffman & Techatassanasoontorn, 2005) but may not be the only solution
for bridging the digital divide.
The digital divide is measured based on: Internet usage of individuals
at home, Internet usage of individuals at any places, home PC ownership,
PC accessibility of individuals, Internet subscription of households, and the
divide in broadband internet subscription (ITU, 2015). Given that most of the
factors used in measuring the digital divide touch on aspects of the Internet, it
is likely that the different cellular technologies, especially from 3G, would
have partly helped in bridging the digital divide. The recent ITU (2015)
report attest to this. However, that is one type of digital divide. The other
types require policy interventions as scholars have noted in earlier studies
(Billon et al., 2010; Skaletsky et al., 2016). Given the poverty levels in
Africa (Olatokun, 2012), it will take some time before the ratings on Internet
subscription and home PC ownership may improve.
A study in Thailand found that price, availability of fixed telephony, age,
and living area are the strongest determinants for mobile Internet adoption.
The findings also revealed that mobile Internet could be an alternative tech-
nology to bridge the digital divide (Srinuan et al., 2012). The research did
not demonstrate how the mobile Internet alone could address the challenge.
Similarly, research has suggested that mobile telecommunications has higher
potential of equipping the poor and narrowing the digital divide, especially in
developing countries (Loo & Ngan, 2012). Although the two studies suggest
mobile telecommunications as having the potential to bridge the digital
divide, no conclusive research has been conducted to confirm this assertion.
Heeks (2006, 2008) has argued that very often solutions in the developing
countries are developed without adequate involvement of the local stake-
holders, which leads to a design-reality gap. It is not clear, without proper
research, if mobile technologies alone can help bridge the digital divide. The
introduction of the mobile technologies has mostly been influenced by the
developed world or other players such as the ITU on the 3G technology
specifications (Sapakal & Kadam, 2013).
Despite all these challenges, it is noted that the cellular technologies have
in part helped in bridging the digital divide in developing countries. For exam-
ple, the use of Internet bundles such as those provided by mobile operators in
countries could partly help address the problem of pricing. Airtel is a mobile
operator in a number of countries in Africa including Malawi, which offers on
peak and off-peak rates for Internet access (Source: http://africa.airtel.com/).
Through off-peak Internet offerings, more individuals in developing countries
may access the Internet, thereby helping in lowering the digital divide.
Part 3 – Current Policy Solutions

5.7 Enabling Policies
African countries have been formulating national ICT policies using two
separate routes: (i) a blueprint approach, which was a National Information
and Communications Infrastructure plan championed by foreign agencies
such as the ITU and the World Bank and (ii) an incremental approach,
an approach that focuses on building blocks such as national educational
capacity, infrastructure, content and public sector service delivery through
ICTs (Adam & Gillwald, 2007). By the early 2000s, several countries
had adopted the blueprint model. Among those that followed the blueprint
approach are Rwanda, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi and Swaziland whilst a few
countries followed an incremental but yet organic approach to developing
ICT policy. These include Botswana, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa and
Tunisia (Adam & Gillwald, 2007). It is noted that countries that adopted
the blueprint approach have been less effective in the attainment of policy
objectives (outcomes) than those countries that followed the incremental
approach (Adam & Gillwald, 2007).
When the ratings in Table 5.6 are considered closely, the claim may be
supported. However, a recent UNIPAN (2016) report shows that Rwanda is
making strides on Internet access targeting 95 percent of the population by
the end of 2017, although the country followed the NICI plan in developing
its national ICT policy. Malawi on the other hand used the same blueprint and
yet Table 5.6 shows Malawi sliding downwards from position 159 in 2010 to
position 163 in 2015 on the rankings of Individuals Internet access.
5.7.1 Case Studies

Sub-Saharan Africa is the “least developed region of the world with respect
to life expectancy, school enrolment ratio, income” (Fuchs, C. & Horak,
2008) whilst a World Bank (2016) report shows that the region is per-
forming at the bottom of the world rankings in terms of economic, social
and democratic development indicators. These indicators demonstrate that
there are still socio-economic challenges in the region that may have to be
addressed prior to making efforts for bridging the digital divide. A number of
studies have categorized factors influencing the digital divide into economic,
demographic, pricing in telecommunication policy, and operation barriers,
amongst others (Chen & Wellman, 2004; Chinn & Fairlie, 2004; Skaletsky,
Galliers, Haughton, & Soremekun, 2016).
At continent level, Africa has experienced rapid growth in the spread of

mobile phone technology compared to other parts of the world (Aker & Mbiti,
2010). For example, whilst 80 million African citizens had access to mobile
phones in 1999, it is estimated that this number grew to 477 million in 2008,
representing a growth rate of 60 percent of the population within the period
(ibid).
Table 5.5 provides a comparison of Internet access between six African
countries. It also shows the rate of penetration of the internet between
2008 and 2015. Internet penetration rates in Malawi and Tanzania are low
compared to the rest of the sampled countries. I believe that there is need
for more research to explore why some countries in Africa such as Malawi
and Tanzania (see Table 5.5) are not making progress on Internet access
despite several strides in mobile technologies at the global level. Is it the
country-context that is affecting this progress or there are other factors that
are contributing to the slow progress on Internet access and thus lowering the
ICT index rankings?
Rwanda: Rwanda, a low-income country in SSA, has a population of 11.6

million (World Bank, 2016). The formulation of the country’s national ICT
policy followed the NICI framework and this policy has undergone three
revisions, with the first one being released in 2001, the second in 2006 and
the third in 2011. Rwanda has been successful in implementing e-government
services through use of mobile technologies. For example, residents have
commended government for the implementation of a government portal that
has eased service delivery through the use of 4G LTE, which has been
implemented across the country (UNPAN, 2016). In a UN e-Government
survey in 2014, Rwanda was ranked 125th globally and 12th in Africa on
connectivity and plans are now underway to connect to the Internet by 2017
at least 95 percent of the population (ibid).
Table 5.5 Percentage of individuals using the Internet

Country 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Algeria 10.18 11.23 12.50 14.00 15.23 16.50 25.00 38.20
Botswana 6.25 6.15 6.00 8.00 11.50 15.00 18.50 27.50
Kenya 8.67 10.04 14.00 28.00 32.10 39.00 43.40 45.62
Malawi 0.70 1.07 2.26 3.33 4.35 5.05 5.83 9.30
Rwanda 4.50 7.70 8.00 7.00 8.02 9.00 10.60 18.00
Tanzania 1.90 2.40 2.90 3.20 3.95 4.40 4.86 5.36
Source: ITU (2016).
Table 5.6 Country rankings of individuals using the Internet

Country Ranking in 2010 Ranking in 2015 Status
Algeria 114 113 Moved up
Botswana 117 111 Moved up
Kenya 126 124 Moved up
Malawi 159 163 Moved down
Rwanda 154 154 No change
Tanzania 153 157 Moved down
Source: ITU (2016).
The ICT infrastructure in Rwanda has been transformed tremendously.

The Smart Kigali project has made it possible for the delivery of free Internet
via Wi-Fi to the city and about 500 buses. Apart from free Wi-Fi, Rwanda is
also implementing the One Laptop per Child program which was rolled out
in 2007. About 200,000 laptops have been distributed to 140,000 primary
schools. Targets in ICT are met by strategies that promote consumption
of homegrown products while exporting the excess. Positivo BGH, a Latin
American multinational company with an annual turnover in excess of $2.5
billion, has opened a production plant in Kigali. Positivo President in Africa,
Juan Ignacio Ponelli, said in November 2014 that the company chose Rwanda
because the government is committed to develop the country1 . However, one
challenge facing the country in the use of modern technologies is electricity
grid (de Tolly & Benjamin, 2012, p. 314). For instance, access to ICT in
Rwanda is both driven by the energy as well as industrial development.
Assembling of computers in Rwanda to support its policy of access to
computers in the homes as well as pupils in schools (ibid).
Malawi: The process of formulating a national ICT Policy in Malawi began

in 2003. This was facilitated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
with support from the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The national
ICT policy, developed using the blueprint from NICI, identified four areas
as critical which were guiding the advancement of ICT in African countries
and these included (i) youth and development, (ii) health, (iii) business and
commerce and (iv) ICT policy and regulations (Makoza & Chigona, 2012).
The NICI framework promoted stakeholders’ involvement in policy for-
mulation, content development, application and building of ICT infrastructure
(Adam & Gillwald, 2007). With these priority areas in the framework, the first
1
Source: http://www.times.mw/rebuilding-rwanda-from-ashes-to-flashes/
Figure 5.1 ICT access by development status.

Source: ITU (2015).
draft of the Malawi national ICT Policy was released in 2003. Later the policy
was revised in 2006 to address some socio-economic development challenges
the country was facing. The final draft of the national ICT policy was released
in 2009 by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education and officially
launched in 2013 (Malawi Government, 2015).
The level of e-government implementation in Malawi is in its infancy and
there is slow growth in implementation of e-government services because
of limited integration of public services (Makoza, 2013). Little is known
about Malawi in the implementation of e-government services apart from
availability of websites in different government Ministries and Departments,
which provide basic services (Makoza, 2013); in stark contrast with Rwanda.
Digital divide statistics show that the country has 35 percent subscription of
mobile-cellular phones, 17 percent of mobile-broadband subscriptions and
only 9 percent of the subscribers have Internet access (ITU, 2015).
There is a dearth of literature regarding the status of the ICT infrastructure
in Malawi. However, the usage of bundles for Internet access may have helped
in increasing the number of Internet subscribers in the country as shown in
Table 5.62 and thus in turn adjusted the ratings slightly upwards between 2014
and 2015.
2
Source: http://africa.airtel.com/
5.7.2 Why the Problem Still Exists in Africa

Although several studies have been conducted on the digital divide, literature
shows that the challenge still exists in Africa. One group that can benefit
from access to and use of technology is women (Hilbert, 2011). The author
sees potential in ICT helping women “to gain employment (for example
through tele-work or newly created information jobs), obtain cost-effective
health services and education (such as through online courses or software-
based literacy programs) and to increase their income (such as through
e-business channels and online transactions)” (Hilbert, 2011). According to
the scholar this remains a challenge. Another scholar sees the digital divide
as a further challenge. The scholar argues that efforts to bridge the digital
divide may have the effect of locking developing countries into a new form of
dependency on the West (Wade, 2002). It is argued that “the technologies and
international standards governing ICTs are designed by developed countries
for developing country conditions” (Wade, 2002). Participation of developing
countries in these technologies and adherence to these standards makes the
developing world more vulnerable (Wade, 2002). The scholar suggests that
developing countries should not take the technologies and standards from
the West as given but instead fight for standards and pricing regimes that
make it easier for the developing countries to access the global information
economy (ibid).
5.8 Author’s Views on Digital Divide

Some studies have suggested consideration of different variables to help
bridge the digital divide (Chen & Wellman, 2004; Rice & Katz, 2003). Other
studies have argued that country-context is vital in addressing the digital
divide (Heeks, 2006; Heeks, 2008). The author holds the view that country-
context plays a role in addressing issues of the digital divide and makes the
following suggestions as a follow up to the claim.
• That researchers and practitioners should agree on a common definition
of the term digital divide, which should consider country-context. This
is based on the argument that each country has its unique setting and
constraints such as political and economic context (Alfawaz et al.,
2008). This claim is supported by some scholars who suggest that a
country’s socio-economic and cultural issues should be linked to formu-
lation of a national ICT policy (Adam & Gillwald, 2007; Heeks, 2006;
5.8 Author’s Views on Digital Divide 147
Heeks, 2008; Njihia & Merali, 2013). However, other scholars argue
that there is no alignment between a country’s culture and initiatives in
implementation of ICTs. These scholars observe that many countries do
not have a common basis in race, culture or language (Myers & Tan,
2002) and as such country-context should not apply.
• That more critical research should be undertaken to establish factors
or predictors of the digital divide given a country-context. This claim
is premised on understanding that there is no conclusive research so
far that has established all the predictors or contributors of the dig-
ital divide (Billon, Lera-Lopez, & Marco, 2010; Skaletsky, Galliers,
Haughton, & Soremekun, 2016). These predictors should be accommo-
dated in national ICT policies.
• That whilst 5G mobile technology promises fast speeds and enhanced
services (Sapakal & Kadam, 2013), it is still not known whether the
developing countries in Africa will have embraced the already exist-
ing technologies in addressing the myriad of challenges facing these
countries. Generally, the different mobile technologies (from 2G to 4G)
have been introduced following demands from the developed world.
For example, demand necessitated the introduction of the 2.5G mobile
technology mostly from the West and the developing world simply
towed behind such demand (Sucheta & Yadav, 2013). The proposed 5G
is also because of appetites for better performance mainly from parts of
the world such as the West with the capacity to afford such technologies
(Shinde et al., 2016).
Without proper research, it may be difficult to conclude that the mobile
technologies are assisting different countries in bridging the digital divide.
The author of this chapter suggests that more critical research linking digital
divide and public policies needs to be conducted. Although Rwanda has made
notable progress on in the provision of Internet access using modern technolo-
gies such as 4G, it is not clear if Internet access alone has helped to bridge
the digital divide. Internet cost in most countries in Africa including Rwanda,
Uganda and the Central African Republic actually exceeds average income
per capita levels in those countries (Africa Stats, 2016). More research is thus
key to unveiling the relationship between Internet access and the digital divide
especially in African countries where other challenges such as economic,
demographics and policy exist. Other internet penetration ratings are listed
in Table 5.6.
5.9 Conclusion
This chapter has provided the background and historical context of the
digital divide, the different studies that have been conducted and the major
concerns of the stakeholders on the divide. The term digital dividend has
been contextualized to refer to application of technology to access different
areas of specialization such as health, education and agriculture to name but
a few. Based on statistics, the continent that is faced with many challenges
affecting the digital divide is Africa. Some authors have argued that the
digital divide is a policy issue and must be considered as such when making
policies. Others argue that the digital divide is not only between countries
but also within countries. An example given is that where women have less
access to technology compared to men. Similarly, there is a divide between
the elite in society who have access to technology and the poor who have
limited or no access at all. There is need for further research on the divide
and perhaps this time studies should focus more on how countries in the
developing world especially in Africa can bridge the divide between different
dimensions among them gender, position in society (the elite and the poor),
among others.
6
M-Health in Africa: A Situation Analysis
Adebowale Ojo
School of Management, IT & Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal,

Durban, South Africa
6.1 Introduction
Africa undoubtedly is one of the fast-rising continents in the world. In fact,
various media reports have given credence to a now popular aphorism ‘Africa
Rising’ (Perry, 2012; Economist, 2011). Also, a 2014 World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) African Regional Health Report submits that “rapid economic
growth, a young and growing population, a wide uptake of technology –
particularly mobile phone technology – and a burgeoning middle class has
led to a new view of Africa as an increasingly important demographic and
economic driver of global growth” (WHO, 2014). However, the continent
still faces some challenges. A World Bank recent overview of the African
continent while agreeing that the continent is among the fastest growing
regions, submitted that overall growth and development slowed in 2015. The
region’s growth trend is said to be below pre-financial crisis levels – down
from 4.5 percent in 2014, the weakest pace since 2009 (World Bank, 2016).
This calls for fresh approaches to tackling the gamut of challenges the region
faces.
One of the most significant challenges to sustainable development in
the region could allude to health issues. It is a matter of fact that no
nation can successfully pursue economic growth and development without
having a sound and functional healthcare system. Unfortunately, the region’s
healthcare sector is bedevilled with a number of challenges: inadequate and
unequal access to healthcare, maldistribution of facilities, rising healthcare
cost, increased disease burdens, health illiteracy among others. The WHO
report highlighted some positive findings - decline in child, maternal and
149
150 M-Health in Africa: A Situation Analysis
adult mortality rates; substantial decreases in the burden of several diseases;

and improvements in overcoming the deadly HIV epidemic. However, com-
municable diseases still abound in the region, non-communicable diseases
are increasing, and there are needs to scale up implementation of universal
access and strengthen health systems.
The application of Information Technology (IT) is today seen as one
of the ways of tackling health challenges and improving health systems
globally. The proliferation and penetration of mobile phones around the world
have increased beliefs that mobile technologies could serve as an innovative
approach to improving healthcare systems. The International Telecommu-
nications Union (ITU), a United Nations agency for ICT in their yearend
2015 report, reports an increased mobile cellular subscription worldwide,
indicating a penetration rate of 97% compared to the year 2000 (ITU,
2015). A simple analysis using the ITU data (2010–2015) shows an 87%
increase in mobile-cellular telephone subscription in Africa alone – this is
a first, compared with other regions. This increased rate of subscriptions,
coupled with increasing mobile-broadband subscriptions in Africa, has led to
the development and application of mobile technologies to support various
healthcare operations. The application of mobile technology to healthcare
has shown potentials to improve healthcare outcomes and strengthen health
systems in Africa. Studies have reported the various application of mHealth
in the region of Africa. In a bid to strengthen health systems, the use of mobile
phones have been reported to aid surveillance systems; diagnostic support for
remote health workers; training and support of health workers; health data
collection and dissemination; patient’s medication adherence; health workers
communication; patients’ health education; emergency and disaster response;
hospital appointment system; drug supply chain and stock management and
much more (IT News Africa, 2016).
This chapter is an analysis of selected mHealth applications that are
operational and seemed to have scaled in some countries in the continent
of Africa. Generally, the chapter provides an overview of the concept of
mHealth, describes the various applications of mobile technologies to health-
care in Africa – citing outstanding cases, discusses the challenges of mHealth
implementation as well as opportunities for improvement. It is hoped that
this chapter will be valuable to researchers, mHealth developers and imple-
menters, as well as health policy makers. It will set the tone for further
discourse on the application of mobile technology in health, especially in
the developing context of the African continent.
6.2 Overview of M-Health 151
6.2 Overview of M-Health

A standardized definition for mHealth does not yet exist. However, the use
of mobile technology in healthcare is referred to as ‘mHealth.’ The Global
Observatory for e-health of the World Health Organization (WHO) defined
it as “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such
as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants and
other wireless devices” (WHO, 2011). It is also the use of mobile commu-
nication technologies to promote health by supporting healthcare practices
– provision of care, health data collection, health information dissemination
and so on. It includes the development and study of such mobile phone appli-
cations as Short Messaging Service (SMS), voice calling, and wireless data
transmission (Betjeman, Soghoian, & Foran, 2013; Aranda-Jan, Mohutsiwa-
Dibe, & Loukanova, 2014). In other words, mHealth involves the use of the
various functionalities of mobile devices such as voice calling, Short Mes-
saging Service (SMS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD),
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) mobile web, and mobile application for
various health purposes.
Mobile technology is continuously seen as a tool that could be adopted to
solve some of the world’s health challenges. The reason for this is because of
its characteristics of easy accessibility, ability to accommodate personalized
solutions and its location based services capability (Akter & Ray, 2010).
Also, mobile phones are today ubiquitous, which allows for a wider reach of
services, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to use, especially for those
unable to handle complex technology. The portability, “always on” status, and
data transmission capabilities of mobile phones also make them a technology
of choice in reaching larger populations. Mobile phones are being seen as
tools that can help solve health challenges relating to inadequate finances,
poor health information systems, scarce resources and limited trained health
workers. It is believed that because of the telecommunication technology
on which mobile phones function, it may reduce time, distance and cost
of information delivery, while also supporting healthcare workers to deliver
cost-effective services (Aranda-Jan, Mohutsiwa-Dibe, & Loukanova, 2014).
Hence, government bodies, donor agencies and researchers sees mobile tech-
nology as a technology that could be leveraged on to address some of the
health challenges facing the world.
The WHO in a global survey conducted among 114 member states in
2009 revealed that 83% of them were implementing at least one type of
mHealth initiative. These mHealth initiatives were categorised into 14: health
call centres, emergency toll-free telephone services, managing emergen-

cies and disasters, mobile telemedicine, appointment reminders, community
mobilization and health promotion, treatment compliance, mobile patient
records, information access, patient monitoring, health surveys and data col-
lection, surveillance, health awareness raising, and decision support system
(WHO, 2011). Building on these categorisation as provided in the WHO
document, Labrique et al., posits that the classification has not been sufficient
in providing stakeholders with the tools they need in understanding the
diverse ways in which specific mobile functions could be employed for a
particular health purpose (Labrique, Vasudevan, & Kochi, 2013). Hence, after
rounds of review, they came up with twelve common areas of mHealth appli-
cations. These are: client education and Behaviour Change Communication
(BCC); sensors and point-of-care diagnostics; registries/vital events tracking;
data collection and reporting; electronic health records; electronic decision
support; provider-to-provider communication; provider work planning and
scheduling; provider training and education; human resource management;
supply chain management; and financial transactions and incentives.
Similarly, Hoyt et al., while adapting the framework of Free et al.,
broadly categorized mHealth applications as tools for health research; tools
for improving health services; and tools for improving health outcomes
(Hoyt, Cruz & Fleury, 2014; Free, Phillips, & Felix, 2010). These tools could
be targeted at healthcare practitioners, patients, or the public. Leveraging
on the classification provided by Labrique et al. (Labrique, Vasudevan, &
Kochi, 2013) and the conceptual classification given by Hoyt et al. (2014), a
conceptual framework which could guide mHealth classification is proposed
in Figure 6.1.
The framework highlights the twelve areas of mHealth applications which
could serve as interventions either for health administrators, healthcare prac-
titioners, patients, or the public. The categories could further serve as a tool
aimed at improving health services or a tool for improving health outcomes.
The twelve areas of mHealth applications as provided by Labrique et al.
(2013) is further described:
Client education and Behavior Change Communication (BCC): These

are mHealth applications targeted at clients, that is, patients, the public
or a segment of the public. mHealth applications under this category are
intended to deliver contents aimed at improving people’s knowledge, modify
their attitudes, and/or change their behavior relating to a particular health
phenomenon. Applications under this category rely on people’s access to
6.2 Overview of M-Health 153
Figure 6.1 mHealth classifications.

Source: Hoyt, Cruz, & Fleury, 2014.
mobile phones in order to deliver timely and targeted health information

via SMS, IVR, audio or video, or a combination thereof. This category of
mHealth applications sometimes also aims at increasing client’s knowledge
or reinforcing health messages.
Sensors and point-of-care diagnostics: This classification is based on the

ability of mobile phones to be linked to other external devices in order to
enhance remote monitoring of patients. For instance, sensors could be used
together with other technologies to facilitate the storage, transmission, and
evaluation of diagnostic tests via mobile phones, especially in cases where a
care provider and patient are far from each other. These interventions are said
to be more common in high-income countries, compared with low-income
countries.
Registries/vital events tracking: mHealth applications under this category

are categorised as such because of the use of customized mobile-phone based
applications in facilitating patients’ registration for specific services. Also,
interventions under this category could be used in tracking individuals with
specific health conditions, or by age group, gender or other characteristics
depending on the health program. mHealth applications herein can also be

used in tracking vital events, thereby, supporting population registries.
Data collection and reporting: mHealth applications under this category are
aimed at improving health data collection and reporting process. mHealth
initiatives under this category are usually targeted at healthcare frontline
workers, enabling them to report surveys or patient data instantaneously.
These tools contribute to improving health research and consequently, health
services. For instance, data captured by the mobile phone are sent to a central
server, giving room for the aggregation of information. This aggregated
information could be used to analyze a health system or aid the monitoring
and evaluation of a particular health program.
Electronic health records (EHRs): mHealth applications are making it

possible for mobile-phone based applications to interact with existing EHR
systems. For example, health care workers can submit point of care results
via mobile phones to update results on the EHR. Also, health care workers in
rural areas, for instance, can access information from a patient’s record using
a mobile device and update same accordingly.
Electronic decision support: mHealth applications under this category aid

healthcare workers in adhering to protocols, especially where there are
complex guidelines. mHealth applications have been shown to be able to
incorporate point of care decision support tools with an automated algorithm
or rule-based instructions to ensure health workers follow defined guidelines.
Provider-to-provider communication: mHealth application can utilise the

basic voice communication function of mobile phones, thereby allowing
healthcare providers to communicate with one another. mHealth applications
that utilise voice communication, SMS, image or sound exchange have been
shown to aid care coordination. Health providers can also offer expert assis-
tance to each other via this platform.
Provider work planning and scheduling: mHealth initiatives have been

shown to be able to aid health administrative duties, thereby improving health
services. mHealth applications under this category help keep health workers
informed of upcoming or due services, thereby, promoting accountability in
prioritizing providers follow up. mHealth applications can also enhance the
scheduling of individuals for different health services.
6.3 mHealth State in Africa 155
Provider training and education: mHealth applications have been shown to

be useful in providing health care workers with continued training support,
through access to educational video, informational messages, and interactive
exercise that can reinforce skills already learnt.
Human resource management: mHealth applications could be used as tools

to aid administrative services. For instance, reports generated from mHealth
applications in the form of web-based dashboards, allow supervisors track
the performance of Community Health Workers (CHWs), either by noting the
volume of digital productivity or by real-time GPS tracking of workers as they
perform field duties. This facilitates identifying workers who are lagging in
performance, while also enabling recognition and reward of exceptional staff.
Supply chain management: mHealth applications have been used in stock

management. mHealth initiatives under this category allow remote clinics or
pharmacies to send messages reporting the daily stock level of drugs and
supplies, or to request additional materials. Supervisors at higher levels can
also act on the messages received by taking actions to redistribute supplies or
avert a potential crisis.
Financial transactions and incentives: mHealth is being integrated with

mFinance to aid financial transactions in paying for health care services,
supplies, or drugs. mHealth initiatives under this category help in decreasing
financial barriers to care for patients. It has been shown to facilitate health
insurance schemes, thereby, promoting people’s access to health care, who
otherwise may not be able to afford health care.
It is worthy to note that a number of mHealth initiatives have either
been piloted or implemented in various parts of Africa, focusing on one or
more categories as discussed above. Examples of such mHealth initiatives
are discussed in the next section.
6.3 mHealth State in Africa

In responding to some of the health challenges facing the African continent,
a number of mHealth initiatives have been developed in various parts of
the continent. In assessing the state of mHealth implementations in Africa,
the GSM Association’s (GSMA) mHealth deployment tracker web page and
the USAID’s mHealth compendium database was surveyed (GSMA, n.d.;
K4Health, 2016). The GSMA’s mHealth deployment tracker web page
consisted of implementations that are categorised as live, planned or merged.
The planned implementations simply mean such applications are still in

the planning stage and are yet to be implemented. The merged applica-
tions indicate such applications have been integrated into an existing live
implementation. The live implementation indicates applications that are
already existing. However, a further analysis of the implementations catego-
rized as live revealed that some implementations had been stopped, either
because they were pilot projects or some others reasons which could not
be traced. An examination of the USAID’s mHealth compendium database
revealed that virtually all of the projects available are also included on the
GSMA’s mHealth deployment tracker web page. However, an advantage of
the USAID’s mHealth compendium database is that it contains informa-
tive documents which could help in tracing and ascertaining the state of
the existing mHealth initiative. The documents available on the USAID’s
mHealth compendium is used for an insightful analysis of existing mHealth
applications in Africa later in this chapter.
For examining existing documented mHealth applications worldwide, the
GSMA’s web tracker web page was analysed. The analysis revealed there
are 1,070 live implementations of mHealth applications worldwide. A further
breakdown of these implementations by continent shows there are 413, 309,
197, 130, and 21 live mHealth implementations in Africa, Americas, Asia,
Europe, and Oceania respectively. The percentage distribution by continent is
shown in Figure 6.2.
Figure 6.2 Distribution of mHealth implementations worldwide.

Source: GSMA’s web tracker.
Figure 6.2 shows that Africa has the highest number of mHealth appli-
cations in the world. The high number could be credited to the increasing
rate of mobile phone penetration and subscriptions in the continent, as well
as the challenges presented by weak health systems and the high rate of such
diseases as HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality and neonatal mortality. Thus, the
continent is seen as one in which there is an urgent need to apply mobile tech-
nologies in alleviating some of the health challenges. This is also because of
the potentials which mHealth has shown across the world. A further analysis
of the mHealth applications in the African continent by region is presented
in Figure 6.3. Figure 6.3 shows there are more mHealth implementations in
Southern Africa (47%), followed by Western Africa (25%), Eastern Africa
(24%), Northern Africa (3%) and Central Africa (1%). A further analysis
showing the number of implementations by countries in Africa is presented
in Figure 6.4.
A further search was conducted using the USAID’s mHealth compendium
database. This was done in other to identify the category of mHealth appli-
cations that have been implemented at one time or the other in Africa. The
search returned a total of 127 mHealth applications. The search based on the
type of mHealth applications that have been implemented or piloted in Africa
revealed that most of the applications are categorised under two or more types
of mHealth applications. However, a case-by-case search revealed that most
Figure 6.3 Distribution of mHealth implementation in Africa.

Figure 6.4 Distribution of mHealth implementation in Africa.

mHealth applications are used for data collection and reporting. This informa-
tion is presented in Figure 6.5. The information presented in Figure 6.5 is an
indication that majority of the mHealth applications have health care workers
as the primary users considering that majority of the applications focused
on data collection and reporting. Also, following the framework presented in
Figure 6.1, the majority of the mHealth applications are targeted at improving
health services. This is expected, considering that most African countries are
plagued with weak health systems. Unfortunately, however, a lot of countries
that seemed worst plagued with weak health systems in the continent: Liberia,
Sudan, Central Africa Republic, Mauritania, DR Congo among others do not
have much going for them in terms of mHealth implementations (Save the
children, 2015).
Also, a search was conducted to examine the health areas mHealth
applications implemented in Africa have focused on. The result revealed that
most mHealth implementations have focused on maternal health, child health,
Figure 6.5 mHealth applications in Africa by categories.
newborn health and HIV/AIDs. The information is presented in Figure 6.6.

This is expected considering that most of the disease burden still carried by
the continent includes a high rate of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, mater-
nal and neonatal mortality. However, the WHO report on Africa indicates
an increase in the rate of mortality caused by Non-Communicable Diseases
(NCDs) (WHO, 2014). This seems not to be gaining much attention on the
mHealth Africa scene yet.
A further analysis of the information presented on the mHealth com-
pendium database revealed that most of the interventions used the mobile
phone as the technology of choice. Also, most involved the use of mobile
apps, usually in the form of forms used for the purpose of data col-
lection; SMS; IVRs; and voice communication. Evidently, most mHealth
implementations in various parts of Africa are donor funded.
A further literature search was conducted to explore the various mHealth
projects that have been piloted or implemented in Africa in the last five
Figure 6.6 mHealth applications by health focus.

years. The search revealed that mHealth initiatives had been piloted in various
instances.
For instance, a randomized controlled trial carried out in South Africa
to assess the effect of automated treatment adherence support delivered via
mobile phone SMS on blood pressure patients. The study found a small
reduction in systolic blood pressure compared with usual care at 12 months.
However, there was no sufficient evidence to conclude the intervention was
responsible for the reduction (Bobrow, Farmer, & Springer, 2016). Another
randomized controlled trial in Uganda aimed at assessing the impact of a
mobile phone based support intervention used by community-based peer
health workers on AIDS care. The study revealed mobile phones portends the
potential in supporting patient care and logistics support (Chang, Kagaayi, &
Arem, 2011). Mobile phones are also seen as useful for the follow-up of
children with Burkitt lymphoma in Cameroon (Chindo, 2013).
Another study in South Africa revealed the potentials of using the
SMS functionality of a mobile phone in encouraging HIV Counseling and
Testing (HCT) (de Tolly, Skinner, & Nembaware, 2012). Thereby, indi-
cating that mobile phones could be leveraged on to encourage people to
take health related actions. A study in Ghana investigated the roles that a
mobile application (Mobile Midwife) played in the lives of pregnant and
nursing mothers. The study revealed that the mobile application enhanced the
women’s decisions to seek essential obstetric care, and also felt strengthened
in their understanding of the importance of seeking professional care during
pregnancy and childbirth, as well as recognizing signs of ill health in new-
born (Entsieh, Emmelin, & Pettersson, 2015). Similarly, a study was carried
out in Malawi to test whether supportive SMS could improve reporting of
pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes among community health workers.
Results from the study showed that the mHealth intervention improved the
documentation of matched pregnancies (Joos, et al., 2016). Thereby, showing
the potential of mHealth to improve tracking and data quality of pregnancies
and pregnancy outcomes.
Another study in Ethiopia found that mHealth applications are feasible for
routine health data collection at primary health care level (Medhanyie, Moser,
& Spigt, 2015). A study reported the use of SMS as a mobile phone tool
to coordinate community health worker activities around antenatal care and
prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Kenya. Findings from
the study revealed that CHWs agreed that the mHealth intervention assisted
them in tracking pregnant women more efficiently, compared with the paper
system. The study concluded that the incorporation of mHealth tools in CHW
programs could improve adherence to ANC and PNC and enhance PMTCT
efforts (Mushamiri, Luo, Iiams-hauser, & Ben Amor, 2015). A study reported
an assessment of two mHealth interventions in Malawi and Zambia. The
authors reported that the SMS-based mobile phone interventions aimed at
early infant diagnosis of HIV and nutrition surveillance both reduced barriers
to effective and timely delivery of services by simplifying the tracking and
analysis of data and improving communication between healthcare providers
(Noordam, et al., 2015). A study was also carried out in Nigeria in which
the authors aimed at assessing the effect of using a tablet computer tuto-
rial application for changing the knowledge and attitude of health workers
regarding Ebola virus disease. The study revealed a modest improvement in
knowledge and an attitudinal change toward Ebola virus disease, suggesting
that mHealth tutorial applications could hold promise for training health
workers and building health systems to respond to epidemics in Africa (Otu,
Ebenso, Okuzu, & Osifo-Dawodu, 2016).
The next section highlights some mHealth interventions that are still
operational in parts of Africa. These cases are interventions that seemed to
have scaled in various parts of Africa as highlighted by the USAID’s mHealth
compendium 2016 report (Sherri, 2016).
6.4 Case Studies

6.4.1 cSTOCK
cSTOCK is a donor-funded mobile technology initiative aimed at improving
community health supply chains in Malawi, and it is being implemented on
a national scale. cStock was designed as part of a larger program to solve
the problem of week supply chain characterizing medicine availability at
the community level. It is being used to report community health logistics
data, especially as it relates to stocks of critical medicines. cStock is SMS
based, with a web accessible logistics management information system for
community-level health products. It adopts the RapidSMS framework in
ensuring data transmission and communication between Community Health
Worker (CHWs) and facilities that supply medicines. Based on reports sub-
mitted by the CHW, cStock automatically calculates resupply quantities and
transmits a request via SMS to supervisors at health facilities. Thereafter,
supervisors at facilities send feedback on the availability of stocks to the
CHW. Also, urgent matters of stock-outs or low stock levels are communi-
cated via SMS alerts. Four key strategies were said to be in place in order
to ensure the scalability of the project: an endorsement from the ministry of
health to get the needed political will and buy-in; continuous engagement
and coordination with local partners; creating a national cStock task force to
monitor progress; and development of a national product availability team.
Reports from evaluation revealed that cStock was feasible and accepted by
users. It has helped in the decision-making process regarding stock supplies
in Malawi. A major lesson learnt in the implementation of the project was that
mobile strategies in themselves are not enough to create a robust public health
supply chain system. It needs to be implemented as part of a broader system,
in order to address shortcomings of such a broader system. The cost of
sending SMS was identified as an issue that could hinder the sustainability of
the project. However, it was addressed by getting a mobile network operator
to provide a three-year waiver for SMS cost, while another reduced costs
by 40% and only charged for incoming messages. Importantly, a necessary
condition for successful implementation was involving teams in order to
ensure superior supply chain performance and supply reliability. It is hoped
that the project will continue in operation when donor withdraws support.
6.4.2 MomConnect
A popular mHealth initiative in the category of applications aimed at
improving health outcomes by way of client education and behavior change
6.4 Case Studies 163
communication is MomConnect. MomConnect launched in 2014 is a South

African National Department of Health initiative aimed at leveraging the
ubiquitous nature of mobile phones in delivering health-related information
to pregnant women about their own health and that of their infants. It is
said to be the first large-scale implementation run in South Africa aimed
at mitigating the negative outcomes around pregnancy and childbirth in
the country. The initiative is being run in all public health facilities in the
country. MomConnect has three main objectives: register each pregnant at
a government health facility; send stage-based, personalised SMS texts to
each mom in the registry; and allow women to engage with the health
system through help desk tools and feedback services. It utilizes a point
of care system, in which a mobile phone is used to register the pregnancy
and subscribe the women to the messaging service. A major driving force
in scaling the project is the involvement of the country’s Department of
Health (DoH) that provides leadership and coordination. The DoH appoints a
project manager, who reports to a senior manager in charge of Maternal and
Child Health (MCH) based in the DoH. Preliminary evaluation has shown
that users felt the messages received via the MomConnect platform helped
them to remember their clinic visits, and feel more prepared for childbirth
and delivery. An important ingredient for scalability and sustainability of the
project is said to be the political support and leadership given to the project.
Government’s involvement in the project is said to have gotten the project
the needed endorsements from various stakeholders. A detailed technological
implementation framework is reported by Seebregts et al. (Seebregts, Tanna,
Fogwill, Barron, & Benjamin, 2016).
6.4.3 U-Report
Another mHealth intervention worthy of mention under the client education
and behavior change communication category is U-Report. U-Report is an
mHealth application aimed at providing real-time mobile counselling and
conducting coordinated polls on AIDS among adolescents and young people
in Zambia. It is a free to use initiative supported by UNICEF and intends
to improve young people’s access to sexual reproductive health knowledge;
increase the utilisation of HIV prevention services; and better understand
perceptions on HIV-related issues in order to contribute to reducing new HIV
infections. It leverages on the Rapidpro framework, and it is interoperable
with various technology platforms, allowing users to communicate with other
users via SMS and other social media applications like Twitter and Facebook.
It also allows young people to speak out on what is happening in communities

across their country, and work together with other community leaders and
policy makers for positive change. U-report conducts weekly SMS messages
and polls to and from a growing community of users tagged ‘U-reporters.’
This is complimented with regular radio programs that broadcast stories
gathered by U-report as well as newspaper articles that will publish stories
from the U-report community. It is said to be operating in about 23 countries:
Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Indonesia, Ireland, Liberia, Mali,
Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland,
Uganda, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.
6.4.4 mHero
An example of a multifunctional mHealth application as a tool targeted
towards health practitioners is mHero. It could be categorised under a data
collection and reporting tool, a human resource management tool, as well as
a tool for provider’s work planning and scheduling. mHero which is primarily
being implemented in Liberia is regarded as a two-way, mobile phone-based
communication system that utilizes SMS to connect ministries of health and
health workers. It operates on a basic mobile phone. It leverages on existing
open source technologies like iHRIS (a suite of software for managing
health workforce information); DHIS 2 (a web-based health management
information system), RapidPro (a framework for sending and receiving data
using mobile phones), and OpenHIE (an application that aggregates health
workers key attributes from multiple human resource information systems).
With mHero, health officials can: communicate critical messages to health
workers during a crisis or emergency response; target messages to health
workers based on cadre, location, or skill set; collect critical information
that powers resilient health systems, including stock levels, routine and one-
time assessments, and validation of health worker and facility data; and
provide care reminders and manage client referrals to strengthen clinical
support. mHero has been implemented at a National scale in Liberia, with
support from the Ministry of Health and other donors like UNICEF and
USAID among others. It is being expanded to other countries like Guinea,
Sierra Leone, Mali and Senegal. The success of mHero in Liberia is attributed
to the ministry of health’s involvement, by owning the system and integrating
it with the country’s health information system. Another important factor
cited as contributing to scalability is the encouragement of health workers
6.5 Challenges and Way Forward 165
to engage actively with the system as well as raising their level of awareness
about the system.
6.4.5 RapidSMS Rwanda

RapidSMS Rwanda is a mobile phone-based technology being used through-
out Rwanda to improve community maternal and child health. The initia-
tive was implemented to ensure no woman dies of pregnancy or delivery
related complications. RapidSMS Rwanda functions by allowing CHWs track
women’s antenatal care visits, identify women at risk, refer them to health
facilities, and improve communication with the facilities in the event of
an emergency. The system also requires CHWs to regularly reach out to
families at the household level and send simple text messages to the Ministry
of Health (MOH) reporting significant events occurring during a woman’s
pregnancy, delivery, and the first year of the infant’s birth. The initiative
is reported to have the full support of Rwanda’s MOH and other donors
based on the success it has attained since initial roll out in 2009. There have
been significant reductions in maternal and child mortality in Rwanda since
the introduction of a number of health initiatives introduce in the country,
RapidSMS inclusive.
6.4.6 Airtel/MicroEnsure
Airtel/MicroEnsure is an example of a mHealth application categorized
under financial transactions and incentives. It is a health insurance initiative
aimed at providing simple cover to consumers free of charge. It introduces
consumers to a basic health insurance product with the aim of establishing
trust. Thereafter, offering up-sell products to allow customers increase their
coverage by paying more for more cover for themselves or their families –
thereby, ensuring greater health insurance coverage. Airtel/MicroEnsure is
an initiative by Airtel, a telecommunications company and MicroEnsure, an
insurance company. The initiative was said to have commenced operations in
Ghana with Airtel Ghana in 2014, with an enrolled customer base of 1.2 mil-
lion within its first year. This success saw implementations in other countries
like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger and Nigeria.
6.5 Challenges and Way Forward

MHealth, without a doubt, has proven to be a tool with the potentials to
improve health services and health outcomes in Africa. However, attaining
these benefits is not without challenges. The mHealth initiatives discussed
in the case studies have reported some implementation and envisaged chal-
lenges. For instance, the cSTOCK project reported an implementation chal-
lenge associated with the cost of setting up the system, especially SMS cost.
This challenge was tackled by the initiatives of the project implementers to
partner with mobile network operators in reducing or waiving the SMS costs.
Another reported challenge is the turnover of staffs who were the primary
trainers and leaders. Similarly, the cost of SMS enabling information transfer
is a long-term challenge being envisaged in South Africa’s MomConnect
program. This is because the program predominantly thrives on its ability
to allow for information exchange between care providers and the pregnant
women being serviced. Another reported challenge in the MomConnect
program is the number of stakeholders wanting to ride on the initiative’s tide
of success for their own interest. For instance, researchers who want to add
particular messages in which they are interested on the platform. Also, the
cost of SMS seems to be major sustainability challenge facing the U-Report
project.
In the case of the mHero project, a major implementation challenge
was inadequate technological infrastructural components such as Internet
connection, laptops procurement, provision of servers and backup servers,
and data security. Similarly, the RapidSMS Rwanda project faced some
implementation challenges. Some of these challenges relate to the difficulty in
charging phones in areas with poor electricity and a malfunctioning of nearly
one-quarter of the phone chargers during the first year of national rollout.
Others are high SMS cost rate, language and knowledge barriers in using the
SMS capability of the mobile phones among CHWs, misunderstanding of the
RapidSMS indicators case definitions by the CHWs and insufficient funds for
supervisors to follow up with CHWs on RapidSMS activities. A challenge
envisaged in the Airtel/MicroEnsure program is that of sustainability in all
countries being serviced. This is because the priorities of the telecom firm
sponsoring the program may change, hence withdrawing support.
Furthermore, a review of existing literature of mHealth projects shows
that a major challenge with mHealth implementations in Africa is that many
projects have ended at pilot stages without scaling. This could be attributed to
the lack of standardisation and regulatory frameworks to guide its scale-up.
There are also issues surrounding the lack of a business model, consequently
affecting sustainability, as well as the lack of integration with existing eHealth
frameworks (Folaranmi, 2014). A study of mHealth interventions based on
SMS revealed that intervention challenges were related to broader program
characteristics like human resource needs and transportation that are beyond
the scope of the technology in itself. They went further to state that the SMS
technology introduced new layers of complexity (Noordam, et al., 2015).
More challenging, however, is that empirical studies reporting actual benefits
of mHealth implementations to health care services and health outcomes
in the African region are scarce. In fact, systematic reviews have usually
called for more evaluation of interventions in order to establish stronger
evidence (Betjeman, Soghoian, & Foran, 2013; Aranda-Jan, Mohutsiwa-
Dibe, & Loukanova, 2014; Gurman, Rubin, & Roess, 2010; Free, Phillips, &
Watson, 2013; Agarwal, Perry, Long, & Labrique, 2015).
Betjeman et al. in a systematic review of mHealth initiatives in sub-
Saharan Africa identified challenges relating to limited evidence for improved
health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of projects; lack of standardisation of
mHealth applications; technical and ethical challenges among others (Betje-
man, Soghoian, & Foran, 2013). These concerns were also brought to light
by Aranda-Jan et al. (2014) who carried out a systematic review in which
they did a Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, and Opportunity (SWOT) analysis
of mHealth projects in Africa (Aranda-Jan, Mohutsiwa-Dibe, & Loukanova,
2014). They highlighted some of the weaknesses of mHealth projects in
Africa as unknown cost-effectiveness of projects; non-participation of the
government via the Ministry of Health (MOH); lack of integration with the
overall health system; projects not designed for a specific context; inadequate
planning; complexity in technology use; technical challenges like network
loss or poor data quality; privacy and security issues. Furthermore, they
submitted that limited research and knowledge available on mHealth appli-
cations may be contributing to why mHealth projects are not successful in
Africa.
In ensuring the continued scalability and sustainability of mHealth
interventions in Africa, a number of factors are required. Akter and Ray
explained some important factors needed for scalability and sustainabil-
ity. They listed the factors as consumer-centric solutions centered around
the affordability of interventions, availability, awareness, and acceptability;
Service Quality: knowledge and competence of the provider, capacity of
access and monitoring device, operational compatibility, information inter-
operability; Collaboration and Partnership; Enabling policy and operational
environment.
Similarly, Tomlinson et al. (2013) submits the following recommen-
dations for the scale-up of mHealth interventions: existing standards for
research should be reconsidered in order to provide guidance as to when
scale up is appropriate; mHealth interventions should be guided by a plausible
theory of behaviour change and should use more than one technique depend-
ing on the targeted behaviour; there is a need to establish an open mHealth
architecture based on a robust platform with standards for app development
which would facilitate scalable and sustainable health information systems;
implementation strategies such as factorial designs that are able to test the
multiple features of interventions must be explored, in order to provide the
necessary evidence base; scale-up of mHealth should be preceded by efficacy
and effectiveness trials so that they are founded on an appropriate evidence
base; and governments, funders, and industry must cooperate in order to
set standards to create a self-governing commercially viable ecosystem for
innovation (Tomlinson & Rotheram-Borus, 2013).
In addition, some of the projects that were discussed under the section on
case studies noted some lessons learnt in their scale-up. Notably, these are:
the involvement and endorsement of the government via their ministries of
health (MOH) as this creates the needed political will and buy-in; integrating
new mHealth interventions with existing country health information system;
collaborating and partnering with stakeholders and mobile network operators;
leveraging on existing frameworks like RapidPro; training end users; and
motivating end-users to use the intervention.
Another important approach to ensuring scalability of mHealth projects
is in the design process. As such, the Principles for Digital Development
Working Group came up with a set of guidelines which could inform, but
not dictate, the design and implementation of technology-enabled devel-
opment programs like mHealth (Waugaman, 2016). The principles have
been endorsed by over 50 development donors, multilateral organisations,
and implementing partners. These principles could be adopted in designing
mHealth projects in Africa, considering that most initiatives in the continent
are donor funded. These principles are:
• Design with the user:
a. Develop context-appropriate solutions informed by user needs;
b. Include all user groups in planning, development, implementation,
and assessment;
c. Develop projects in an incremental and iterative manner;
d. Design solutions that learn from and enhance existing workflows
and plan for organisational adaptation; and
e. Ensure solutions are sensitive to, and useful for, the most
marginalised populations: women, children, those with disabilities,
and those affected by conflict and disaster.
• Understand the Existing Ecosystem:

a. Participate in networks and communities of like-minded practition-
ers; and
b. Align to existing technological, legal, and regulatory policies.
• Design for Scale:
a. Design for scale from the start, and assess and mitigate dependen-
cies that might limit ability to scale;
b. Employ a “systems” approach to design, considering implications
of design beyond an immediate project;
c. Be replicable and customizable in other countries and contexts;
d. Demonstrate impact before scaling a solution;
e. Analyse all technology choices through the lens of national and
regional scale; and
f. Factor in partnerships from the beginning and start early negotia-
tions.
• Build for Sustainability:
a. Plan for sustainability from the start, including planning for long-
term financial health, e.g. assessing total cost of ownership;
b. Utilise and invest in local communities and developers by default
and help catalyse their growth; and
c. Engage with local governments to ensure integration into national
strategy and identify high-level government advocates.
• Be Data Driven:
a. Design projects so that impact can be measured at discrete mile-
stones with a focus on outcomes rather than outputs;
b. Evaluate innovative solutions and areas where there are gaps in data
and evidence;
c. Use real-time information to monitor and inform management
decisions at all levels; and
d. When possible, leverage data as a by-product of user actions and
transactions for assessments.
• Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation:
a. Adopt and expand existing open standards;
b. Open data and functionalities and expose them in documented
application programming interfaces (APIs) where use by a larger
community is possible;
c. Invest in software as a public good; and

d. Develop software to be open source by default with the code made
available in public repositories and supported through developer
communities.
• Reuse and Improve:
a. Use, modify, and extend existing tools, platforms, and frameworks
when possible; and
b. Develop in modular ways, favouring approaches that are interoper-
able over those that are monolithic by design.
• Address Privacy and Security:
a. Assess and mitigate risks to the security of users and their data;
b. Consider the context and the needs for privacy of personally
identifiable information when designing solutions and mitigate
accordingly; and
c. Ensure equity and fairness in co-creation, and protect the best
interests of the end-users.
• Be Collaborative:
a. Engage diverse expertise across disciplines and industries at all
stages;
b. Work across sector silos to create coordinated and more holistic
approaches;
c. Document work, results, processes, and best practices and share
them widely; and
d. Publish materials under a Creative Commons license by default,
with strong rationale if another licensing approach is taken.
6.6 Conclusion
Iincreasing mobile phone penetration, subscription and lack of general
widespread health systems on the African continent have led to the appli-
cation of mobile technologies in health care. This chapter examined the state
of mHealth implementations in Africa while also highlighting six case studies
of projects that seemed to have scaled in the continent. It also examined some
of the challenges facing successful mHealth implementations and discussed
ways of overcoming the challenges. Therefore, this chapter has contributed to
the discourse on the application of mobile health technologies in improving
health services and outcomes in Africa. While the African continent has the
6.6 Conclusion 171
highest number of mHealth interventions in the world, unfortunately, some

countries characterised with weaker health systems on the continent are not
seen to be leveraging on the potentials of mobile technologies yet. Also, the
lack of connection between the different parts of the health system in Africa
is a challenge limiting the successful implementation of technologically
related projects on the continent. It is important for countries to identify the
peculiarities of their health system as well as best practices in order to come
up with a framework for health systems integration. Furthermore, discussions
in this chapter have shown that there are mHealth applications that have been
initiated to tackle various health challenges in various parts of the continent.
These mHealth applications have been used for health data collection and
reporting in order to strengthen health systems; for supply chain management
in order to improve stock management and ensure availability of drugs to the
community; for disease surveillance and tracking of vital events or epidemic
occurrence; for ensuring treatment and medication adherence; and for various
other programmes to enhance service delivery and health outcomes. However,
in spite of the potentials of mHealth initiatives to improve African health
systems, the challenge of the limited evidence base of benefits, scalability
and sustainability persists. It is hoped that researchers, mHealth developers,
and health policy makers will respectively find this chapter useful in pro-
gressing the discourse on the mHealth; in understanding the factors needed
for successful mHealth implementations; and developing policies needed for
successful mHealth integration into health systems.
7
Leveraging TV White Spaces as a Tool
for Improved Rural Broadband
Connectivity in Developing Countries:
An Operational Perspective
Alexander Osei-Owusu1 , Iwona Maria Windekilde1

and Rebecca Agyemang Nyarko2
1 CMI, Aalborg University, Denmark

2 Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana
Abstract
Around the globe there is a coordinated move for Digital Switch Over (DSO).
The DSO is to discontinue analogue television transmission. Ghana which is
chosen as a case study is among the pioneers of the Sub-Saharan African
countries that signed the Geneva agreement on DSO. The DSO is expected
to free some portions of the transmission spectrum and this freed spectrum
is called “TV white space”. This paper sought to determine whether “TV
white space” can be used as a tool for improved rural broadband connectivity.
In achieving the above objective, the paper focused on the operational per-
spective of the “TV white space” using the first ever-established commercial
TV white space broadband service at Koforidua, one of the regional capitals
in Ghana. The research asked the question, does the current broadband or
wireless services through TV white space provide adequate throughput? In
so doing an observational experiment was conducted within a week/7days
24hr period over the network to record the signal strength and the throughput
of the system. The paper also makes a case for investment and policy recom-
mendation for inclusion of northern Ghana where the telecom infrastructure
gap is huge. The research concluded that broadband provision over TV white
173
174 Leveraging TV White Spaces as a Tool
space provides better signal strength, very stable link with very minimal
packet drops and consumes less power compared to an equivalent broadband
provision over a 3G spectrum.
7.1 Introduction
Internet connectivity provides access to knowledge and information, which
is crucial for social and economic development. Internet broadband services
in today’s era of information explosion, has been conceived as the most
important resource that contribute greatly towards a nations development
(Rashid & Saeed, 2011). Information provides the foundation for innovations,
development of knowledge, and the resource for an informed citizenry which
is an essential commodity for the progress of any society (Pejovic, Johnson,
Zheleva, & Beldin, 2012).
Rural areas provide challenging environment for commercial broadband
or network service providers’. As service providers face the challenge of huge
infrastructure cost, most rural areas typically in sub-Saharan Africa are char-
acterized by low income, highly scattered and low population density (Simba,
Mwinyiwiwa, Mjema, Trojer, & Mvungi, 2011). The situation drives network
operators to establish network infrastructures in urban centers leaving rural
areas underserved. Only government subsidies will make private investment
viable, unless a more innovative approach is considered and the “TV white
space” promises to be the option. Ghana is among few countries in the Sub-
Saharan region who is at the forefront of bridging the rural connectivity gap.
The government through the telecom regulator, the National Communication
Authority (NCA) has been involved in several projects aimed at spreading
internet across most rural areas. Some of these projects include the Commu-
nity Information Centre Initiative which was aimed at facilitating internet to
230 constituencies; and the wiring Ghana Initiative, aimed at constructing
underground fiber-optic backbone across the country.
The switch over from analogue to digital television transmission taking
place all over the world has led to a significant amount of unused spectrum.
The unused band or spectrum from the digital switch over (DSO) is called
“TV white space”. In a much broader sense TV White Space refers to the
unused frequencies between the active ones in the VHF and UHF spectrum.
These TV white spaces present developing countries with some opportunities
to improve rural internet coverage. Ghana is the first country in Sub-Saharan
Africa to establish a commercial broadband service over “TV white space”,
7.2 Literature Review 175
as such Ghana presents us with a solid foundation and case for the assessment
of this research.
Whilst TV white space is plausible from both regulatory and techni-
cal point of view, this research focuses on the operational feasibility. The
operational feasibility sought to measure how well the proposed broadband
provision (Wi-Fi) over TVWS can solve the problems as well as satisfy
the requirement identified in the requirements analysis phase of the system
development. In particular case for this research, the operational feasibility
analysis sought to test only the following operational requirement (which is
at the center of user satisfaction): signal strength for transmitting/receiving,
and the throughput over a period, as well as the transmission speed of the
system.
The research has chosen a broadband connection over a 3G as the equiva-
lent or candidate system for comparison because most developing countries,
especially it remote communities are characterized with low human density,
low income and as such traffic for data or voice calls are always low. Network
operators have tended to maintain or set up a broadband connection (i.e.
Wi-Fi) over the 3G in remote areas in order to avoid huge costs associated
with latest systems (such as LTE or 4G which requires upgraded spectrum or
hardware) whiles still serving their purpose in these communities.
The research is arranged as follows; there is a literature review about
the digital switchover, TV white space, potentials of TV white space,
rural connectivity-the case of Ghana, TVWS network set-up at Koforidua
polytechnic-both pictorial and a block diagram, then the operational feasi-
bility tests are shown (throughput signal strength test and a ping test), cost
comparison between TVWS broadband deployment over 3G is provided,
conclusions and finally policy recommendation for digital inclusion for north-
ern Ghana (northern Ghana is the region with less coverage in Ghana) is
presented.
7.2 Literature Review

Digital switchover: According to the Digital Migration Report (2010),
Ghana in 2006 signed the Geneva (GE06) Agreement, establishing the Dig-
ital Terrestrial Broadcasting Plan in the bands 174–230 MHz and 470–862
MHz at the Regional Radio Communications Conference (RRC-06). The
Geneva Agreement set 17th June 2015 as the deadline for the cessation of
international protection for analogue broadcasting transmissions in the said
bands.
The migration from analogue to digital was necessary and urgent for
the following reasons: to comply with and adopt the tenets of the GE-06
Agreement; to rapidly adopt spectrum efficient methods in the management
of the scarce RF spectrum to broaden its utility as a resource in the interest
and benefit of stakeholders; to prevent dumping of obsolete analogue trans-
mission equipment into the country to protect the environment, investors and
consumers; To enhance the quality and experience of TV viewers in Ghana
by improving terrestrial TV transmission and reception; To promote environ-
mental sanity through co-location of broadcast transmission infrastructure.
TV white space (TVWS): Rashid & Saeed (2011) defined TV white space
as the portion of the TV bands that is unused by licensed services. There
are many unused TV channels in the VHF and UHF TV bands. Regulatory
agencies, have been creating regulations to permit wireless networks to
get access to these unused channels while guaranteeing that these wireless
networks do not cause harmful interference to the licensed services in the
TV bands. The TV white space spectrum is expected to provide a much
better Radio Frequency propagation than systems that have been deployed
in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands allowing for a reliable,
cost-effective, and better coverage in rural areas. This is mainly because
the TV white space range, exists underneath 1GHz in both the VHF and
UHF band. Cognitive radio technology has been proposed to compliment
TV white space. Cognitive radio is a paradigm for wireless communication
in which either a network or a wireless node changes its transmission or
reception parameters to communicate efficiently, thus avoiding interference
with licensed or unlicensed users. This alteration of parameters is based on
the active monitoring of several factors in the external and internal radio
environment, such as radio frequency spectrum, user behavior and network
state. Some of the cognitive technologies include a combination of geo-
location positioning and a database of incumbent systems and spectrum
sensing. Geo Location deals with the ability of a device (TV white space)
to know its location in terms of latitude and longitude. The database stores
information about all licensed services in the TV bands. Spectrum Sensing,
is a technology embedded in the TV White Space device that makes measure-
ments of the radio frequency (RF) TV channels to determine which channels
are occupied by incumbent systems and which are unoccupied and are hence
TV white Space (Zennaro, Marco, & Pietrosemoli, 2013). In particular case
of this study, cognitive radios were not used.
7.2 Literature Review 177
Potential of TV white space: Zennaro (2013) conducted a study to assess

the performance of the TV white spaces network under harsh African envi-
ronment, for example, intermittent power and constrained Internet bandwidth
resource. It was observed that unlike other broadband services over 3G etc.,
broadband services over TVWS network demonstrated 2.6 times better data
rates given the same operating conditions. A similar study conducted by
Roberts et al (2010) identified the benefits of using TV broadcast spectrum.
They stated that TVWS signals can easily cover large regions as it transmits
in lower frequencies. Comparatively, a typical Wi-Fi (i.e. over a 3G network)
signal can cover approximately 100 meters while a TVWS signal at the
same power level can easily travel 400 meters and with higher power can
cover several kilometers. Robert et al. showed that TVWS signals can easily
penetrate common obstructions, their research showed that a single TVWS
base station operating at 20 dBm with a 2dBi gain antenna was able to cover
all parts of a building spanning a usable area of 222,000 sq. ft. over 4 floors
which had 150 access points to provide high speed access research. They
concluded that TVWS signals travel farther than 3G broadband services, a
TVWS deployment would cost less, and would consume less power than
3G and this makes it the best option for covering rural or less developed
communities.
Rural Connectivity: Simba (2011) conducted a research on the available

connectivity technologies with potentials to offer broadband access network
to rural areas. They stated that, rural areas especially those of the develop-
ing countries provide challenging environment to implement communication
infrastructure for data and Internet based services and the challenges include
high cost of network implementation and lack of customer base (as rural areas
are characterized by low income, highly scattered and low population den-
sity). Kenney (2000), examined the importance of reducing cost associated
with internet connectivity and increasing the number of rural access points
to increase rural internet access. He emphasized on how the internet has
the potential to play a significant role in reducing poverty and promoting
sustainable development, especially in rural areas. Kenny stated that active
competition between providers will become important in reducing cost and
the introduction of low cost rural access options. Pejovic, (2012) conducted
an investigation into internet usage at three locations in rural Africa consisting
of network traffic analysis and Internet use. Interviews revealed several major
obstacles to efficient broadband usage. These obstacles included restrictions
on the locality of access, lack of locally relevant content, unfamiliarity with
new concepts, shortage of trained personnel, high cost of Internet access,

and limited connection capacity with respect to the Internet structure and
content.
Case of Ghana-TVWS projects and rural connectivity: In May 2014,

Microsoft announced a commercial pilot of TVWS internet in Ghana at
the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit held in Accra. Microsoft
intends to work with public and private sector partners to deploy networks
using low-cost wireless technologies, including TV white space radios, to
better enable the next generation of cloud-connected experiences. The net-
works used TV white space-enabled radios and other wireless technologies
to connect campus buildings as well as off-campus hostels where students
live to ensure they have access to fast broadband. The pilot in Ghana was a
commercial partnership with Spectra Wireless and a research partnership with
Facebook. The pilot made use of TVWS under a test license from the National
Communication Authority (NCA) to enable university and faculty members
at universities in Koforidua to enjoy always-on and fast internet access. After
the successful end to the trail in 2014, Africa’s first commercial service
network utilizing TV white spaces was launched on the 26th of January 2015
in Ghana. The service allowed students to buy affordable, high-speed internet
bundles and devices.
7.3 TVWS Network Setup at Case Study

Location-Koforidua Polytechnic
Koforidua Polytechnic is chosen as the case since it one of the first pilot
and commercial TVWS network lines in Ghana initiated by service providers
called spectra wireless.
Figure 7.1 is a block diagram illustrating the connection from Accra to
the Koforidua campus. Koforidua polytechnic is connected to the internet
through a fiber connection from Accra to Obuotabri (Koforidua Mountains).
From the mountaintop, a point-to-point link was setup from the base station
to the Central Classroom Block (CCB) block on campus. This link served as
the main uplink to the Koforidua campus. Within the campus various point to
point and point to multipoint installations have been setup to various blocks
and hostels nearby over TV white spaces.
Figure 7.2 is a pictorial view of a point to multi point broadband connec-
tion from the TV white space base to the Lincoln hostel and vineyard hostels
(Lincoln and Vineyard are hostels within Koforidua Polytechnic Campus).
7.4 Operational Feasibility Analysis 179
Figure 7.1 Block Diagram of TVWS network at K-Polytechnic.

Source: Owusu, Windekilde, Nyarko, 2017.
Figure 7.2 A pictorial view of a TVWS sample set-up at K-Polytechnic.

7.4 Operational Feasibility Analysis

Here the paper provides sampled records of field measurements gathered
during an experimental monitoring at the case site in a real physical operating
environment. It involved two wireless base stations linked at a distance of half
a kilometer approximately.
7.4.1 Signal Strength and Throughput Test

A test was carried out on the link from CCB block of Koforidua Polytechnic
(TV white space base station) and a nearby hostel called Vineyard hostel.
Vineyard hostel is 496 meters from the Koforidua Polytechnic. The test was
conducted from 19/10/2015 at 18:42GMT to 26/10/15 at 18:32GMT.
Figure 7.3 to 7.9 presents a day to days (total of seven days) graphical
results of the signal and throughput test.
Rx = throughput recorded (Received throughput) over 24 hourly period of
a TVWS downlink channel. Tx = throughput recorded over 24 hourly period
of a TVWS uplink channel. Occasional low throughput in red.
Results from Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 clearly indicate; good received
signal levels (RSL) under the period of observation. The highest RSL
was –66dBm with –71dBm been the lowest. An average of 26 MBit/s
Figure 7.3 RSL/Throughput test for day 1.





uplink/downlink packet throughput was observed, which is the maximum

expected throughput of the radio, with few occasional low throughput of
15 MBit/s uplink/downlink packet.


7.4.2 Ping Test

A ping test was conducted to further test the network stability or robustness,
jitter and latency of the connection and the time it will take for packets to
make a round trip to the public DNS (Domain Name System) server. A
ping test is a tool used to send small packets to a server or a computer to
measure the amount of time it takes to get there. For the purpose of the study
a ping test was conducted to reach Google’s public DNS server [8.8.8.8].
From the results it took a minimum of 146ms, a maximum of 361ms and an
average of 185ms to make a roundtrip to the server. The round trip can be
further explained as the time between when the packet was sent and when
the packet was received. A total amount of 36 packets were sent, 36 packets
were received. This indicates no packets were lost and the link was stable. A
further case for system quality and service quality. Below is a snapshot of the
test conducted using the Command prompt.
Table 7.1 Provides a summary chart of the transmitted and received throughput over the 7
days monitoring period

Table 7.2 Provides of summary signal (S/dBm) test over 7 days monitoring period

7.5 Cost Comparison of Deploying TVWS Broadband and 3G Broadband 185
Figure 7.10 Ping test.

7.5 Cost Comparison of Deploying TVWS Broadband

and 3G Broadband
The cost associated with providing internet connectivity using TVWS is low
as compared with other similar service provision over a 3G. Below provides
some overview of cost of implementing TVWS technology as against 3G
under the following selected areas; Equipment; Spectrum; Core network
setup; Tower rent; Operating licenses and Power consumption.
Equipment:
TVWS The cost of TVWS radio and accessories is moderate. Per
of radios (Base station and CPE) to setup a link will be a
minimum of about $3000.
3G The cost of equipment for a 3G at the base station is very
expensive. It cost hundred thousands of dollars.
Spectrum
TVWS The spectrum cost of TVWS is free.
3G It cost millions of dollars for the spectrum used for 3G opera-
tions.
NB: Actual figures can be obtain from NCA
Core network setup
TVWS The core network setup or switch center setup for TVWS
implementation is simple and easy to setup. It will cost about
tens of thousand dollars.
3G It is complex in setting up the core network or switch center,
because of its complexity it is very expensive.
Tower Rent
TVWS TVWS equipment occupies small space of the tower. A
monthly reoccurring cost of about $ 600 for the tower space
3G The equipment occupies a large portion on the tower than that of
TVWS hence cost a lot more.($2000+)
Operating License
TVWS The operating license for TVWS is moderate.
3G The operating license fee is fairly expensive (GLO acquiring the
6th mobile license for $51 m).
Power consumption
TVWS TVWS equipment does not consume much power. Example
GWS3000 has power consumption of about 55W. This cost
approximately less than $100 a month for electricity bill.
3G They consume a little more than the TVWS equipment.
7.6 Conclusions
For an ideal case scenario 3G broadband throughput ranges from 14Mbit/s
and 7Mbit/s for a downlink and an uplink respectively, even in an upgraded
3G such as 3.5G, it is between 42Mbit/s and 22Mbit/s for both downlink and
uplink respectively (Goldsmith, 2005). A good signal strength for any radio
transmission ranges between –55dbm and –67dbm (ibid).
Comparing the throughput results from the 7day monitoring of the TVWS
link in (the case study) koforidua, an average of 26MBit/s uplink/downlink
packet throughput with few occasional low throughput of 15 MBit/s.
7.6 Conclusions 187
Uplink/downlink packet clearly indicates that broadband services

deployed over TVWS has better throughput than that of an equivalent broad-
band service over 3G network. TVWS exhibited very good signal strength
with just a fraction of the period, falling little below the standard range of a
good signal strength.
The ping test concluded that TVWS broadband is robust, hardly records
a packet and delivers packet with less time (minimum roundtrip-transmitting
and receiving packets).
The research therefore concluded that TV white space broadband pro-
vides a better signal strength, and throughput and would cost less for
deployment which makes it the best option an improved rural broadband
connectivity.
7.6.1 Policy Recommendation for Digital Inclusion-Northern

Ghana
Rural and regional distribution network infrastructure shows very huge deficit
within the northern belt. Only innovative and less expensive alternative net-
work infrastructure is the surest alternative for bridging such gaps. Though
government subsidies will make private investment viable but may not be
Figure 7.11 Telecom network tower distribution across Ghana large areas underserved in
the north.
sustainable for over a long period especially for developing country like
Ghana.
7.6.2 Ghana Landscape and Line of Sight Communication

Ghana is a lowland country, except for a range of hills on the eastern border.
The sandy coastline is backed by a coastal plain that is crossed by several
rivers and streams, generally navigable only by canoe. In the west of Ghana
the terrain is broken by heavily forested hills and many streams and rivers. To
the north lies an undulating savanna country that is drained by the Black and
White Volta river, which join to form the Volta, which then flows south to the
sea through a narrow gap in the hills.
With not much high hills, mountains and trees, low transmitting systems
like the TVWS will require few repeater stations or base stations. Initial
investments won’t be a neck braking one.
The Northern Region is the largest area of Ghana. As of 2009, it is divided
into 20 districts. The region’s capital is Tamale. The land in the northern
part of Ghana is mostly low lying except in the northeastern corner with the
Gambaga escarpment and along the western corridor.
The region currently has a population of 1.820,806, representing 9.6 per
cent of the total population of the country. Out of 20% ICT penetration gap
Figure 7.12 Arial view of part of the Northern Landscape.

7.6 Conclusions 189
Figure 7.13 A village in the north-with electricity poles, radio etc.
in Ghana, the National Communication Authority estimate 10% of the 20%

gap from the northern sector.
The region alone can boast of about 20 radio/FM stations currently
running, this suggest there exist some foundation for successful TVWS
deployment.
Universal access funding such as GIFEC-Ghana Investment Fund for
Electronic Communications should invest in cognitive radios that has the
ability to detect white spaces. Whilst TVWS may be very simple to deploy,
searching for available white space with less interference can be a daunting
exercise and private investors will jump to readily white spaces. This may
actually lure private investors.
Figure 7.13 presents certain basic infrastructure like existing electricity
infrastructure, satellite dish etc., proving a foundation towards the building
communications services.
8
Towards Smart Farming? Mobile
Technology Trends and Their Potential
for Developing Country Agriculture
Heike Baumüller
Senior Researcher, Center for Development Research (ZEF),

University of Bonn
Abstract
Mobile phones have reached some of the most remote parts of the globe.
They offer opportunities to improve the delivery of services to farmers
in developing countries, for instance by facilitating access to information,
financial services or output markets. A review of the global situation suggests
that much of the focus has been on offering services through SMS and voice-
based interfaces to cater for users with low-tech phones which greatly limit
the sophistication of the services that can be provided. This chapter assesses
how current mobile technology trends may allow for the provision of more
advanced agricultural services in the future. Three trends are identified, i.e.
the growing diversity of mobile connected devices to access the services; the
‘Internet of Things’ which links objects and people through the network;
and the increasing ubiquity of mobile networks and expanding user base
which facilitate the collection and sharing of data and knowledge. The chapter
presents two scenarios for the evolution of these trends based on a number of
assumptions and highlights possible implications for the provision of services
to farmers.
8.1 Introduction
Mobile technologies have begun to permeate virtually all aspects of our life.
The mobile phone has not only become the most important communication
technology worldwide, but also offers numerous additional functions such
191
192 Towards Smart Farming? Mobile Technology Trends and Their Potential
as access to the internet, audio-visual recordings or financial transactions.

Especially the advent of smartphones has opened up a whole new range of
services to their users. These changes are supported by the growth of cloud-
and web-based computing which enables the provision of more complex
services on relatively simple phones. At the same time, the nature of the
internet is changing towards a network of diverse mobile devices which can
collect, share and analyze huge amounts of data and connect users around the
globe through social networks.
These technology trends could help to improve the delivery of services in
developing countries. Notably their application in the agriculture sector has
the potential to reach and assist the rural poor. Several services are already
being offered to farmers with the help of mobile technologies (referred to
here as m-services). The German software company SAP, for instance, is
piloting supply chain management systems for small producers in Ghana,
Nokia and Reuters Thomson are providing information services to Indian
farmers, and Google is linking buyers and sellers through mobile and internet-
based platforms in Uganda. However, most of these m-services are barely
scratching the surface of what is technologically possible. For now much of
the focus has been on offering services through SMS and voice-based inter-
faces to cater for users with low-tech mobile phones which greatly limits the
sophistication of m-services that can be provided to farmers (Hatt, Wills, &
Harris, 2013; Qiang, Kuek, Dymond, & Esselaar, 2011).
Recent improvements in mobile hardware and infrastructure have opened
up opportunities to deliver more sophisticated services in developing coun-
tries that capitalize on cutting-edge technologies. Mobile devices such as
smartphones, tablets and sensors are becoming cheaper and thus more afford-
able for lower income users. Mobile networks are also improving. In Africa,
for instance, investments in new submarine cables of close to US$ 4 billion
have almost doubled the data capacities in just two years (Schumann &
Kende, 2013). By 2015, 46% of the Sub-Saharan African population lived
within 25 km of an operational fiber node, up from 31% in 2010 (Hamilton
Research, 2015).
Various authors have examined the technology trends that are likely
to shape the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in
the future (Bughin, Chui, & Manyika, 2013; Deloitte, 2015; Taylor, 2012;
Manyika, et al., 2013). However, an analysis of how these trends may be
relevant for agricultural m-service provision in developing countries is still
lacking. To help close these knowledge gaps, this chapter identifies the
mobile technology trends that could be of relevance to smallholder farmers
and examines their implications for agricultural development in low-income
8.2 Mobile Technology Trends 193
countries. Specifically, the following three trends are assessed: (1) the grow-
ing diversity of devices to access mobile content and functions, (2) the
Internet of Things that links sensors and ‘smart objects’, and (3) the power
of a large user base and social networks to gather data, collectively develop
solutions and facilitate learning. All three trends mark a shift in the way
that individuals and companies use mobile devices, i.e. from single devices
providing certain services to ‘ecosystems’ of diverse interconnected devices
that offer multiple services (Taylor, 2012).
The analysis presented in this chapter is of practical relevance to a range
of stakeholders. Specifically, the analysis could help service providers assess
the utility of new mobile technologies for smallholder farmers, the kinds of
services that could be offered and the requirements for doing so. It could
also assist governments in determining whether and how they could influence
the evolution of these trends, for instance through regulatory measures or
infrastructure improvements. Users would be able to understand how they
could benefit from these new services to decide whether it is worthwhile to
invest in the technologies. Finally, the research community could identify
areas for future research to study the application of mobile technology trends
in the agriculture sector.
The remaining chapter is structured as follows. The subsequent section
describes the three trends in more detail. The chapter then presents two
scenarios on the possible evolution of these trends (Status Quo and Big
Leap). The section also outlines a number of assumptions underlying these
scenarios, including implications for usability and affordability as well as
requirements for power supply, network capacities, service providers and the
innovation environment. The fourth section examines how the evolution of
the technology trends may impact m-service delivery to farmers in developing
countries. The final section offers overall conclusions.
8.2 Mobile Technology Trends

Several authors have attempted to make predictions for the fast-evolving ICT
sector. Chui et al. (2013), for instance, explore how emerging information
technology trends are likely to impact business operations in the coming
decade. Manyika et al. (2013) identify the most disruptive technologies that
they predict will transform life, business and the global economy, including a
number of mobile technologies. Deloitte (2015) publishes an annual forecast
for key market developments related to technology, media and telecommuni-
cation to assess how they are likely to evolve over the next 12–18 months.
Taylor (2012) outlines a number of “major disruptors or strategic inflection
Table 8.1 Literature review on relevant mobile technology trend

Capitalizing on Big
Diverse Devices Internet of Things Networks
Chui et al. Realizing anything as a service The Internet of All The social matrix
(2013) The next three billion digital Things Big data, advanced
citizens Integrated analytics
digital/physical Automation of
experiences knowledge work
The evolution of
commerce
Manyika Mobile internet Internet of Things Automation of
et al. Cloud technology knowledge work
(2013)
Deloitte Smartphones Internet of Things
(2015) Broadband
Contactless mobile payments
Taylor Explosive Demand for Mobile Internet of Things
(2012) Data
The Rise of Software Platforms
Availability of New, Fast
Mobile Networks
Move to Cloud Delivery
Models—“Everything as a
Service”
Sources: Manyika, et al., 2001.
points [that] are radically altering the entire mobile ecosystem” (p. 3). Based
on a review of this literature, three trends were identified as potentially
relevant for farmers in developing countries: diverse devices, the Internet of
Things and capitalizing on big networks. Table 8.1 maps the predictions from
the above-cited literature on the three trends discussed in this chapter.
8.2.1 Diversity of Personal Mobile Devices and Delivery

Channels
The diversity of devices to access mobile services has been increasing in
recent years. Basic and feature phones1 are being displaced by smartphones
1
Basic phones provide basic voice services (telephony/voice mail), SMS and USSD-based
services. Feature phones offer additional functions such as internet access, transmission of
picture messages, downloading music or a built-in camera. Smartphones include feature phone
features plus a graphical interface and touchscreen capability, built-in WiFi and GPS (Hatt
et al., 2013: 42).
and phablets2 in many industrialized countries, and tablets complement desk-

top personal computers (PCs) and laptops. For now, basic and feature phones
are still dominant in developing countries. This trend is also reflected in
the availability of m-services on different devices. A survey of m-services
provided in developing countries across sectors finds that 85% of services
are targeted at basic or feature phones (Hatt et al., 2013).3 Only a third are
developed for smartphones (mainly in m-learning and m-entrepreneurship),
slightly more than for PCs (31%). While smartphone use is on the rise in
developing countries, penetration rates differ widely according to a survey
of the Pew Research Center (Poushter, 2016). Thus, while the adoption rate
in China (58%) is close to that in many European countries, rates in Sub-
Saharan Africa range from 4% in Ethiopia to 28% in Nigeria (and 37% in
South Africa).
High demand for mobile internet and price declines are expected to drive
smartphone (and phablet) adoption in developing countries, in particular in
large emerging markets such as Brazil, India, China and Indonesia (Canalys,
2013). Ericsson predicts that between 2015 and 2021, over 2.6 billion smart-
phone subscriptions will be added in Latin America, the Asia Pacific region,
the Middle East and Africa, accounting for 88% of global smartphone growth
(Ericsson, 2016). Companies are responding to projected demand by offering
sophisticated yet affordable mobile phones specifically targeted at lower
income markets. Google, for instance, announced its ambitious Android
One program in June 2014 aimed at offering high quality and affordable
smartphones to customers in emerging economies (Pichai, 2014).
Some observers, however, warn against overestimating the importance of
smartphone expansion in developing countries, given that lower-tech phones
still make up the large majority of existing devices (mobiThinking, 2013).
As Jon Hoehler, manager of mobile technologies at Deloitte Digital South
Africa, notes: “The key is to look at the installed base of devices – actually
devices in hand – rather than the sale of new devices. In many emerging
markets, handsets are reused, resold or passed down through the family”
(cited in (Millar M., 2013)). Thus, the prevalence of basic and feature phones
2
Phablets measure around 5.3–7 inches diagonally and are designed to combine the features
of a smartphone and a tablet. They are a relatively new category that started to spread in 2012
following the release of the Samsung Galaxy note. Subscription data for phablets are not
recorded separately.
3
The survey included mobile services provided through basic phones, feature phones,
smartphones, phablets, PCs/laptops, tablets and other devices (e.g. personal digital assistants).
is expected to continue in many developing countries in the short and medium

term, in particular among lower-income groups (Hatt, Wills, & Harris, 2013).
In addition to mobile phones, the mobile network also enables access to
m-services through other devices, including laptops, desktop PCs and tablets.
This functionality is becoming easier and more cost-effective, for instance
through cheap external USB dongles, built-in Wi-Fi or integrated SIM cards.
Tablets may be the most viable option for personal use in the developing
world. Because they use batteries and mobile data connections, they tend to
be less vulnerable to power cuts and have lower electricity costs compared
to PCs. These features already make them attractive for internet cafés, for
instance in Senegal where the first Tablet Café opened in 2013 with funding
from Google (Sylla, 2013). For now, tablet use in most developing countries
is still low (although no official statistics are available) and just 9% of services
reviewed by Hatt et al. (2013) were developed for tablets. Their adoption in
developing countries will be boosted by the production of lower-cost tablets
in emerging economies.
The use of different devices to access m-services is facilitated by the
emergence of cloud computing which allows “mobile services and apps [to
be] delivered from a centralized (and perhaps virtualized) data center to a
mobile device such as a smartphone” (Taylor, 2012). Cloud technologies are
aiding the convergence of feature and smartphones by putting smartphone-
like features into java-enabled feature phones while retaining their advantages
such as robustness, ease-of-use and longer battery life (Afrinnovator, 2011).
The phone then functions as an interface to access services which are run
somewhere else, thus requiring less processing power than when running
the service on the device. Tablets will also benefit from cloud-based tech-
nologies which will enable them to bridge the gap between smartphones and
PCs/laptops. In addition, these technologies enable users to shift from using
one device to access multiple services to using multiple devices to access
individual services.
The uptake and utility of more advanced devices and services will be
greatly influenced by two factors: battery life and access to fast internet.
Smartphones and phablets require more energy than lower-tech phones due to
the size and quality of the screen, data transfer through wireless connections
and processing requirements for apps. Thus, as m-services and the required
phones to use them become more sophisticated, battery life could become
a constraint in areas with costly or unreliable access to electricity. Mobile
phone manufacturers are already working on innovative ways to extend the
battery life, for instance by improving the efficiency of the battery itself,
the power-efficiency of the hardware or the processing power needed to run
software (Wagner, 2013). Limited battery lives can also be overcome by
adding battery power externally, e.g. through a second exchangeable battery
or portable USB packs. Solar-based chargers may be particularly attractive
in off-grid areas. Other innovative solutions include hand crank chargers,
bicycles, micro turbines or a shoe developed in Kenya which charges the
phone while walking (Sawa, 2013).
In addition, cloud-based services require fast and reliable internet access.
Mobile broadband4 capacities are improving in many developing countries,
but they continue to lag behind industrialized countries in terms of sub-
scription rates, networks speeds and affordability (ITU, 2016). The mobile
broadband subscription rate in developing countries was less than half that in
industrialized countries in 2016 (41% compared to 90%). In least-developed
countries, the subscription rate has reached just 19%. Network speeds also
vary considerably between and within countries. By 2015, 2G networks
are widespread, covering 95% of the world’s population. 3G networks have
also expanded to cover 84% globally, but only 67% of the rural population.
Obstacles to rural broadband expansion include high cost of network rollout,
low returns on investment for network operators and lack of access to the
electricity grid to power the network sites (Hatt, Wills, & Harris, 2013). Prices
are also high in many developing countries. The ITU estimates that by 2015,
the cost of an entry-level mobile-broadband plan amounted to 1–2% of gross
national income in most developed countries and 2 to over 30% in developing
countries, with the highest prices found in the poorest countries.
Different options are being explored to close the coverage gaps, improve
network speeds and reduce costs, but many are still at an early stage. Various
wireless technologies, such as WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks),
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standard and
WiBack (Wireless Backhaul Technology), for instance, are being used to
provide the last mile infrastructure between the existing network (e.g. GSM,
satellite or fiber optic cables) and users. Google and Microsoft are also
trialing the use of TV white space (i.e. unused bands of spectrum between
channels) in South Africa and Kenya (PCWorld, 2013). Another example
4
While the term ‘broadband’ is generally associated with high-speed internet access, there
is no commonly agreed definition. For the purpose of this article, mobile broadband is
understood to include 3G networks or faster.
is the BRCK developed by the Kenyan company Ushahidi, a portable hub

which supports up to 20 devices through Wi-Fi and can run for up to eight
hours on battery in case of power outages.5 These options could complement
traditional licensed spectrum networks such as 2G or 3G to create so-called
heterogeneous networks (HetNets) with multiple types of access nodes in a
wireless network.
8.2.2 Internet of Things

The technology trend that is predicted to revolutionize the way people live
and work is the Internet of Things (IoT). In the IoT, “sensors and actuators
embedded in physical objects . . . are linked through wired and wireless
networks, often using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that connects the
Internet” (Chui, Löffler, & Roberts, 2010). The underlying idea is not new.
As the OECD (2012) notes: “From the earliest days, in the use of informa-
tion technologies, computers have processed signals from external sources”
(p. 8). What has changed is the sheer scale, enabled through the declining cost
and size of the required technologies, the use of the Internet Protocol, ubiq-
uitous networks and significant increases in storage and computing powers
(including cloud computing) (Chui, Löffler, & Roberts, 2010; OECD, 2012).
Mark Rolston, Chief Creative Officer at the San Francisco–based design firm
Frog Design, predicts: “The mobile computers killing the PC will themselves
be replaced as computing becomes embedded into the world around us.”
(Rolston, 2013).
Chui et al. (2010) identify two broad areas of application. First, the IoT
can be used to gather and analyze information, for instance to track the
movement of products through the supply chain, report on environmental
conditions (such as soil moisture, ocean currents or weather) or monitor
a patient’s health. Second, the IoT can help with automation and control
by converting the collected information into actions through a network of
actuators, e.g. to optimize processes or resource consumption, or to manage
complex autonomous systems.
The GSMA predicts that the number of connected devices will increase
from 9 billion in 2012 to 24 billion devices in 2020 ((GSM Association
and Machina Research., 2012). Cisco puts the figure even higher, estimat-
ing the number of internet-connected devices to reach 50 billion by 2020
(Evans, 2011). While mobile handsets make up the majority of these devices
5
brck.com
today, machine-to-machine communication (M2M) devices6 , such as radio-

frequency identification (RFID) tags, sensors or meters, are expected to
become increasingly widespread. M2M devices will constitute the main
building blocks of the IoT by collecting data which is then transmitted
through networks to an M2M management platform which analyses the data
for the user (OECD, 2012).
Most M2M applications require a power source to perform their tasks
and communicate with the wireless network, such as a battery or access
to electricity (e.g. the grid or generators). Given that the number of M2M
devices is expected to increase by the billions, regularly changing or man-
ually recharging batteries will not be feasible, in particular where they are
integrated into moving or remotely located objects. Even if the devices are
stationary and easy to reach, the lack of constant electricity in many parts of
the developing world could limit their widespread deployment. Researchers
are looking into ways for the devices to generate their own electricity from
environmental elements such as vibrations, light, and airflow (Evans, 2011).
The BRCK described above could also provide a power source for multiple
sensors (as well as a means to transmit the collected data) by linking the
sensors to external power sources and providing back-up power through the
built-in battery.
8.2.3 Capitalizing on Networks and a Large User Base

The ubiquity of cellular networks coupled with the expanding reach and
diversity of mobile devices will offer unprecedented opportunities to collect,
disseminate and exchange data and knowledge. ‘Big data’ has emerged as
a buzzword to describe this trend, but the term is not clearly defined in the
literature. Often, the definition focuses on the size of the dataset. Manyika
et al. (2011), for instance, describe big data as “datasets whose size is beyond
the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage, and
analyze” (p. 1). Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier (2013), however argue that
the size of the dataset does not matter but what can be done with it. They
use the term ‘big data’ to refer to “things one can do at a large scale that
cannot be done at a smaller one, to extract new insights or create new forms
of value, in ways that change markets, organizations, the relationship between
6
M2M devices are devices “that are actively communicating using wired and wireless
networks, that are not computers in the traditional sense and are using the internet in some
form or another” (OECD, 2012, p. 7).
citizens and governments, and more” (p. 6). The UN Global Pulse identifies
four broad digital data sources as relevant for global development (Global
Pulse, 2012):
• Data exhaust, i.e. passively collected transactional data from people’s
use of digital services such as mobile phones or mobile payments.
• Online information, i.e. web content such as news media and social
media interactions, web searches or job postings.
• Physical sensors, i.e. satellite or infrared imagery of e.g. changing
landscapes, traffic patterns, light emissions, urban development and
topographic changes.
• Crowd-sourced data, i.e. information actively produced or submitted by
citizens through mobile phone-based surveys, hotlines, user-generated
maps etc.
The diversification of wireless technologies and the expansion of high-speed
networks are increasing the utility of mobile connected devices for data
collection (CISCO, 2013). Smartphones are expected to be the main source of
mobile data growth in the future. However, the data generated by more basic
phones may be particularly useful for developing countries. Indeed, Talbot
(2013) lists ‘big data from cheap phones’ among ten breakthrough tech-
nologies in 2013. Mobile telecommunication data held by mobile network
operators (MNOs), for instance, can offer insights into people’s movements,
calling habits and social connection (Talbot, 2013). In development research,
such data can be used e.g. in disaster management, diseases surveillance,
transport planning or socio-economic analysis. Wesolowski et al. (2012), for
example, used data from cell phone towers in Kenya to monitor human travel
and thereby identify importation routes for malaria through movements of
infected people (Wesolowski, et al., 2012).
The largest mobile telecommunication data set was released by the MNO
Orange in 2015 which made available 2.5 billion anonymized records from
Côte d’Ivoire and, in cooperation with the University of Leuven and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, launched the ‘Data for Development’
Challenge which asked the scientific community how big data could con-
tribute to the development of an emerging country (Orange, 2016). One
submission, for instance, suggested that certain proxies (i.e. outgoing volume
and duration of calls, flow between regions, diversity of connections with
other regions and level introversion of a region) may be suitable to esti-
mate poverty levels of different regions (Smith, Mashhadi, & Capra, 2013).
A similar challenge was launched for Senegal in 2014 using anonymous

mobile network data released by Sonatel and Orange.
In addition to analyzing incidentally collected data from mobile operators,
mobile connected devices are also valuable sources of specifically collected
data e.g. through data collection tools or obtained through the various
IoT technologies outlined above. Possible applications include geo-targeted
links between agricultural suppliers and buyers, pest alerts or agricultural
yield/shock predictions (Naef, et al., 2014). Cloud-based services will facili-
tate the storage and analysis of such data, including combining data collected
through mobile devices with other data stored in public databases. Impor-
tantly, any initiatives to collect and analyze big data will need to bear in mind
issues of personal privacy and commercial sensitivities around data access
(ibid).
Information gathering and sharing can also capitalize on the extensive
virtual networks created through modern ICTs. Information collection can
be done through a process commonly referred to as crowdsourcing where
data collection or other tasks are carried out by an undefined group of ICT
users either for free or against payment (Estellés-Arolas & González-Ladrón-
de-Guevara, 2012). The Kenyan company Ushahidi is a prominent example
of this approach. Ushahidi offers an ICT platform for crowdsourcing and
automatically analyzing information obtained from SMS, email, Twitter and
the internet. The analyzed data is then displayed through maps and dynamic
timelines. The system was first used to monitor incidences of post-election
violence in Kenya in 2007 and has since then been applied in numerous
countries and sectors around the world.7
Mobile connected devices are also facilitating social networking and
learning. Facebook, for instance, probably the most well-known example
of a social networking application, is rapidly spreading around the world.
The first field study of Facebook usage in a developing country (Kenya)
finds that interest in using Facebook was generally high, but constraints such
as the cost of internet usage, limited access to computers or smartphones
and gaps in electricity supply still hinder widespread participation (Wyche,
Yardi Schoenebeck, & Forte, 2013). Nevertheless, some agriculture-related
groups already make use of Facebook to exchange information, such as the
Chepkorio Digital Youth Farmers in Kenya or the Federation for Agribusiness
Networks in Uganda. Additional to such structured networks, m-services
7
See wiki.ushahidi.com for an overview of deployments.
also facilitate more informal group communication, such as the widely used
messaging services WhatsApp which allows users to exchange messages
bilaterally or set up discussion groups among selected users.
8.3 Scenarios for the Evolution of Technology

Trends and M-Services
Trends may indicate potential opportunities, but guiding and accelerating
trends is a matter of development policy. This section describes two possible
outcomes of the three technology trends discussed above under different
levels of policy and business engagement, and assesses how these could affect
m-services provision:
• Status Quo (technological developments remain on a similar level as
today)
• Big Leap (significant advances in the technology trends)
Table 8.2 summarizes the main characteristics of the two scenarios. For each
scenario, different assumptions are analyzed related to six dimensions, i.e.
the usability of resulting m-services, their affordability, power requirements,
network capacities, the nature of service providers and the innovation envi-
ronment. The dimensions were identified based on an extensive review of
Table 8.2 Two scenarios for the possible evolution of the technology trends
Status Quo Big Leap
Diverse Mobile Feature phones, some High-end feature phones,
Devices interface higher-end devices, few smartphones and tablets
smartphones widely adopted, basic
phones used as secondary
phones
Delivery Voice, SMS, USSD, WAP, Mainly web-based
technologies embedded apps, some web applications accessible
and platform apps through multiple devices
Cloud/web- Some, but apps mainly Widely used
based stored on devices
services
Internet of IoT services Some within specific Interconnected devices
Things applications e.g. supply
chain management, data
collection
Decision Some within specific Complex tools operating
support tools applications across applications
8.3 Scenarios for the Evolution of Technology Trends and M-Services 203
Table 8.2 Continued

Capitalizing on Big data Incidentally collected data, Continuous collection of
networks some through projects diverse data
Crowdsourcing Some within specific Large network
projects by small groups of connected users
Results sharing Most data retained by Results widely accessible
operator, some project data
shared within group
Social learning Some social networking Large network of
within specific projects connected users
the literature. The assumptions for the two scenarios are outlined in Table 8.3.
Scenario 2 (Big leap) will require active public policy engagement and
public-private investment partnerships to be realized. The public investments
could be justified like any other infrastructure investments by economy
wide growth and distributional benefits, such as inclusion of unreached rural
population.
Table 8.3 Assumptions underlying the scenario analysis

Status Quo Big Leap
Usability simple m-services easy to use sophisticated m-services more
difficult to use
little assistance required assistance provided by public and
private actors
limited two-way communication interactive services
Affordability basic phones affordable to buy
and use
higher-tech phones and M2M falling prices for higher-tech
devices too expensive for most phones and M2M devices
users
data plans expensive cheaper data plans
Power limited access to electricity in public and private investments in
source rural areas power infrastructure
long battery life of lower-tech
phones
short battery life of higher-tech technological advances in battery
phones quality for higher-tech phones
inadequate power supply for M2M device generate own energy
M2M devices
Network 2G networks widespread 2G networks utilized by lower-tech
phones and M2M devices
(Continued)
Table 8.3 Continued

Status Quo Big Leap
broadband networks poorly expansion of broadband networks
developed in rural areas into rural areas
traditional mobile licensed HetNets used to close network gaps
spectrum networks
Service m-services mainly provided by MNOs focus on provision of
providers MNOs infrastructure and marketing
some services offered by local m-service mainly provided by
start-ups but high failure rates international and local companies
single price for service use cross-subsidization through
differential pricing
Innovation small-scale financing through financing from national and
environ- venture capitalists and grants international investors
ment governments provide policy Pro-active financial and regulatory
support but little concrete support by governments
assistance
local innovation networks extensive innovation networks
within and across countries
8.3.1 Implications for Agricultural M-Services

The evolution of the technology trends outlined above will have implications
for the provision of m-services to farmers in developing countries. The
potential implications of the Big Leap Scenario are summarized in Table 8.4.
Table 8.4 Potential impact of the ‘Big Leap’ scenario on the provision of agricultural
m-services
Big Leap Examples of Agricultural M-Services
Diverse mainly feature phones and Delivery of complex information
Devices low-tech smartphones, tablets through more sophisticated interfaces
shared by cooperative, focus Interactive training
on web-based services M-payments integrated with banking
services and insurance schemes
Virtual markets using sophisticated
applications e.g. images, ratings,
m-payments
Internet of interconnected devices using Data collection for site-specific
Things complex decision-support management of fields
tools operating across Remotely managed insurance
applications schemes for smallholders
Supply chain management to source
from smallholder farmers
Quality assurance in virtual markets
Table 8.4 Continued

Capitalizing continuous collection and Crowdsourcing of information for
on sharing of diverse data decision-making, e.g. output and
networks through large networks of input prices, buyers, weather info
connected users Analysis of collected info for
longer-term planning e.g. price
trends, weather patterns
Virtual market data used to plan
infrastructure investments
Social learning across national and
international networks
8.3.2 Diverse Devices

As noted at the outset, most agricultural m-services in developing countries
were designed for simple phones and use SMS and to a lesser extent voice-
based services. Only a few services make use of smartphones or tablets.
M-services offering information, for instance on farming methods, weather
forecasts, disease outbreaks or crop prices, are most common. M-payments
are becoming widely available which in addition to offering transmission ser-
vices can also facilitate other m-services, such as output markets, insurance
schemes or water provision. Mobile device-enabled supply chain manage-
ment systems are also expanding. Overall, the use of mobile phones in
agricultural service delivery is still at an early stage, however, and most of
the services have yet to reach scale and long-term financial sustainability
(FAO, 2015).
More diverse and sophisticated m-services can be envisaged that take
advantage of the technological capacities of different mobile devices, the
enhanced computing powers of devices that use cloud-based services, and
the ability to access a service from multiple devices. For instance, higher-
tech devices and faster networks allow m-service providers to use diverse
media to disseminate information about farming practices, such as video,
voice recordings, images or longer text. Specifically designed interfaces could
increase the reach of m-services to illiterate farmers although training may
still be needed to familiarize them with the new features of higher-tech
devices. The sophisticated interfaces can also facilitate interactive training
on agricultural production.
M-services offering multiple functions are starting to be developed for
smartphones and tablets. The Indian fertilizer company Criyagen, for exam-
ple, has launched the Android application AgriApp which offers various
services, including information packages for different crops, videos on farm-

ing practices, news articles, the possibility to chat with or call the company’s
field officers and a function to order their products. Mobile banking apps
are another example of this trend. Such apps enable farmers to make
m-payments, access their account through multiple mobile devices or monitor
their spending. Safaricom’s M-Ledger, for instance, provides users with a
detailed record and analysis of their transactions, including graphs and charts,
and is accessible through the mobile phone, tablet or PC (Safaricom, 2017).
8.3.3 Internet of Things

In agriculture, the IoT and M2M devices have found application in precision
agriculture (even if the terminology of the IoT is not necessarily used,
especially in the early days of precision agriculture). By ICTs, such as global
positioning and information systems, remote sensing or sensors to monitor
climatic conditions, soils or yield, farmers can detect temporal and spatial
variability across their fields. They can then selectively treat their crop, either
manually or through technologies that adjust their behavior in response to
the gathered data. Much of the focus has been on variable rate application
of inputs based on yield and soil monitoring (McBratney, Whelan, Ancev, &
Bouma, 2005).
The uptake of precision agriculture technologies and M2M applications
more generally has been limited in developing countries which accounted for
just 1.5% of global usage of M2M applications in 2012 (Arab, 2012). Many
of the high-tech agricultural applications used in industrialized and a few
developing countries are unlikely to be appropriate in this context given low
levels of literacy, limited access to equipment and small landholdings (ICT
update, 2006). On the business side, M2M usage has also been hampered
by the cost of M2M modules, the lack of open-standard platforms for M2M
development, and the absence of M2M strategies by mobile operators in these
markets (Arab, 2012).
However, the rapid spread of mobile phones and networks as well as
advances in the IoT and related technologies could lead to technology appli-
cations that are better adapted to the needs and capacities of small-scale
producers. Farmers can use IoT services, instance, to assist with site-specific
management of their fields, monitor the development of their crops, adjust
their agricultural practices in response to the data and track the sales of the
produce. The information they gather is complemented by other information
to help with planning, such as weather forecasts or price information for
inputs and outputs.
Several IoT technologies are already being used to gather information

from and for farmers. For instance, M2M devices are being deployed in sup-
ply chain management. In Kenya, Virtual City’s Agrimanager and Distributor
systems use mobile phones to collect data when farmers deliver the produce,
e.g. weight and location (through GPS), and track the produce throughout
the chain to the processing plant.8 In Ghana, SAP uses barcodes linked to
a famer’s profile to record deliveries of shea and cashew and upload the
information to a central system via mobile phones.9 IoT technologies are
also being used to track the movement cattle, for instance in Kenya where
GPS tracking devices are attached to one cow in the herd (The Cattle Site,
2012).
Data collection applications for mobile phones, such as EpiCollect,
Magpi and ODKCollect, can also be used to gather location-specific data
using geo-tagging with the phone’s GPS. Makerere University in Uganda, for
instance is using ODK Collect to diagnose and monitor the spread of cassava
mosaic disease (Quinn, Leyton-Brown, & Mwebaze, 2011). Data about the
state of the plant is collected by surveyors, extension workers and farmers
through GPS-and camera-equipped phones, and classified using computer
vision techniques. The information is then used to generate maps showing
the extent of the disease outbreak.
In addition to gathering data to facilitate decision-making among farmers
and processors, IoT technologies can also employed to assist in the man-
agement of the field although applications are still rare in most developing
countries. One example is the m-service Nano Ganesh, developed by the
Indian company Ossian Agro Automation, which allows farmers to control
water pumps remotely using their mobile phones, including monitoring the
availability of electricity, switching the pump on and off and getting alerted
in case of attempted theft.10
The IoT could also facilitate access to financial services, in particular
to scale up insurance schemes for small-scale producers using IoT devices,
such as weather stations, soil sensors, tracking devices or satellite imagery.
The company Acre Africa (formerly Kilimo Salama) in Kenya, for instance,
uses data from weather stations to trigger insurance payouts in case of severe
weather events via mobile phones, thereby avoiding costly visits to widely
dispersed farms (Acre Africa, 2017).
8
www.virtualcity.co.ke
9
Star Shea Network (www.starshea.com) and African Cashew Initiative
(aci.africancashewalliance.com)
10
www.nanoganesh.com
8.3.4 Capitalizing on Networks

Large multinational companies such as Monsanto, John Deere and DuPont
Pioneer are investing heavily in developing tools to make use of ‘big data’
in industrial agriculture, but smaller companies in developing countries are
also following suit. CropIn in India, for instance, uses cloud and mobile tech-
nologies to collect and analyze data at the level of individual farms, clusters
of farms, districts, states and the country (Crop in, 2017). Useful data could
also be obtained from mobile payment systems which combined with phone
records could be used to study employment trends, social tensions, poverty,
transportation and economic activity (Talbot, 2013). In the agriculture sector,
such data could help, for instance, to assess which markets farmers visit how
often and when, or how they make agricultural purchases.
Given the decentralized nature of agricultural production, crowdsourcing
could be particularly helpful to gather information, for instance about crop
disease outbreaks, input suppliers and prices, or crop damage from severe
weather events. Crowdsourcing could also be used to collect price infor-
mation from sellers and buyers, thereby expanding the range of crops and
markets for which price information is available. The above-mentioned data
collection tools will be useful in this regard. The monitoring tool for cassava
disease in Uganda, for instance, relies on a network of agricultural extension
workers and farmers to report possible incidences of diseases.
One of the challenges when sourcing data from a large user base is
quality assurance. The information collected will need to be verified which
can be cumbersome for widely disbursed or anonymous data sources. Also,
crowdsourcing data directly from farmers can at times be challenging. Lower
income groups are often difficult to engage, for instance because of the nature
of the surveys or the technologies used (de Carvalho, Klarsfeld, & Lepicard,
2011). Intermediaries may be required to bridge the gap between users and
the mobile application to ensure data quality and reach a broader range of
users. For example, in Uganda the Community Knowledge Worker (CKW)
Program works with local CKWs who collect information from farmers using
mobile data collection tools.11
A number of social network initiatives are also emerging in the agricul-
ture sector, which are using ICTs to support exchange and learning among
farmers. AgTube, for instance, is a social media platform for rural people in
developing countries where farmers can upload and discuss videos of farming
11
www.grameenfoundation.org/what-we-do/agriculture/community-knowledge-worker
8.4 Conclusion 209
practices.12 In Tanzania, Sauti ya wakulima (The Voice of the Farmers) was

initiated by a small group of farmers who share two smartphones to publish
images and voice recordings about their farming practices on the internet.13
To reach a wide range of farmers, such initiatives will need to deal with
different levels of access to mobile technologies. Digital Green in India, for
instance, disseminates informational videos recorded by farmers both through
their website and by organizing screenings in villages using battery-powered
projectors.14
In addition, virtual networks can be used to connect farmers to input
suppliers and produce buyers. The data collected through virtual transactions
could in turn inform strategic investments into transportation routes and
storage facilities. To date, m-services to trade agricultural goods are usually
integrated into broader trading platforms where users can buy and sell a
variety of products, such as Ekhanei (formerly Cellbazaar) in Bangladesh.15
M-Farm in Kenya is an example of a virtual market, made specifically
for farmers, which uses an internet- and SMS-enabled platform to link up
producers and buyers (Baumüller, 2015). Building trust between buyers and
sellers will be one of the key challenges of scaling up such networks, given
that trading partners often prefer establishing contact and trust through face-
to-face interaction first (Molony, 2006; Overå, 2006). Different technologies
(including IoT technologies) could be helpful in this regard, including images
of the produce, tracking of produce deliveries, ratings of transactions on
websites and m-payment facilities.
8.4 Conclusion
ICTs may transform developing country agriculture by facilitating more
access to markets and to problem solving information. The inclusion of the
next generation of millions of smallholder farmers in ICT opportunities could
also contribute to the reduction in the urban – rural divide. So far most
of the agriculture-related m-services available in the developing world are
only offering simple functionalities due to limitations in available delivery
technologies. Rapidly evolving mobile technologies may soon change this.
The technology trends discussed in this chapter offer numerous opportunities
12
www.agtube.org
13
sautiyawakulima.net
14
www.digitalgreen.org
15
www.ekhanei.com
to develop more sophisticated m-services. Today, users have access to a

much greater variety of devices which enable the dissemination of more
complex information. At the same time, ICTs are becoming more ubiquitous
and interconnected through expanding mobile networks, allowing for the
collection and procession of large amounts of data to assist in farming and
the creation of social networks for information exchange and learning.
This chapter offers a first overview of the types of new mobile technolo-
gies that may be suitable for service provision to farmers in the developing
world. In practice, many of these technological opportunities have not yet
been realized – neither in industrialized nor in developing countries. The
chapter touches on some of the related perquisites and implications, but
further research is needed to assess in more detail which of these technologies
can realistically be applied to promote agricultural development in developing
countries (i.e. what are the obstacles and what would be needed to remove
them) and which are most relevant in a given context. M-service developers
will also need to ensure that their services continue to cater for a broad range
of users rather than focusing overly on technologies that may not be within
the reach of less-resourced farmers.
References
[1] Orange, 2016, www.d4dorange.com
[2] Safaricom, 2017, www.Mledger.safaricom.com
[3] Acre Africa, 2017, www.acreafrica.com
[4] Crop in, 2017, www.cropin.co.in
9
How Africa Can Gain Benefits from
Next Generation Networks
Tomonari Takeuchi
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ghana Office
9.1 Introduction
The question, this chapter aims to answer is, how can African countries
derive benefit from such emerging new technologies? Though the focus of
this chapter is on 5G, the policy recommendations here will have an impact
on the adoption of next generation mobile and fixed-broadband network
in Africa. When one, considers the current positive impact of the mobile
technology in Africa, one can easily imagine that the new Broadband Internet
technologies will also have a positive impact on African economies. How-
ever, there is a potential drawback to the adoption of new technologies in
Africa. African countries lack the service readiness and economical operating
capacity to derive benefit from these new technologies. This challenge may
have an effect on the ability of African countries to adopt new technologies
such as 5G.
Therefore, this chapter attempts to answer this question, by first, critically
pointing to the negative impacts of these new technologies to developing
countries such as in Sub-Saharan Africa. Then, it examines how African
countries can avoid these negative impacts and derive benefit from the
new and emerging technologies. The major takeaway from this chapter will
be policy suggestions that will help African policy makers derive socio-
economic and socio-political benefits from the potential new services that
will be enabled by 5G. This takeaway will be supplemented with cautions
on policy pitfalls to avoid, if the African country has to derive the benefits
from 5G.
211
212 How Africa Can Gain Benefits from Next Generation Networks
The discussion in this chapter begins with providing a background on why

the adoption of ICTs is important to the African society. This is followed by
placing the context of the discussion into a theoretical perspective. This is
the theory on ICT for development. The prospects and challenges towards
adopting new technologies to society and its perceived impact on Africa are
discussed. This will be followed by the policy prescriptions.
9.2 Background on ICT for Development in Africa

At the 70th annual U.N. General Assembly session, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO
of Facebook, was invited to address the importance of the Internet for
development. He mentioned that:
“Internet access is essential for achieving humanity’s Global Goals. By
giving people access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities of the internet,
we can give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless. We also
know that the internet is a vital enabler of jobs, growth and opportunity. And
research tells us that for every 10 people connected to the internet, about 1 is
lifted out of poverty” (Zuckerberg, Facebook Post, 2016).
In the Internet economy, it is estimated that the share of users in devel-
oping countries will increase from 30% in 2010 to more than 50% in 2025
(World Bank, 2016; Yano Research Institute, 2014). The World Bank selected
digital development as the theme of the World Development Report 2016,
noting, “the poorest households are more likely to have access to mobile
phones than to toilets or clean water” (World Bank, 2016).
There are many success stories of mobile phones being utilized for devel-
opment. One example is M-Pesa in Kenya. M-Pesa has led to the decrease
in the cost of money transfers by up to 90% and the success of M-Pesa
has stimulated the mobile banking services market (World Bank, 2016).
According to a report by GSMA, there are 271 mobile banking services in
the world (GSMA, 2015a). More than half of these initiatives exist in Sub-
Sahara Africa (ibid). In fact, mobile penetration in Africa grew dramatically
from 12.4% in 2005 to 76.2% in 2015 (ITU, 2016). In other words, the figure
increased more than six times in 10 years (ITU, 2016).
ICTs have also contributed positively to the GDP of Africa. According
to GSMA, in sub-Saharan Africa, the economic contribution of the mobile
industry was approximately 102 billion USD in 2014, representing 5.7% of
the GDP of the region (GSMA, 2015b). It is expected to grow up to 166
billion USD and 8% of GDP by 2020. Additionally, in accordance with the
9.2 Background on ICT for Development in Africa 213
rapid growth of mobile phone penetration, the number of the Internet users in
Africa grew reached 172 million in 2014, an almost-ten-fold increase since
2005 (ITU, 2016).
On the other hand, in developed countries, 5th generation (5G) mobile
networks will be rolled out by 2020. ICT companies, such as Nokia (Finland),
NTT (Japan), Huawei (China), SingTel (Singapore), and others have been
developing 5G technology that can realize data rates up to 10 Gbps over the
air; latency in the order of 1ms; and enable Internet of Things (IoT) devices
to run on a battery for up to ten years. 5G technology and 5G services such
as IoT, Big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and hardware technologies such
as 3D printing and drones, are now becoming available, it is also being used
in Africa. 5G networks will not only facilitate a higher level of connectivity
but also become platforms for innovation. This technology will also serve
as the infrastructure to support multiple vertical business segments (GSMA
Intelligence, 2016).
Considering the rapid penetration of mobile phones in Africa, it is easy
to imagine that 5G services will be widely adopted in the African continent
by the next decade. It is also possible to imagine that 5G services will have
a significant economic impact, similar to that of current mobile technology -
which has already made an impact in African economies. Unfortunately, that
is not a certainty.
Though 5G is under development and in some cases being tested, the
enabling services mentioned earlier already exist with 4G. The nature of these
new services and its role in the economy is explained by Richard Heeks.
Heeks (2016) suggests that the role of ICT is changing from being a tool for
development to being a platform and medium for development in the context
of the new enhanced mobile services such as IOT. Therefore new ICTs today
are not tools but platform for development. These platforms include business
platforms. Currently these platforms are prevalent in developed countries
and the players competing on these platforms are developed country players.
These platforms can be found in sectors such as, telecommunications, man-
ufacturing, industry, retail, and others globally. Africa is already left behind
before the advent of 5G. When African players later join the platform they
may not derive much benefit from it because it is the dominant players, who
can make the rules of the game, who will benefit from it. Therefore it is
important for African countries to think of enacting policies that will help
them create their market and derive the benefits from 5G. This is why this
chapter is important.
9.3 Development Agenda and ICT

9.3.1 From Past to Present
The notion of ICT4D appeared on the international agenda in the 1990s
when the Internet began to spread around the world (Heeks, 2008). The
1998 World Bank World Development Report titled “Knowledge for Devel-
opment” explores the role of ICT for international development. In 1996,
International Development Goals were set, which later became known as the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September 2000. At this time,
multilateral donors, and other agencies began to consider how to apply ICT
to achieve MDGs. In this context, the Digital Opportunities Task Force was
established in 2000 by the G8 at the annual summit in Okinawa, Japan. The
role of ICT in international development was treated as the main agenda at the
World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva in 2003
and Tunis in 2005.
According to Heeks (2009), the trend of ICT4D is classified in three
phases: ICT4D 0.0, ICT4D 1.0, and ICT4D 2.0 (see Table 9.1) (Heeks, 2009).
ICT4D 0.0 is used to indicate the period before ICT was considered as a
Table 9.1 Summary of ICT4D phases

ICT4D 1.0 ICT4D 2.0
ICT4D 0.0 (1960s– (mid-1990s– (mid-/late-2000s
Issue/Phase mid-1990s) mid-/late-2000s) Onwards)
Iconic PC Database Telecentre Mobile Phone
Technology
Key Application Data Processing Content (& Services &
Interaction) Production
The Poor Who? Consumers Innovators &
Producers
Key Goal Organizational MDGs Growth &
Efficiency Development?
Key Issue Technology’s Potential Readiness & Uptake & Impact
Availability
Key Actor Government Donors & NGOs All Sectors
Attitude Ignore –> Isolate Idolize –> Integrate Integrate –> Innovate
Innovation Model Northern Pro-Poor –> Para-Poor –> Per-
Para-Poor Poor
Dominant Information Systems Informatics/ Tribrid of CS, IS and
Discipline Development Studies DS
Development Modernization Human Development Development 2.0
Paradigm
Source: Heeks (2009).
9.3 Development Agenda and ICT 215
tool for development. During ICT4D 0.0, the computer was only used for the
purpose of operational efficiency improvement, especially in public sector.
The ICT4D 1.0 phase started from 1990s, and the feature was to bring off-
the-shelf solutions from developed countries to developing ones. One of the
typical examples is the telecenter project, which was successfully rolled out
in Europe and North America during the 1980s and early 1990s. However,
the solution in the developed world is not necessarily the solution in different
contexts of the developing world, and there were many project failures during
this phase. Though there is no clear chronological boundary between ICT4D
1.0 and ICT4D 2.0, ICT4D 2.0 has different features from ICT4D 1.0. The
main difference is how to recognize the poor. They are recognized as passive
consumers in ICT4D 1.0 but they are reconsidered as active producers in
the ICT4D 2.0 era (Figure 9.1). ICT, Web2.0 tools in particular, provides
useful tools for people, including the poor. With these tools, anyone can create
their own content and make a voice in public. For example, anyone can be a
producer by using blogging software, SNS, free and open-source software,
and others. In other words, ICT can empower people. The Arab Spring is one
of the phenomena that demonstrate how such ICT tools can enable voiceless
people to have enough power to change the world.
9.3.2 Present
During the ICT4D 2.0 era, the importance of mobile phone technology and
the Internet is highlighted in the situation that the mobile phone penetration
rate has been dramatically increased in developing countries, and especially
in Africa. The mobile penetration rate is about 80% on average in developing
Figure 9.1 Change of role of users in developing countries in ICT4D project.

Source: Adapted from (Heeks, 2009).
countries, and even in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the mobile phone penetra-
tion rate is the lowest, the rate reached 73% (World Bank, 2016). There are
many anecdotes that describe how mobile phones are used for development,
such as mbanking like M-Pesa in Kenya, m-agriculture like e-Soko in Ghana,
m-health, m-learning, and so on.
Since the main tool to access to the Internet is now the mobile phone,
along with the growth of mobile phone penetration, more and more people
in developing countries are becoming Internet users. As Mark Zuckerberg’s
speech at the 70th annual U.N. General Assembly session indicates, the Inter-
net can be a driving force to improve the lives of people in developing coun-
tries. Castells (2011) also insists “development without the Internet would
be the equivalent of industrialization without electricity in the industrial era”
(Castells, 2011).
However, there are still about 2 billion people who do not use mobile
phones and about 4 billion people who cannot use the Internet in developing
countries (World Bank, 2016). For this reason, providing everyone with
Internet access is included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as
9c under Goal 9, as below.
Goal 9:
“Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrial-
ization and foster innovation.”
9c:
“Significantly increase access to information and communications technol-
ogy and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in
least developed countries by 2020.”
9.3.3 Future
As mentioned in the introduction, ICT is now not just a tool but a platform,
and instead of ICT4D, the terminology digital development has started to
be used by major donors (Heeks, 2016). For example, the subtitle in the
World Development Report 2016 uses the term digital development; USAID
established a digital development team as part of its Global Development
Lab; and UNCSTD commissioned a report on digital development. It seems
that digital means broader elements and aspects than ICT. The variety of ICT
is now much more than 1990s when the terminology ICT4D emerged. It is
9.4 Issues and Challenges 217
obvious that the definition of what we can call ICT is also getting wider,
and accordingly, the impact brought about by ICT is getting larger. For
instance, the SDG ICT PLAYBOOK produced by NetHpoe (2015) captures
technologies, which can be used for achieving SDGs, including power (i.e.
solar power technology), mobile devices, connectivity, IoT, cloud computing,
analytics (utilization of big data and open data), social media, digital services,
smart systems, and 3D Printing (NetHpoe, 2015). Similarly, in the World
Development Report 2016, new technologies such as 5G mobile phones, AI,
robotics, autonomous vehicles, IoT, big data, open data, and 3D printing are
captured as important potential technologies for development (World Bank,
2016).
In this context, this chapter uses digital development as the next or new
phase of ICT4D following ICT4D 2.0, though there is no academic consensus
about the definition of this terminology.
9.4 Issues and Challenges

9.4.1 Drawback of ICT4D
Though the SDGs include the provision of Internet access to everyone, there
is a traditional argument against the importance of ICT4D. ICT can empower
people, but what ICT really does is just to amplify their own ability (Toyama,
2015). For example, people with a good educational background and working
experience can find more and better jobs by using the Internet, but people
who don’t have such attractive backgrounds cannot do so, even if they use
the Internet. A person who is motivated to learn can access free online
educational material, while the Internet for the purpose of life improvement
is less useful for a person only interested in spending time on Facebook and
YouTube. Even if there is a useful iPhone application to compose music, you
cannot be a good musician unless you have musical talent.
Heeks (2002) mentions that ICT increases the gap between the people
who have resources and the people who do not (Heeks, 2002). The extent to
which people can benefit from ICT depends on economic and social factors
– having a device requires money; using the Internet requires language skills;
finding useful information requires Internet literacy; and even enjoying SNS
requires communication skills. For instance, the contribution to Wikipedia
from Africa is less than from Hong Kong SAR, China despite the fact that
African continent has 50 times more Internet users than Hong Kong (World
Bank, 2016).
In the ICT4D era, the traditional negative impact is the risk of widening
the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and even in the digital devel-
opment era, this issue will continue to exist. The World Development Report
2016 clearly identifies the same issues as follows:
“Not surprisingly, the better educated, well connected, and more capable
have received most of the benefits – circumscribing the gains from the digital
revolution.” (World Bank, 2016, p. 3).
In addition to this issue, however, in the digital development era, there
might be more serious negative impacts caused by newly emerging tech-
nologies. In the following sections, potential negative impacts of digital
development are discussed, along with three kinds of new technologies
through considering potential effects in comparison with what is happening
in developed countries.
9.4.2 Drawbacks of New Technologies

This subsection introduces characteristics and positive effects of IoT, AI,
and 3D printing in developed countries, especially Japan and America, in
order to clarify to what extent these technologies are already utilized and are
ready to bring about the impact to Africa soon. However, unlike developed
countries, African countries may lack the readiness to receive fully the benefit
from such technologies. Similar to the issues in ICT4D era mentioned in the
previous section, there is still a risk that technology may bring about negative
impact to developing countries. Before describing such a risk in the following
subsection, it also implies potential drawbacks of three technologies (IoT, AI,
and 3D printing) in terms of development of African countries.
9.4.2.1 IoT
Surprisingly, 90% of digital data in the world has been generated in the
last two years (NetHpoe, 2015). According to the research about the digital
universe by American research firm IDC, the total amount of data in the
world will increase from 4.4 zettabyes to 44 zettabyes from 2013 to 2020,
meaning that the amount of digital data will be “doubling in size every two
years” (IDA, 2014). As the research shows, data volume has been increasing
recently. The main reason for this is the diffusion of the Internet, where
anyone can connect to others and easily create new content, and even a device
itself is able to connect to other devices. This technology is generally referred
to as IoT.
In developed countries, many private companies try to invent new services

by using IoT technology. Especially in the manufacturing sector, there are
advanced attempts at developing IoT technology, and the impact of IoT is
enormous. For example, AMADA HOLDINGS CO. LTD., a major Japanese
comprehensive manufacturer of metalworking machinery with many factories
in South East Asia, announced that it would establish a fully automated
factory by July 2017 in Japan. The factory utilizes IoT technology to link
every process from the tooling front system that receives orders from the
clients and tooling production to even post-delivery services. It can dramati-
cally improve quality, cost, and delivery by increasing production capacity by
150% and by reducing the size of the labor force by 63% (AMADA Holding
Co, 2016).
Similarly, many manufacturers have plans to adopt IoT technology and
robots to automate fully all fabrication processes in their factories. Canon Inc.
has a plan to build a fully automated factory for digital camera production
by 2018, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is planning to establish an
automated production process for Boeing’s next flagship aircraft body for a
15% cost reduction (Nikkei, 2016a).
The improvement of network speed materializes in massive data transfer,
and such big data together with IoT technology enable a robot to work more
precisely than before. For example, Shimane Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu’s pro-
duction subsidiary, completely automated the final check process of printed
circuit boards. This process requires high skills to inspect quality of different
shapes of printed circuit boards, which flow together on one belt convener.
While robots were not able to complete this process correctly, which remains
a human task, the current process were automated using new technologies
(Nikkei, 2016b).
So, what is the implication for African countries? IoT has been shown
to allow a factory to operate with much less labor; hence, employment is
reduced, even if a foreign or multinational company builds a large factory
in an African country. Additionally, technology transfer through factory
operation will be reduced as most tasks can be completed automatically,
and even machinery can be operated remotely from a developed country. For
example, General Electric Company (GE) provides a remote monitoring and
diagnostics service. GE collects data from machines through the Internet and
GE’s experienced engineers continuously monitor machines (for example,
generators and turbines in a power plant) all day, every day, and give cus-
tomers an alert if they detect a problem (General Electric, 2016a). According
to GE (2016a), more than 1,600 globally deployed power generation assets

are already monitored by this service. For an African country where unstable
power supply is a critical issue because of engineers’ low skills, this service
is helpful to secure reliable power supply by reducing hardware trouble.
However, it raises the question of how local engineers can improve their skills
for monitoring and maintenance.
9.4.2.2 AI
There are three reasons why AI is now attracting high attention (Nomura
Research Institute, 2015). Firstly, in 2011, an AI-enabled question-answering
computer named Watson invented by IBM, won in a TV quiz show against
a human champion. Secondly, in 2012, the team led by Professor Geoffrey
Everest Hinton from the University of Toronto achieved an overwhelming
victory at the ILSVRC (ImageNet Large Scale Visual RECognition Chal-
lenge) by utilizing deep learning, one of the algorithms used for AI. Thirdly,
in 2012, Google developed a computer system that can recognize faces of
cats and humans.
After these symbolic phenomena, more practical uses of AI have been
developed. For example, Google invented a new system that can identify
contents on a photo and caption the photo automatically (Google, 2014a).
Facebook also introduced a face identification technology called DeepFace.
Its identification accuracy is 97.35%, which is almost the same as human
accuracy (Taigman, Yang, Ranzato, & Wolf, 2014). This improvement in
visual identification has led to various applications of AI, such as factory
robots, automated driving, security cameras, and others. In 2012, IEEE
forecasted that autonomous vehicles running on public highways in America
would be up to 75% by 2014 (IEEE, 2012).
In addition, the progress of deep learning has also stimulated wider use
of AI. For instance, HITACHI, Ltd. adopted AI for operation planning in
a logistics base and as a result, the operational efficiency improved by 8%
compared to the operation planned by a human (Nikkei, 2015). AI will
be able to replace even a task that requires complicated thinking. In fact,
IBM’s Watson has been already used for call center operation in finance
institutions in their call center systems to provide a list of prioritized possible
answers and/or additional questions to ask according to customers’ enquiries
(Nomura Research Institute, 2015). According to the Nomura Research Insti-
tute (2015), some parts of call center operation can be fully provided by a
computer system without any human operator by 2050.
So, what is the implication for African countries? The development of AI

technology indicates that it can become more difficult for developing coun-
tries to gain business process outsourcing (BPO) from foreign companies,
which South East Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh have already
exploited to grow their economies. Most BPO tasks are simple and labor
intensive, hence developing countries have an advantage in terms of lower
labor costs. For example, robots cannot change a handwriting sketch or letters
into digital data using CAD or word-processing software so far, and such jobs
are currently outsourced to developing counties. However, similar to the call
center operation, such tasks will likely be able to be carried out by AI in the
near future.
9.4.2.3 3D printing
“A 3D printer can create a physical model of virtually any shape through the
extrusion of plastic based filament” (FabLabNI, 2013). According to research
by Yano Research Institute (2014), the total 3D printer delivery quantity in the
world market will increase from about 70,000 in 2013 to 320,000 in 2017,
with the annual growth rate of 46.2%. This high growth rate is estimated in
consideration of some governmental support such as subsidies and initiatives
for educational institutions to utilize 3D-printing technology.
A 3D printer may bring innovative impacts in manufacturing processes
by enabling manufacturers to produce physical products without creating a
mold. This dramatically reduces costs and the time involved in production. In
addition to such a change in manufacturing processes, it can also bring about
changes in a supply chain in the entire production process. What a 3D printer
needs is data and materials only because it can directly manufacture products
(direct digital manufacturing), hence it is much easier to create products
with less equipment, less space, less time, and less investment. Traditionally,
manufacturers need to keep stock on hand that is ready for sudden orders.
They also tend to prefer small breed mass production because the high-mix
low-volume production requires more facilities and equipment as well as
making more molds. Conversely, 3D-printing technology enables on-demand
manufacturing and it enables the transition from small breed mass production
to the high-mix low-volume production.
3D-printing technology has already been used in some industries. For
example, the world first 3D-printed electric car named Strati was created by
an American motor vehicle manufacturing company, Local Motors in 2013
(Local Motors, 2016). It consists of 50 parts, which is much less than a
traditional car consisting of about 30,000 parts. Local Motors produced

the next 3D-printed car named LM3D Swim in 2015. GE uses 3D-printing
technology to produce fuel nozzles for the new engine for the next generation
of Boeing aircraft (General Electric, 2016). Moreover, 3D-printing techno-
logy is now being adopted to build infrastructure like bridges as trials (The
Economist, 2015).
3D-printing technology can also reduce logistics costs for both produc-
tion process and delivery. In this context, a new service is emerging. In
2014, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), an international package delivery
company, started to provide 3D-printing services. UPS receives 3D data
from a costumer and prints it out using a high-end 3D printer equipped in
UPS branches, and finally the printed product is delivered to the customer
(UPS, 2014). The target customers are small-medium enterprises that do not
invest to procure a high-end 3D printer on their own. Another major logistics
company, FedEx, also started similar service. In addition, currently there is
emerging collaboration between logistics companies and ICT companies, like
UPS and SAP, to offer on-demand 3D-manufacturing network services (UPS,
2016). It is true that the impact of 3D-printing technology is changing not
only the manufacturing, but also the logistics industry.
So, what is the implication for African countries? Even if a local tech-
nician works with a 3D printer in a big factory, he cannot acquire skills for
manufacturing because data is essential in the 3D-printing process, and this
data comes from the know-how of companies, mostly those in developed
countries. How can a local technician learn processing skills? In addition,
how can African countries join such a network if 3D manufacturing grows
more popular?
9.4.3 Negative Impact of Digital Development

When we see the development process of Asian countries, one develop-
ment model can be found in common. First, they attract plants and firms
from developed countries. Then, large foreign companies build factories
and employ many local people. Local small and medium enterprises grow
to supply materials and parts to the factories. Employees of the factories
acquire skills, knowledge, and experience and then some of them move to
local companies and others create their own businesses. Finally, local small
and medium enterprises improve their productivity and start to produce half-
finished goods with such skilled people. Local companies grow gradually and
the level of the manufacturing industry is improved. Through this process,
Asian countries developed their national manufacturing industry and have

grown their economy.
Generally many African countries rely on the primary sector of industry
such as agriculture, fishery, and forestry. How to promote the secondary and
the tertiary sector of industry is one of the key agendas for development.
However, to adopt the same development model as Asian countries seems
more difficult than before because the utilization of new technologies may
hinder such development. First, there will be fewer employees needed for the
operation of a factory. Second, there are fewer opportunities for technology
transfer and it can be difficult to develop skilled craftsmen. Third, there will
be less business opportunities to start small enterprises to supply materials to
a factory. Last, there will be less import tax revenue because of 3D-printing
technology. A factory does not need to import parts if a 3D printer at the
factory can create the parts.
This indicates that African countries may not be able to follow the same
models as China, South East Asian countries, and India for their industrial
development. This is the more serious issue than the ICT4D era. While the
issue was a gap between the people who have economic and social factors
Figure 9.2 Difficulty to adopt the traditional development model.

Source: Takeuchi (2017).
and the ones who do not in the ICT4D era, the issue becomes a difficulty of
national economic development level in the digital development era.
However, the trend to utilize new technologies cannot be stopped and
new technologies lessen the national border among markets. Large multina-
tional companies have already started an enclosure of newly emerging global
markets to dominate the markets by establishing their own platforms, regard-
less of market boundaries defined by the status of nations as developed or
developing. In the following section, how such an enclosure by huge private
companies will affect Africa is discussed after introducing three examples:
the IoT market, the Internet services, and sharing economy.
9.5 Platform Enclosure by Huge Companies

9.5.1 Enclosure of IoT Market
The amount of money spent by companies for ICT (hardware, software, and
services) throughout the world was 1,900 billion USD in 2014, and this figure
is estimated to increase by 6.9% annually until 2019 (Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications, Japan, 2016a). According to research by Cisco
Systems, the IoT market will amount to no less than 14,400 billion USD in
2023 while McKinsey estimates the market to be worth 2,700 to 6,200 billion
dollars (Bloerm, van Doorn, Duivestein, & van Ommeren, 2013). Though the
figure depends on the source of the research, it is obvious that the ICT global
market is huge enough to attract ICT companies.
Which company would emerge as the winner in this contest? Will this be
a company inventing stylish devices, releasing useful software, or providing
a useful service? A reasonable answer would be a company that dominates
a platform. Many companies in developed countries are competing against
each other to dominate platforms in several fields globally - such as telecom-
munications, manufacturing, industry, retail, and others, because dominant
players can make the rules of the game and gain the most benefits, while
others become the users paying to use the platform.
For example, regarding the IoT market, several large American multina-
tional companies such as GE, Cisco Systems, IBM, and Intel have under-
taken the initiative known as Industrial Internet to create new markets and
businesses by connecting every machine via the Internet and conducting high-
level data analysis. On the other hand, large German multinational companies
such as Bosch, Siemens, SAP, BMW, and ABB, with the support of the
German government, have also undertaken the similar initiative, Industry 4.0.
9.5 Platform Enclosure by Huge Companies 225
Compared to the Industrial Internet, this initiative puts greater priority

on manufacturing and aims to optimize a whole manufacturing sector by
connecting not only manufacturing processes including development, pro-
duction, and distribution, but also business partners and customers through
ICT. Since creating and controlling a platform requires huge budgets and col-
laboration among stakeholders, they take such initiatives as a team (Nomura
Research Institute, 2015). The result of this competition depends on which
team can spread out its own standard of IoT in the world. It also indicates
companies and governments in developed countries have already started
to enclose this newly emerging IoT market at the global level including
Africa.
9.5.2 Enclosure of the Internet Service

The well-known ICT companies may be Google and Facebook. Both com-
panies have made efforts to deliver Internet access to everyone in the
world.
In June 2013, Google announced “Project Loon” which aims to improve
the Internet access for two-thirds of the world population living without
Internet connection in rural and remote areas in developing countries. It
attempts to provide cheaper and faster Internet access globally (Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan, 2016a).
There are still 5 billion people unable to use the Internet (Next 5 billion)
and the majority of them are in developing countries (ibid). To enable such
people to have a smartphone in order to access the Internet, Google developed
a cheaper version of Android OS named Android One for local smartphone
makers in developing countries. In September 2014, the first Android One
smartphone was released by local makers in India, including Micromax,
Karbonn, and Spice, for about 105 USD. Then, Android One smartphones
began to be produced by local makers in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines,
and other developing countries (ibid).
On the other hand, in August 2013, Facebook established the organization
Internet.org for delivering Internet access to the next 5 billion people. In
addition to Facebook, Samsung, Ericsson, Media Tek Inc., Opera Software
ASA, Nokia, and Qualcomm are also members of this initiative. In July 2014,
as an activity of Internet.org, Facebook released mobile application named
Internet.org. This mobile application enables the use of 13 web services
including Facebook, Google search, Wikipedia, and others for free data
charge by people in Zambia in collaboration with Airtel (only Airtel users
can install it). By May 2015, this mobile application has spread to a total
12 countries, namely Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi in Africa,
Colombia, Guatemala, in South and Central America, and India, Philippines,
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan in Asia (ibid).
Both Google and Facebook have contributed to delivering the Internet
for everyone. These activities should be appreciated even though they are
based on a business strategy designed to strengthen their already-developed
platforms (search engine and SNS respectively) by enclosing the next 5
billion people.
Similar to Google and Facebook, recently, many companies have also
prioritized how to create and control a platform as a business strategy.
For instance, Playphone Inc., an American mobile social gaming network,
distributes software development kits for free to other game application
developers (ibid). If more games are developed based on distributed kit,
more games become available on Playphone’s mobile social gaming network,
strengthening Playphone as a platform for mobile social games. Another new
example is the mobile game “Pokemon Go” that is the most downloaded
mobile application in its first week of release in the history of the Apple
App Store (CNN, 2016). Pokemon stands for pocket monster from a Japanese
famous animation. This game encourages players to go out to look for
imaginary pocket monsters. Since so many people paly it, this game is also
becoming a platform. For instance, in Japan, because rare monsters and items
can be found in McDonald’s, some McDonald’s shops gained much more
customers than usual after the release of “Pokemon Go” (Nikkei, 2016c).
The game, as a platform, can control movement of players in real world. This
example indicates the expanding impact of a supreme ruler of ICT application
sector. A dominant player of ICT platforms is able to control customers even
in other sectors.
Furthermore, some companies try to expand their share to establish a plat-
form via consolidation takeovers. For example, in 2016, Alibaba, a Chinese
e-commerce giant, made its largest overseas investment with a $1 billion deal
for control of Lazada Group SA that is called Amazon.com in South East
Asia (Bloomberg, 2016).
9.5.3 Sharing Economy

To explain the expansion of businesses based on platforms, the sharing
economy is examined here. “Sharing economies allow individuals and groups
to make money from underused assets. In this way, physical assets are shared
9.5 Platform Enclosure by Huge Companies 227
as services. For example, a car owner may allow someone to rent out her
vehicle while she is not using it, or a condo owner may rent out his condo
while he’s on vacation” (PwC, 2015). The examples in this description are
best exemplified by well-known and successful services such as Uber, a
mobile application providing a car sharing service, and Airbnb, a website
providing a condo sharing service.
In 2015, Uber Technologies expanded their service into more than 60
countries and its aggregate market price exceeded 40 billion USD (Nomura
Research Institute, 2015). In January 2016, Yellow Cab, the largest local taxi
company in San Francisco, was forced to file bankruptcy because of Uber’s
dominance in taking taxi customers. Additionally, in June 2015, there was a
demonstration by taxi drivers to protest against Uber in France (BBC, 2015).
Since Uber is now popularized, other companies have started to consider Uber
as a platform for their business. For example, a user can order food delivery
using Uber.
In April 2015, Airbnb Inc. announced that the number of condos regis-
tered on Airbnb reached 1.5 million at 34,000 cities in 190 countries, and the
annual economic effect of Airbnb services in Madrid, Spain amounted to 323
million Euros in 2014 (Airbnb, 2015).
The sharing economy has significant impacts for developing countries
because these services can be provided globally from developed countries. As
in other countries where sharing-economy businesses have been introduced,
the introduction of similar services and businesses in African countries may
cause a disruption in current industries: demonstration by local taxi drivers
against a service like Uber may occur in African countries.
9.5.4 The Future of Africa (Worst-Case Scenario)

Based on the discussion so far, one can draw up a pessimistic scenario for
African countries. First, it is true that African countries cannot adopt the same
development model as Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnam,
and India because of new technologies. In addition, with the overflowing
technologies and enclosure of markets by huge companies from the developed
world, African people might continue to be passive consumers of services
provided by such companies for many years. For example, many local taxi
drivers may lose their job due to car sharing application like Uber from
developed countries, and similarly, more people may go to foreign-owned
restaurants and supermarkets instead of local shops due to mobile games like
“Pokemon Go”.
People can enjoy various useful services from the Western world as users.
However, there are not many paths for passive consumers to become active
producers. New technologies create new markets in the world. However, huge
companies and developed countries will take advantage of most of the profits
from emerging markets.
However, nobody would like to accept such a gloomy scenario in Africa.
So, what should be done to avoid such a pessimistic future? In the next
section, some proposals are presented to make a national ICT policy suitable
for the digital development era.
9.6 ICT Policy for the Digital Development Era

Of course, it is not realistic to forbid the use of ICT services provided by
Western companies. It is better to use useful and affordable services as a smart
user even though Western companies provide them. However, apart from that,
to avoid the gloomy scenario, African countries should have a strategic ICT
policy that promotes and creates their own business market where Western
companies cannot easily enter. The creation of their own business market
is an alternative to the traditional development model that is mentioned
in the subsection 3.4. There are already interesting examples of local and
intrinsic ICT application in African countries. For example, several mobile
applications made in Africa and have attracted a lot of African users. These
applications include, M-Pesa and Ushahidi in Kenya, e-soko, m-Pedigree, and
Afrinolly in Ghana and Nigeria, and Vula Mobile in South Africa Various
kinds of mobile applications have been produced and used in agriculture,
health, education, and entertainment. Toward the introduction of 5G in 2020,
it is necessary to establish stronger fundamentals for creating such a local,
intrinsic, and unique technology market. In this context, this section proposes
five recommendations for better ICT policy formulation: 1. Reconsidera-
tion of ICT policy intervention, 2. Encouragement of business ecosystem,
3. Improvement of human resources, 4. Promotion of local intrinsic market,
and 5. Coordination and cooperation with stakeholders.
9.6.1 Reconsideration of ICT Policy Intervention

To think about such a strategic ICT policy, at first, it is reasonable to clarify
where an ICT policy should intervene effectively in an ICT sector.
It is observed that the structure of an ICT sector changed before and
after the popularization of the Internet (Ministry of Internal Affairs and
9.6 ICT Policy for the Digital Development Era 229
Figure 9.3 Change of ICT Sector (Layer 3 becomes center of ICT sector).
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2016a).
Communications, Japan, 2016a). Figure 9.3 illustrates the change, adopting

Fransman’s New ICT Ecosystem (Fransman, 2010). Originally, in the sec-
tor, B-to-B business is mainly between network element makers (Layer 1)
and network operators (Layer 2) while B-to-C business is mainly between
network operators (Layer 2) and consumers or between network element
makers like mobile phone manufacturer (Layer 1) and consumers. However,
recently, B-to-B business mainly is between network operators (Layer 2) and
service providers of platform, contents, and application (Layer 3), or between
the service suppliers (Layer 3) and network element makers (Layer 1). This
change indicates that actors in the Layer 3 have acquired more power of
influence than before. For example, the attempt by Google and Facebook to
offer the Internet for everyone is considered as an activity not only in Layer 3,
but also in Layer 1. Likewise, real-time chatting applications like Viber and
WhatsApp are considered Layer 3, but their function is similar to Layer 2.
The mobile contents market is estimated to increase from about 39 billion
USD in 2014 to about 77 billion USD in 2018, and the app economy, which
is a market of smartphone applications, is expected to grow from 27.1 billion
USD in 2014 to 39.5 billion USD in 2018 (Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications, Japan, 2016a). Furthermore, the mobile e-commerce

market will also grow from about 200 billion USD in 2014 to about 628
billion USD in 2018. Along with the spread of smartphones and improvement
of mobile network speed by 5G in both developed and developing countries,
the mobile B-to-C market is expected to expand rapidly.
In this context, it is becoming more important for ICT policy to intervene
in Layer 3, although traditionally, ICT policy mostly tends to regulate net-
work operators (Layer 2) (Fransman, 2010). An effective ICT policy should
put greater emphasis on Layer 3 for the digital development era.
9.6.2 Encouragement of Business Ecosystem

Secondly, ICT policy should promote local entrepreneurship by encouraging
business incubation through supporting innovative initiatives such as Tech
Hub, Mobile Hub, and FabLab. Local companies have potential enough
to develop original content and applications if they receive support from
governments. Localized ICT services can be better for local users than those
from foreign countries. Even if they are not so much innovative and their
products are similar to existing ones in the developed countries, if it is
properly customized to fit local needs and reality, there is enough business
opportunity to succeed. For example, while the sharing economy is now
common such as Uber and Airbnb and spread all over the world, there might
be sharing needs (collective consumption) in Africa that foreign companies
cannot discover, such as the need to share tractors, trucks, cows, and sheep,
among others.
Additionally, there is a rationale to encourage local businesses to inno-
vate. As mentioned previously, it is more difficult for Africa to follow the
development model that Asia went through. Africa cannot rely solely on the
traditional development model. Therefore, it is necessary to discover a new
development model.
Though technology can take jobs away from humans, it can also create
new markets and new jobs. The mobile phone sector directly created 2 million
employments in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2014, and this is estimated to increase
to 2.7 million plus an additional 3.4 million indirectly employed by 2020
(GSMA, 2015c). Therefore, ICT policy should promote new market cre-
ation. In emerging economy countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Chile,
the government supports innovation by establishing enabling environments,
which means a set of interrelated conditions – such as legal, organizational,
fiscal, informational, political, and cultural – are available (Thindwa, 2001).
9.6 ICT Policy for the Digital Development Era 231
In particular, such governmental supports can be categorized in hard and soft

components. Hard components relate to providing spaces and facilities such
as business incubation centers, like Tech Hub, Mobile Hub, and FabLab. Soft
components include corporate tax exemptions, subsidies, business matching
including governmental organizations, and advisory services by profession-
als. Governments in some countries provide these supports as one package
for startup companies.
For example, in 2016, the Indian government launched Startup India, a
support program for local entrepreneurs. The support includes the establish-
ment of a Rs 10,000 crore fund and exemption of income taxes for three years
(The Economic Times, 2016). Additionally, Indian parliament approved an
intellectual property right policy in May 2016 for the first time. It aims to
encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the country (The Hindu, 2016).
In Chile, Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) has developed
an initiative named ST>RT-UP CHILI to provide entrepreneurs with support
including several types of grants from 14,500 USD up to 85,500 USD,
advisory services, and free co-working spaces (CORFO, 2014).
9.6.3 Improvement of Human Resources

Thirdly, an ICT policy should include a strategy to strengthen human resource
development. In the digital development era, it is necessary to develop
human resources such as engineers and scientists with high-level mathe-
matics and computer science knowledge. An industry-government-academia
collaboration should be promoted.
In April 2016, the Japanese government announced that a proposal to
add computer programming to the list of compulsory subjects in primary
education from 2020. According to Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications (2016b), there will be shortage of ICT engineers of
369,000 in 2020, and 789,000 in 2030. Similarly, between 2010 and 2020,
the American economy is expected to generate more than 122,300 ICT jobs
annually, while the number of graduates in bachelor-level computer science
degrees is only 40,000 annually (Microsoft, 2012). In this context, some
countries such as America, Singapore, Estonia, Finland, and UK, have started
computer programming education from primary level.
African countries should consider how ICT human resources can be
secured toward the near future when the wave of 5G and new technologies
enter their country.
9.6.4 Promotion of Local and Intrinsic Market (Original Market

in the Flattening World)
Fourthly, in the context of regional economic integration in Africa such as
SADC, ECOWAS, EAC, COMESSA, CEEAC, COMESA, AMU, and IGAD,
it is recommended that creation of ICT-related regional markets should be
considered as one of the agendas to promote local, intrinsic, and unique ICT
business.
For example, the EU takes an initiative named, ‘Connected Continent:
Building a Telecoms Single Market’ to create the European regional telecom-
munications market. In addition to this, the EU also tries to build the regional
ICT market, which is included in the comprehensive ICT strategy named,
‘The Digital Agenda for Europe’, announced in May 2010. This sort of
regional integration also contributes to strengthening cyber security that
requires international cooperation and coordination.
MENA (Middle East and North Africa) has already started to attract
venture capitalists because of several factors such as the high population
growth rate, large volume of younger generation in a whole population, more
than 150 million Internet users, and more than 80 million smartphone users
(Horinouchi, 2016).
Since the success of ICT service businesses is based on economies of
scale, there are more advantages for African countries to build regional
markets. Based on several existing regional economic communities, such
initiatives should be taken in order to provide a larger indigenous market for
African companies.
9.6.5 Coordination and Cooperation with Stakeholders

Though the risks to use new technology-enabled services by foreign com-
panies have been pointed out so far, it may depend on how to establish
relationships with them. For example, the mobile application m-Pedigree
was developed in Ghana, but with support from Hewlett-Packard (HP). HP
provides the hosting infrastructure for security and integrity systems through
its data center (m-Pedigree, 2010). Several companies such as Google and
Nokia hold business competitions for African entrepreneurs and play a role
of an incubator or an accelerator in some cases. What is important is how to
collaborate with such companies.
Donor partners are also important actors to implement ICT policies. For
instance, DFID, one of stakeholders that initiated M-Pesa, has supported
indigenous innovation for development through its funding scheme Mobile
9.7 Conclusion 233
for Development Utilities, in which entrepreneurs apply by submitting their

proposals, and if selected, receive funds to implement their innovative
projects (GSMA, 2016). Some other donor agencies including the World
Bank also have similar funding schemes. Therefore, government should be
aware of such funding schemes and strategically collaborate with both private
companies and donor partners.
Finally, now that ICT is not just a single sector but also crosscutting
issues, more stakeholders’ involvement is required to make and implement an
ICT policy than before. ICT policy is not only for ICT infrastructure and net-
work operation, but also for related broader industries, regional integration,
and international cyber security. Therefore, governments should establish a
meeting committee structure with all stakeholders to discuss ICT policy at a
national level.
9.7 Conclusion
Considering the SDGs slogan “Leave No One Behind,” it is important to
provide the Internet for all people in the developing world. Though this
chapter intentionally does not mention positive impacts, there are various
merits brought about by new technologies. In regards to the economic aspect,
5G-enabled fast and huge data transfer, IoT, and big data application can
improve productivity in industries such as agriculture, fishery, and manufac-
turing. Governments can provide better and more reliable service of public
infrastructure such as electricity, water, and transportation if the facilities can
be operated and maintained directly by well-skilled manufacturers through a
remote support system using IoT technology. 3D-printer-enabled on-demand
production provides opportunities for African countries to produce necessary
spare parts rapidly for repairing machineries without importing them from
foreign manufacturers. Moreover, since the number of FabLabs has been
increasing in Africa, in the near future, people will be able to produce
locally what they need by themselves. It leads to the empowerment of people,
too. In regards to the social aspect, new technologies can improve service
quality in the health and education sectors through m-health and m-learning
respectively. For example, a drone has already been used to deliver specimen
and results of HIV tests in rural areas in Malawi (BBC, 2016).
On the other hand, who gets the most benefit when the new technologies
come to Africa? Is it African people or is it the huge ICT companies and
people in developed countries? This chapter critically points out the negative
aspects of new technologies for development. Africa may be most vulnerable

for the risks indicated in this chapter.
Nevertheless, Africa may have the most potential to utilize new technolo-
gies for leapfrogging. There is a clear glimpse to clarify Africa’s capability
and potential. For example, M-Pesa and e-Soko were developed in Kenya
and Ghana respectively and spread to other African countries. Ushahidi was
developed in Kenya and spread globally. It was customized and used in
Japan as a platform named Sinsai.info to share disaster related information
after the Tohoku Pacific Ocean Earthquake in 2011. Similarly, there are
interesting mobile applications and services. Even if Hollywood movies are
easily watched on the Internet, many people download Afrinolly to watch
Nollywood.
If African countries have adequate ICT policies, which promote their own
indigenous businesses and establish their own business market, they will be
able to derive the benefits of the new technologies, not only as users but also
producers and innovators.
10
Rural Broadband in Developing Regions:
Alternative Research Agendas
for the 5G Era
Darı́o M. Goussal
School of Engineering, North-eastern University at Resistencia, Argentina
10.1 Introduction
The adoption and meaningful use of broadband technology in rural areas have
been increasingly invoked among the goals of most national ICT policies
and advanced networking infrastructure plans. Economic and social benefits
derived from geographical expansion of high quality broadband services out
of urban spots have been extensively reported in the literature, thereby attract-
ing the interest of governments, international institutions and researchers. On
a different track, the mobile communications ecosystem is shifting to a new
tech generation (5G) envisioned as a unified platform to support advanced
mass-market services worldwide. Synergy created by the convergence of
both ecosystems can mobilize investments and give birth to a bundle of
new devices, concepts, services and standards, likely involving considerable
amount of research over many years, in a wide range of disciplines.
In the developing world this is regarded as an opportunity to re-examine
their successive ICT policies and research priorities with respect to rural
broadband, vis-à-vis those from high-income countries to ascertain the rights
and wrongs, of their previous experiences, in order to leverage them and com-
pare their effects on socio-economic development. In addition, the emergence
of 5G imposes the checking for common needs and research topics in R&D
agendas of both types, in order to speed up outcomes and provide mutual
benefits from complementarity and international cooperation. On the view of
most players and institutions, ICT networks have been slow at reaching rural
235
236 Rural Broadband in Developing Regions: Alternative Research Agendas
areas due to inherent high costs and technical sophistications involved – a

perception arisen from the scarce impact of successive generations of once,
seemingly promising technologies and business models piloted worldwide.
The 5G era recalls multi-sector discussions held in 1983 during the ITUs
World Communications Year, analyzed by the Maitland Commission in its
historic report “The Missing Link”.
In the current century, Broadband became the mandatory keyword in
technical publications of several disciplines, most of them far away the
boundaries of network engineering and ICT applications. Among the driving
factors in such diversification, public funding initiatives to promote invest-
ment in rural infrastructure, new applications and pilot technologies - such
as national broadband plans in developed countries - have often included
multidisciplinary/multi-stakeholder R&D agendas with specific budget provi-
sions for long-term projects. In 2008, a partnership between a public research
agency (NASA) and a software provider (M2Mi) was set up to develop a fifth
generation telecommunications and networking system for IP services from
space with a built-in machine-to-machine intelligence layer (“5G”). Since
then, a number of similar joint-ventures announcing advanced projects with
identical label, -yet not focused on satellite constellations - were set up in
USA, Asia and the EU between R&D centers, industry providers and global
mobile operators. Among these proposals, there are sound differences in the
treatment and relative priority assigned to rural broadband and to developing
regions. Moreover, there is a silent but strong perception about the need of
major changes in the way that research on rural broadband for development
has been carried out so far, and the 5G wave can trigger such change.
The purpose of this chapter is twofold: first, a retrospective look to the
evolution of rural telecommunications and its relationship with technology
and development policies, including insights from a survey of qualified
witnesses and flashbacks. Second, a discussion on existing and alternative
research agendas for the 5G era, intended to cope more efficiently with long-
lasting needs of rural developing regions. The underlying idea is a different
approach, more interdisciplinary, holistic and neutral including uncovered,
overlooked or emerging topics and prompted by the 5G opportunity. Such
discussion is already underway in USA as a part of their national research
agenda (“Broadband 2021”), and may replicate in other countries and devel-
oping regions. The expected outcome facing the 5G era will be blend of native
and off-road threads and methods with more variables, new and larger sources
of data, wider scope of studies and more customized results.
10.2 Rural Flashbacks 237
Section 1
10.2 Rural Flashbacks
In 1880, in a paper submitted to the Society of Telegraph Engineers in
London, Edward Graves - at the time Engineer-in-Chief of the Postal Office
Telegraphs, wrote a retrospective assessment of the expansion of telegraphic
access in England in the period 1869–1879. Graves, although a well-qualified
witness speaking at a meeting of his professional organization, may have
been reflecting as well the corporate views of his employer-an incumbent,
public-sector EU provider-. Here is one of his views (Graves, 1880):
“But while the country was traversed by electric lines, it was not
covered by them: they were very widely severed in some districts.
Whole counties were dependent upon a single thread of commu-
nication, and towns far from a railway were in many instances
utterly ignored”. . . “The telegraph has penetrated to places where
commercial activity was rife, and whence profits could be drawn,
but it had not been utilized for the benefit of rural districts, nor had
it as a rule been established where commercial success could not
be reckoned upon In fact, the only chance of finding a telegraph
office in a village was in the event of its also being a railway
station where there was a telegraph available primarily for railway
purposes, or of a trunk road line passing through to some large
seat of commerce, upon which the company has established an
intermediate office”.
This suggested a comparison vis-à-vis with a voice from the exact opposite
corner: an American farmer.
In 1916, Frank Odell submitted a report about the conditions of rural tele-
phone service in European countries, arguing against the adoption of public
ownership of telephone service in USA. The author, at the time chairman of
a committee charged with that duty for the U.S. Farmers’ National Congress
of the United States - devoted more than a year in his investigation, based on
official documents of European governments. Here are some of his insights,
referred to geographical expansion policies (Odell, 1916):
“Remarkable as it may seem, the rural telephone service of those

countries which have public ownership is developed to so limit an
extent that it seems to be considered unworthy of notice in the
official reports of most of such countries. The city of Paris alone

has 32 per cent of all the telephones in France. Vienna has 37 per
cent of all telephones in Austria and Brussels has 37 per cent of all
telephones in Belgium”.
“Rural development has been strangled for the sake of immedi-
ate revenue, which is in itself insufficient to develop the districts
served on modern lines so that there is complaint all along the
line. . . Great Britain is the only exception to this rule. In this
country a special effort has been made for the eight years prior
to the present war to extend the telephone into the country dis-
tricts. . . (But) the extent to which this effort has succeeded is shown
by the total of such telephones in service at the date of the last
official report (March 31, 1915), namely, 2,265. This represents one
telephone for each 4,290 of British rural population in the United
Kingdom, as compared with a rural telephone development in the
United States of one for each ten of population – or one telephone
for each alternate farm family” (ibid).
According to an early study of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1922

the United States there were 13.500.000 telephones, 2.500.000 of which were
located on farms. The 1920 Census of Agriculture show that 38.9 per cent of
all farms or approximately two farms out of five had telephones, versus just 33
percent of town houses. The relative weight of rural users has deep variations
across states, according to the maturity of their telephone business and the
values of its vector of socioeconomic attributes. In Iowa, 5 farms every 6 had
telephones, while in South Carolina it was just 1 in 18 (Spasoff & Beardsley,
1922).
10.2.1 Rural 5G: The Truly Disruption?

The words “disruption” and “disruptive” abound in a many reports, industry
forecasts and journal articles, most of them referred to 5G technologies or
related innovations. For example in 2013 the McKinsey Institute identified a
dozen of technologies capable to trigger massive economic transformations
and “disruptions” at in the next years, worldwide. The potential economic
impact of these technologies was estimated between $14 trillion and $33
trillion a year in 2025, based on detailed cost/benefit assessment of the new
applications and their consumer surplus gains via e.g. better and cheaper
products, cleaner environment, and improved health and education, etc.
(Manyika, et al., 2013). The IEEE Computer Society conducted a survey

among a few thousands of its members, which have chosen 23 innovative
technologies that could change the industry by the year 2022, along with their
respective “drivers and disruptors”. (IEEE Computer Society, 2014).
More recently, the Digital Dividend Report released by World Bank
focuses on six digital technologies that promise to be far-reaching in their
effects on development. 5G, and/or Mobile Internet technologies are included
in all these rankings, and by far considered at the top of the list among
the high-impact candidates (World Bank, 2016). The academic literature has
envisaged technologies that could lead to both architectural and component
“disruptive” design changes: device-centric architectures, millimeter wave,
massive MIMO, smarter devices and support for machine-to-machine com-
munications (Boccardi, Heath, Lozano, Marzetta, & Popovski, 2013; Roh,
et al., 2014).
But according to Christensens theory of Disruptive Innovations “Disrup-
tion describes a process whereby a smaller company with fewer resources
can successfully challenge established incumbent businesses. Specifically, as
incumbents focus on improving their products and services for their most
demanding (and usually most profitable) customers, they exceed the needs of
some segments and ignore the needs of others. Entrants that prove disruptive
begin by successfully targeting those overlooked segments, gaining a foothold
by delivering more-suitable functionality – frequently at a lower price”
(Christensen, Raynor, & McDonald, 2015).
This is a different meaning, focused on business: start-up strategies, cus-
tomer segmentation, pricing, quality levels and entry. Translated to telecom-
munications services, the conventional wisdom is that an incumbent operator
will strive to have 5G supporting first the premium high quality applications
for its most profitable niches (dense urban areas?). But a prospective entrant,
aware of such obvious behavior, instead of striving to borrow for high,
risky CAPEX to play 5G in likely oversupplied top tiers stressed by fierce
competition, may target the large but unknown demand behind unserved rural
areas, disregarded for years.
Ronald Kline has noted that still in the 19th Century large incumbent
operators in USA found it too expensive to build telephone lines into sparsely
populated areas. As the costs per mile of pole line were largely fixed, the
investment per subscriber tended to be higher in rural areas. The Bell served
40 or more subscribers per mile in urban areas, but only two per mile of pole
line in rural areas. Coupled with strong demand for service in urban areas, it
naturally disregarded the rural areas in the early monopoly era (up to 1894).
In seeking out a technology, the rural market turned out to be more innovative
than manufacturers had predicted.
In 1900, Scientific American reported the use of the top wire of a barbed-
wire fence to construct an inexpensive fourteen-mile, five-party line between
three small towns. Galvanized wire provided continuity at breaks in the fence
and at highway and railroad crossings; the earth provided a “ground return,”
as with other one-wire systems. Ranchers and farmers built many of the first
telephone networks in USA using the ubiquitous barbed-wire fences, then
adapting the technology to their own needs. The farm journals understood
the rural conditions better. Their promoters advised farm people to buy their
own telephone equipment, build their own lines and create cooperatives to
bring phones to the countryside.
The differences between America and Europe in the speed of adoption
of rural access, as reported by Frank Odell in 1915, would have responded
also to that disruptive technology-barbed wire lines or “farmer lines”. A
(disruptive) rural telephone system was born: it had almost no operators, no
bills, and no long-distance charges (Kline, 2000).
Claude Fischer identifies the technological change in rural telephony
and its diffusion as a “revolution”, where modern technologies spread first
in the backward sectors: “A close examination of the telephone’s history
and presumably of any particular technology-suggests that technological
change is more complex. Rather than being part of an inevitable unfolding
of modernization, the development of telephony was contingent and discon-
tinuous. In the case of rural telephony, we see a diffusion that proceeded in
fits and starts, a process highly dependent on legal, business, and political
circumstances often having little to do directly with the technology itself, We
see a startling reversal of the commonplace that modern technologies spread
from the advanced sectors to the backward ones” (Fischer, 1987).
However, the enabler for the farmer lines was a disruptive innovation
rather than a disruptive technology, with roots in two American inventions,
not really related to “telecommunications” but rather to “rural”: Improvement
on Wire-Fences or simply “barbed wire”, patented by Joseph Glidden in
1874 as “means for preventing cattle from breaking through wire fences”
and the wire fence insulator “related to certain improvements in that class
of insulators which are employed for insulating and supporting wires such
for example as telephone and telegraph circuit wires” as patented by James
Patterson in 1895 (Figures 10.1 and 10.2).
Figure 10.1
Figure 10.2
10.2.2 The Third Century of an Unaccomplished

Development Effort
Since the early days of the telegraph and the radio in the XIX century,
extending the access and fruitful use of telecommunications services to rural
or remote regions has been a timeless concern of both industrialized and
developing countries, and a central matter in almost every international forum
and political agenda. But to the same extent, it was one of the most stubborn
challenges to the contributions of technology, engineering and socioeconomic
development studies. The net balance of initiatives tested across succes-
sive technological generations, regulatory alternatives and business models
looks disappointingly scarce. At some point in the XX century, this reality
suggested the need for more powerful and organized efforts, in two main
battlefronts: international cooperation and scientific research.
International cooperation is rooted on regional and global consensus
through institutional agreements. This is a clear role of the United Nations
and its branching agencies. In 2015, the International Telecommunications
Union celebrated its 150th anniversary. In Latin America, there is also another
150th anniversary: that of the installation of the first international submarine
link in 1866 between Punta Lara (Argentina) and Colonia del Sacramento
(Uruguay), by the Scotland company The River Plate Co. (Quesada, 1866).
Transmission technologies have evolved and now the inter-American
network is in the form of optical routes rounding and crossing the continent,
cellular mobile and of course, satellite constellations. But in fact, Latin
America is still far away the Pan-American ideal of “everyone connected
with everyone”. With the setting up of the US Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA) in 1957 and the subsequent growth of Internet connectivity
in America and the developing world, the issue of equal access to information
and its effective exercise in rural and remote areas became central. The
virtual world has brought unexpected opportunities for eliminating age-old
gaps and chronic backwardness in the development of the region, but has
also given rise to gross imbalances and inequities, gaps in regulation and
new threats of social exclusion or isolation. The digital divide is among
the classic paradoxes of post-modern civilization. More serious obstacles
than distance, geography or technology have arisen, along with the lack of
economic resources. Referring to this, in 1999 Vint Cerf pointed out that:
“The Internet is for everyone, but it won’t be until it becomes affordable, unre-
stricted, deregulated, user-friendly and accessible anywhere in any language
(Cerf, 1999)”.
10.2.3 Rural Broadband and Development

The definition of rural and remote areas is given by the report of ITU-D for
the Question 10-3/2 (21010-14) on “Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and
remote areas”: “Rural and remote areas are away from large cities or towns
and mostly not heavily populated in comparison with urban and suburban
areas. In some countries, such areas are defined as areas which have pop-
ulation less than 2500. Rural areas are depending on a lot of agricultural
activity and may be characterized by the followings (ITU-D, 2014):
• Geographic access problems due to distance, terrain, poor quality of
road/transport network and remoteness of some rural communities;
• Lack of or inadequate basic enabling infrastructure such as regular
electricity supply;
• Absence of adequate telecommunications infrastructure;
• High cost of physical access and equipment installation due to any
combination of geographic issues;
• Low geographic density of target population (i.e. small village pop-
ulations, in sparsely populated communities that are geographically
separated from one another);
• Low income, lack of disposable income and relative poverty of rural
population;
• High degrees of illiteracy in some rural areas;
• Low levels of awareness (if any) of the benefits of modern telecommuni-
cations leading to low current demand in some areas;
• Overall lack of funding (both public and private);
• Others.
In the third millennium, Broadband is regarded as the qualitative benchmark
for rural telecommunications services. One of the most relevant agreements
with specific work programs, studies and regional initiatives was approved
in 2014 by the 6th World Telecommunications Development Conference
(WTDC-14), under the landmark “Broadband for Sustainable Development”.
The approved document (“Dubai Declaration”) was the culmination of a
series of previous preparatory meetings in Moldova, Cambodia, Uruguay,
Ghana and Serbia. It establishes the guidelines for the ITU’s Development
Sector over the next four years on telecommunication and ICT development.
In the text, it is recognized that (ITU, 2014):
“g) Despite all the progress made during past years, the digital divide still
remains, and is compounded by disparities in access, use and skills between
and within countries, in particular between urban and rural areas, as well
as in the availability of accessible and affordable telecommunications/ICTs,

particularly for women, youth, children, indigenous people and persons with
disabilities, including age-related disabilities”.
“h) Developing telecommunication/ICT infrastructure in rural and remote
areas and ensuring the availability of affordable and accessible ICTs is a key
priority for many countries, for which effective, innovative and affordable
solutions need to be identified”.
Section 2 of the Dubai Action Plan of ITU’s World Telecommunications
Development Conference (WTDC-14), states that rural areas “continue to
be sparsely covered and are not considered as a viable business case by
telecommunication operators. . . recent growth of teledensity in urban areas,
fueled by mobile technology, has meant that the digital gap between rural and
urban areas has widened”.
The 19th Plenipotentiary Conference held in Busan (Korea), established
4 main goals and 17 targets related to the coverage of broadband accesses, as
follows:
• Worldwide: 55% of households should have access to the Internet by
2020
• 90% of the rural population should be covered by broadband services by
2020
• Developing countries: 50% of households should have access to the
Internet by 2020
• Least developed countries (LDC): 15% of households should have
access to the Internet by 2020
A number of approaches were tested along years towards supporting and
allocating, more efficiently, the funding for rural broadband services, as
summarized in Table 10.1.
Table 10.1 Strategies adopted by ITU member states to achieve the targets for rural and
remote areas (2015)
Universal service funds or equivalent schemes 33%
License conditions to roll out in rural-remote areas 18%
Subsidies 16%
Public-private partnerships (PPP) 12%
International aid 6%
Tax rebates 6%
Other 9%
Source: ITU-D Study Group 1 – 2015 Survey responses received from 42 member states (% including
multiple responses).
10.2.4 International Cooperation in 5G

5G research activities are closely related to ITU’s Radiocommunications
Sector (ITU-R), which is responsible to develop technical documents and
assess the spectrum requirements for the new generation of International
Mobile Telecommunications systems (IMT-2020). Since 2014, the Working
Party 5D of ITU-R (WP5D) has released Recommendations M-2320, M-
2083, M-2370 and M-2376, containing a framework for developing research
activities and building technical consensus in partnership with most of the
5G community. WP5D is in charge of the network-related development of
terrestrial components, overall radio system aspects of IMT systems and
liaison with ITU-T and ITU-D sectors concerned with standardization and
application of IMT-2020 in developing countries, respectively. ITU-R has
set up a timeline for such activities, whose results are supposed to fuel the
deliberations of the next World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019
(WRC-19).
ITU-R’s vision on IMT-2020 systems, although based on wide consul-
tation with the industry and mobile operators, is not intended to develop
specific technology standards. Recommendations such as the M-series seek
at identifying application scenarios for 5G networks: Enhanced Mobile
Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine-Type Communications (MTC) AND
Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC).
The professional, detailed technical work on mobile broadband standards
is an interactive, evolving process performed by study groups working in par-
allel under the umbrella of large “Organizational Partners”, such as the Third
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 3GPP is a collaborative agreement
among Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and related bodies for
the design of applicable technical specifications, standardization proposals
and reports regarding mobile systems. The roadmap of 5G has to match
the timeline of next Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-19), where the
additional spectrum needs for wireless broadband communications will be
analyzed. The proposed Radio Access Technologies (RAT) should achieve
new milestones in data rates, latency, reliability, spectrum efficiency and
energy savings, naturally under reasonable cost ranges.
10.2.5 The Long-Lasting Nature of Rural Telecommunications

Research
Rural telecommunications has proven to be a complex and everlasting field
of research. It encompasses a wide, multidisciplinary and multidimensional
body of knowledge with blurry internal boundaries, ranging from engineering

to economy, regulation, social sciences such as geography or sociology, and
even philosophy. The bulk of research on fixed or mobile broadband access
and development was performed by choosing sampling units with widely
available data sources (e.g. countries) and measures of at least, two main
dimensions: space and time. Often a third, implicit dimension: is included
“development”, yet in this case there is not a single, unequivocal quantity of
measurement. For the sake of simplicity, a sort of grayscale of “developed”
to “developing” regions is assumed, and proxy variables with comfortable
measures (e.g. GDP). Such oversimplified framework of analysis is weak and
inadequate to draw robust conclusions, but has served to shed some light on
the underlying dynamics of rural broadband ecosystems. It is worth bearing
in mind these constraints at the time of leveraging the outcomes of research.
In 1922, British engineer Frank Gill became president of the Institution
of Electrical Engineers. In his inaugural address, he proposed that Europe
should have a long-distance telephone service with the same quality to that
of the USA (Gill, 1922), highlighting the advantages of such proposal:
“It is false to imagine that we can obtain the benefits of the present knowledge
without taking the necessary steps to secure them. The benefits are:
• Great increase in the distance over which communication can be given,

• Great increase in the number of channels of communication, telephone
and telegraph, which can be provided by one pair of wires,
• Great increase in the number of circuits which can be placed in cable,
numbers such that it would be impossible to find space for them if all
circuits were to be open wires,
• Greatly reduced annual cost of circuits and improvement in quality of
speech,
• Increased security of service by reason of circuits being in the cable,
• Increased speed of service by reason of greater number of circuits”.
Moreover, Gill’s 1922 address also contained a clear recognition of the
importance of other issues beyond technology that required study from
the telecommunications community, namely standardization, innovation,
economic, managerial and business policies.
“It is not enough for the separate organizations to attempt to agree to a
code of rules to which each shall subscribe - such an attempt would only be to
court failure. The business is varying, flexible, and very much a living thing;
it demands intelligent and prompt treatment of its many variations . . .”
“Besides the engineering considerations which have been dealt with,

there are weighty reasons connected with the matters of circuit lay-out, busi-
ness policy, rates and operating, about which much might be said, showing
the impossibility of giving an adequate through service without unity of
control”.
In the years before the World Second War, the provision of telephone
service to rural areas was not absent in European technical reviews, although
the main research was on the art of speech transmission over long trunk
telephone circuits, including quality issues. In 1939, a paper from W. Radley,
at the time with the UK Post Office Engineering Department, stated:
“During the past few years there has also been a growing recogni-
tion by telephone engineers that the volume of the received sound is
not the true criterion of the excellence of a telephone conversation.
Increasing attention has been paid to the quality of the received
speech. This tendency has directed experimental work towards
the development of transmitters and receivers giving increased
fidelity of reproduction over a wider frequency range than hitherto.
Notable improvements have resulted in America, but they have not
yet been fully absorbed into the public service owing to adverse
economic conditions. While the experimental work leading to the
above developments has been taking place, the availability of the
telephone in rural areas in Great Britain has been increased by
the construction of small unattended automatic exchanges giving a
24-hour service” (Radley, 1939).
Concerning broadband and microwave transmission technologies, joint

research undertaken by equipment providers and service operators arose in
USA after the Second War. As an example, a paper presented before the
Franklin Institute in early 1946, reported their work as follows:
“The radio equipment has been developed by The Victor Division

of the Radio Corporation of America at Camden NJ, with Western
Union engineers cooperating during the past year of joint exper-
iments by offering suggestions, outlining requirements, in overall
testing, and in providing suitable arrangements at the terminals
including carrier circuits, housing and power. One of the most
important decisions in designing a radio relay system is the choice
of a modulation method. . . frequency modulation has been selected
as this type of modulation meets the requirements of a broadband
system much better than amplitude modulation. . . An examination

of the capabilities of the radio equipment shows that with presently
available tubes, a maximum repeater separation of approximately
55 miles is feasible (Millar J., 1946)”.
10.2.6 Horizontal and Vertical Research

Telecommunications development can be regarded as a sequential, dynamic
and iterative process with two underlying dimensions: Vertical (introducing
new or improved technologies/services in selected spots) and Horizontal
(extending them to new/unserved areas). To a certain extent, scientific
and technical research replicates such dynamics with varying degrees of
branching, feedback and (irregular) lags.
Applied research in the telecommunications and information industry
loosely follows the directions of the main investment streams. Behind each
research initiative in the ICT sector there are more or less explicit ties
to demands from investor groups and funding sources-providers, donors,
governments, investment banks and international institutions-. Since its pio-
neering days in the XIX Century, ICT research from either the industry or the
academia clearly concentrated in the vertical dimension, while the latter was
always lagging behind and relatively minimized. This was simply the logic,
conventional behavior pursued by research or working groups operating
within the classical top-down agendas.
In the second half of the 19th Century, investment in telecommunications
networks were almost 100% in a well-established technology (telegraphy),
even years after the advent of the new one (telephony). This is because the
concerned investment streams at the time - railway networks for domestic
commerce or shipping floats for international transportation, rather than
brilliant inventions required simple, cost-saving companion services intended
to be opportunistically deployed in parallel.
Moreover, regulation and standardization became needs just when the
critical mass of infrastructure (access) and the volume of traffic generated
(use) required a way to overcome delays and inefficiencies generated in
successive trans-border retransmissions of telegraph messages. The adoption
of common technology, equipment, accounting rules, tariffs, transmission
codes and the like, translated into successive regional agreements and the
First International Telegraph Conference in Paris (1865).
Standardization triggered further requirements for innovations and tech-
nical developments, which in turn generated advances not only in incum-
bent services and technologies (telegraphy) but also side discoveries and
additional developments such as tele printers, switching boards or loaded

lines. The ongoing 5G process is also a top-down agenda and not essen-
tially different in regard to investment streams, vertical/horizontal research
and iterative standardization behavior. The recursive nature of this process
suggests the existence of more or less formal feedback mechanisms in the
dynamics of telecommunications research. Horizontal initiatives do not seem
to have gathered sufficient interest among researchers, possibly due to the
blurry nature of its deliverables - i.e. clear-cut discoveries, patents or the
advent of new funding sources-. Nevertheless, the horizontal dimension is key
and inherent to every telecommunications systems. Distance is the barrier to
social and economic development to be tackled by ICT research, and where
new technologies, improved services or business models should emerge as
tangible benefits.
The permanent tradeoff between the two dimensions of ICT research,
which in turn leads to a sort of changing balance, reflects the proposed
updates for services and technologies as well as the envisaged spatial and
temporal diffusion patterns. Notwithstanding, such arrangement has a major
drawback: consumer groups do not have seats in discussions about ICT
research. Their participation, even when not neglected, is a rather weak,
occasional and indirect voice via e.g. public hearings and similar regulatory
instances. For example, in a recent proposed rulemaking for the use of
spectrum bands above 24 GHz (intended as suitable for next 5G mobile
services) the Federal Communications Commission gathered 52 registered
commenters, none of them from consumers or user groups (FCC, 2016).
10.2.7 Bottom-Up and Neutral Research

Whenever a truly disruption was deemed as necessary in the 5G broadband
ecosystem, Rural Broadband in Developing Regions is a good candidate and
deserves a place in the ongoing discussions. And whenever so happened in
the well-structured 5G timeline, a Bottom-up approach is a good candidate
for undertaking such task. Starting a bottom-up research agenda in rural
broadband requires an empathetic move: to take a seat in the demand side of
the problem. This is basically, understanding the nature of the needs of rural
customers and the characteristics of services required and just then, selecting
and building up the best arrangement of network elements to provide them
under these conditions. In short, this agenda should target distinctive demands
of rural users in developing regions. It should address uncovered, overlooked
or emerging topics, envisaged as necessary to cope with long-lasting unsolved
needs prompted by the 5G opportunity.
Those distinctive demands are inclusion and relevance to the needs

related to development. According to Tim Unwin, “one of the main reasons
why many ICT4D initiatives for development have failed is that they have
been excessively top-down, externally driven and supply led, with insuffi-
cient attention being paid to real development needs, however these are
defined. . . approaches that are purely demand driven are also often doomed
to fail, because local advocates have incomplete knowledge about the optimal
ICT-based solutions that could support their needs” (Unwin, 2009).
The need for more independent research on rural usage has been pointed
out in a recent report from the World Bank: “In general, supply-side indica-
tors (such as subscriptions or domain name registrations) are better reported
than demand-side use and applications data. The International Telecom-
munication Union has collected such data from its membership since the
19th century. But gaps in its database are increasing, as operators in more
competitive environments have become more wary of releasing commercially
sensitive data”. . . ”in developing countries they often lack the resources
to carry out household surveys or do not have the know-how to collect
policy-relevant data” (World Bank, 2016).
Section 2
10.3 Alternative Research Agendas
In April 2016, speaking at the Third Wireless World Research Forum Hud-
dle organized by Forum Europe in London, Philip Marnick - Director of
Spectrum at OFCOM- pointed out that:
“There is a perception of 5G as the solution to many problems,
and this is the challenge that members of the WWRF have to meet
or manage the expectations on 5G”. Philip also asked “how do
we ensure 5G services reach all users?” There is an expectation
that coverage will be everywhere and always available. In reality
this would be a feeling of ‘infinite capacity’ by users and devices.
However, ensuring that coverage reaches the rural populations and
does not only address ‘ultra-dense’ connectivity environments is a
key challenge” (WWRF, 2016).
The warning had been already addressed in the Vision Document for beyond
5G Research (2015), with an even stronger emphasis (5G Infrastructure
Association, 2015):
10.3 Alternative Research Agendas 251
“While internet access is close to be considered a human right by

the United Nations, 5G is emphatically becoming an urban system.
We expect that in a near future the public sector in many countries
will show a tighter engagement and that extreme rural coverage
will become a relevant technological challenge”.
The document abounds on this matter in 4.3 (“The Rural Challenge”) and 5.3
(“System Design for Extreme Rural Coverage”), as follows:
“. . . today’s traditional stakeholders, vendors, operators, service

providers do not address the issue with much emphasis. The recent
white paper by NGMN on 5G sketches many scenarios and use
cases for the urban citizens of the coming decades, but few pages
are dedicated to the rural coverage. Most worrying is that the
“Coverage Everywhere”-regime in the document is restricted to a
“service area”, those places where operators will choose to roll out
their networks. Target data rates are “indicative, depending upon
the 5G technology evolution to support these figures economically”
(ibid).
“Rural regions suffer the same fate in the recently closed Euro-
pean FP7 flagship project METIS where the larger vendors and
operators joined forces. Here rural 5G coverage is found under
Test Case 7 Blind Spots in a scenario with 100 users/vehicles per
squared kilometer. Disappointedly associated with a disclaimer
again: “high data rate coverage is expected at every location of
the service area even in remote rural areas” (ibid).
“In short, it appears unlikely that 5G systems will address these
issues seriously and to their full potential. Terrestrial 5G solutions
under development do not show a convincing evolution path to
connect rural areas to the Internet in the coming decade” (ibid).
In general, suitable technologies have been repeatedly and extensively

detailed in every publication about 5G or next IMT-2020 as labelled by the
ITU, and in documents issued by national or regional regulatory bodies or
international organizations. ITU’s M-2083 recommendation states in “6.3 -
Focus areas for further study”.
“The research forums and other external organizations wishing to con-
tribute to the future development of IMT-2020 are encouraged to focus
especially in the following key areas:
• Radio interface(s) and their interoperability,

• Access network related issues,
• Spectrum related issues,
• Traffic characteristics.”
The technologies most mentioned everywhere as relevant to 5G, also called
“disruptive” or “critical” issues are: Millimeter wave spectrum, Massive
MIMO, Device-centric architectures, Smart devices, M2M and Software
defined network. There are also mixed proposals and - or combinations with
those aforementioned, and a variety of surveys and reviews (Argarwal, Perry,
Long, & Labrigue, 2015; Gupta & Kumar, 2015; Mitra & Agrawal, 2015).
In the developing world there is a silent but strong perception about
the need of major changes in the way that research on rural broadband
and development has been carried out so far, and at the same time a hope
on the 5G era as a window of opportunity to make such changes real.
Several authors, reports and white papers have proposed agendas and research
priorities containing rural aspects of 5G, with different priorities given to
developing regions: (see 5G Infrastructure Association, 2015; Brown, Fitch,
Owen, Saunders, & Temple, 2016; NGMN Alliance, 2015; Onireti, Qadir, &
Sathiaseelan, 2016; Suryanegara, 2016) among others.
The studies on the deployment of 5G systems in rural areas, their succes-
sive adoption and meaningful use require an inter-related, holistic framework
supported by clear policies and strong commitments -including budget-. As
clearly proven, this will not come from just natural accumulation of outputs
from isolated black boxes. A wider vision is necessary to build effective
consensus on more pluralistic, interactive and neutral research programs with
a different arrangement of inputs -in other words, an alternative research
agenda-. In order to take advantage of the worldwide mobilization of efforts
triggered by the 5G roadmap, there are five main recommendations for the
eventual undertaking of such move and relevant to developing regions:
• More interdisciplinary, holistic and neutral agendas,
• Wider scope of studies including micro-level and long term backward
analysis,
• New and larger sources of data with ad-hoc storage and processing
methods,
• More customized results based on fieldwork and follow-up feedback,
• Long-term strategic plans with provisions for off-road topics and unex-
pected results.
Along time there were several attempts to setting up an alternative research
template of this type, but either the insufficient consensus on common
priorities, the weak commitment of their stakeholders or the excessive rigidity

of budget and institutional rules have precluded such achievement at the
global level. In the current Century, the advent of national broadband policies
with specific provisions for research to some extent has changed the vision.
For example, the U.S. National Broadband Plan (2009) had a specific chapter
(“Research and Development”) containing requirements closely related to the
aforementioned:
*NSF, FCC . . . etc., (the concerned government agencies) should
establish an open, multi-location, interdisciplinary research center
for broadband, addressing technology, policy and economics.)
*Should consider funding a wireless testbed for promoting, the
science behind the spectrum, policymaking and, a testbed for eval-
uating the network security needed to provide a secure broadband
infrastructure.
*Should start a rulemaking process to establish more flexible exper-
imental licensing rules for spectrum and facilitate the use of this
spectrum by researchers.
*Some high-risk, high-return R&D initiatives or projects requiring
sustained, long-term collaboration across highly diverse fields may
be underfunded by the private sector (public) research funding
should close any potential gaps due to private sector risk-reward
expectations or inability to coordinate and cooperate.
Also the U.S. regulatory body - Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) - issued a publication “Research Recommendations for the Broadband
Taskforce” in the same year with inputs from the Broadband Research Public
Notice and Workshop, identified the following research priorities:
*..Increasing price/performance . . . towards making high-speed
broadband more affordable. Closing gaps require research in
networking, materials science, optics, semiconductors, electromag-
netism, construction engineering and other fields.
*Facilitate multi-disciplinary research to support national pur-
poses on, accessibility, health care, energy management, education
and public safety networks.
*Promote social science and economic research on broadband
adoption and usage. Lack of adoption is a larger barrier to
universal broadband than lack of availability.
*Improved trustworthiness, security and reliability of the networks,

the devices that attach to them and the software and applications
they support.
*Broadband network measurement and management, new ser-
vice models, new architectures and operational breakthroughs in
emerging issue areas like cloud computing, content distribution
networks, content-entered networks, network virtualization, social
applications and online personal content.
*Creating new technologies often involves interdisciplinary collab-
oration. In networking, for example, scientists in fields such as
dynamic spectrum access, robust wireless networking and appli-
cations might need to work together to develop breakthrough
solutions.
*Researchers should include not only technologists such as engi-
neers, computer scientists, and physicists, but also economists
and other social scientists. (Spectrum policy making): how best
to establish technical rules for exclusive spectrum, unlicensed
spectrum and shared spectrum. . .
*Wireless testbeds can permit empirical assessment of radio sys-
tems and the complex interactions of spectrum users, which are
nearly impossible to assess through simulation or analytical meth-
ods. As a result, they can reveal a great deal about how sharing
can best be facilitated; how spectrum rights might be established;
and the impact of dynamic spectrum access radios on existing and
future communications services. . .
*Identify underutilized spectrum that may be suitable for conduct-
ing research activities. . . more flexible experimental licensing rules
for spectrum and facilitate the use by researchers.
A pluralistic consultation forum, the Broadband Opportunity Council (BOC)
was created in 2015 to gather inputs for the improvement of “data collection,
analysis and research on broadband”, after the National Science Foundation
(NSF) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion (NTIA) undertook to develop a national research agenda (“Broadband
2021”). In July 2016, a workshop of the BOC gathered some 60 experts drawn
from academia and the government. Again, some of their findings reinforce
the coincidence with requirements a) to e), as summarized in a recent report
(Jayakar, Maitland, Peha, Strover, & Bauer, 2016).
10.3.1 Research Policies: Feedback from The Missing Link?

In 2002, in a paper reviewing technical and policy advances in rural telecom-
munications occurred since the publication of the report of the Independent
Commission on Telecommunications and Development “The Missing Link”
(1984) by the International Telecommunications Union, Westerveld et al.
(2002) concluded:
“Providing access to telecommunications services in rural areas

continues to challenge policy makers and telecommunication oper-
ators alike. The problem is complex and solutions require an under-
standing of the technical issues as well as the policy instruments
used to create incentives for rural service providers”. . .
“In evaluations of rural (telephony) systems it is usually assumed
that technology plays an important role. Indeed, the long distances
to the nearest “connection” point of the urban telecommunication
networks create special requirements for appropriate technology
that can be operated profitably. Despite the significance of tech-
nology for the development of rural networks, it must be seen as
just one of many links, using a chain metaphor, contributing to the
success of a complex system”.
“In any particular rural application the choice of technology
depends very much on the local conditions. Subscriber density,
clustering possibilities, distances to nearest national connection
point and the characteristics of the terrain have to be considered.
Also local technical expertise and adoption capacity have to be
taken into account”
“Providing a “technological solution” to the rural telecommunica-
tions problem is one thing. To provide a “working and sustainable
solution” is something else. An obvious negative consequence of a
lack of system availability is a loss of revenues. However, little is
said about the demotivating effect of breakdown of service after a
few months, particularly when it takes several months for service
to be restored. In these situations it is difficult to persuade people
to use a system and even further to pay for that use”.
“An integral component of reliability is a proper maintenance
strategy, which has to be adopted from the beginning of the design
of a rural network. This includes use of a remote monitoring and
maintenance center. And also the reservation of sufficient funds for

the acquisition of spare parts and logistics for the getting these
parts at the right time, in the right place, by the right technician”.
In supporting their view, the authors reminded the ITU Telecom Africa 2001
Policy Development Forum, where in response to the question: “What is the
most important barrier to the provision of access to all Africans?” Participants
ranked four possible reasons namely: (Westerveld & Maitland, 2002)
• Lack of funding 47%
• Regulation 23%
• Lack of public/private cooperation 18%
• Inadequate technology 12%
Taking into account the different research visions and proposals, we have
identified a sample of alternative research areas potentially relevant for rural
5G in developing countries, but also in the industrialized world. Some of
them are directly related to “native” 5G technologies, others have a rather
indirect relationship and others are uncovered, overlooked or emerging topics,
including methodology and data resources (Table 10.2)
The ITU has estimated that energy represents 50% of the total operating
expenses in a network. Vendors such as Nokia estimated that in mature
markets, energy accounts for 10–15% of total network operating expenses
Table 10.2 Proposed rural 5G research areas

Proposed Rural 5G
Research Areas Sample References (*)
Bottom-up feasibility Williams (2016)1 , Van der Wee et al (2015)2 , Whitacre et al.
(2014)3 , Kawade and Nekovee (2012)4 , Goussal (1998)5
1 Williams, I. (2016) Co-Financing of Bottom-Up Approaches towards Broadband Infrastructure
Development: A New Opportunity for Universal Service Funding. Journal of NBICT, 1, 39–64.
2 Van der Wee, M., Verbrugge, S., Sadowski, B., Driesse, M; Pickavet, M. (2015) Identifying and
quantifying the indirect benefits of broadband networks for e-government and e-business: A bottom-up
approach. Telecommunications Policy 39, 176–191.
3 Whitacre, B., Gallardo, R. & Strover, S. (2014) Broadband’s contribution to economic growth in rural
areas: moving towards a causal relationship Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 38 (11), 1011–1023.
4 Kawade S. and Nekovee, M. (2012) Is wireless broadband provision to rural communities in TV
whitespaces viable? A UK case study and analysis. IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic
Spectrum Access Networks, Bellevue, WA, pp. 461–466.
5 Goussal, D. (1998). Rural telecentres: Impact-driven design and bottom-up feasibility criterion
Proceedings, ITU Seminar on Multipurpose Community Telecentres. International Telecommunications

Union. Budapest, Hungary.
Table 10.2 Continued

Cost Engineering Schneir & Xiong (2016)6 , Gatherer et al, 20167 ; FCC (2015)8 ,
Ovando et al. (2015)9 , Nicolijk & Janevski (2014)10
Energy-driven design Ilyas et al. (2016)11 , Foche-Perez et al. (2016)12 , Coomonte et
al. (2013)13 , Arnold et al. (2010)14
Lifecycle Chen et al. (2016)15 , Cruz & Hisiger (1989)16
management Cheevaprawatdomrong and Smith (2003)17 ,
Kehr & Nystrom (2000)18 ,
(Continued)
6 Schneir, J. & Xiong, Y. (2016) A cost study of fixed broadband access networks for rural areas.
Telecommunications Policy 40 (8).
7 Gatherer, A; Zhu, H. & Erez, M (2016) Baseband architectures to support wireless cellular infrastructure:
History and future evolution In: Wilson, Wilson & Biglieri (Eds) Transmission Techniques for Digital
Communications, Ch. 18 – Academic Press Library in Mobile and Wireless Communications, 1st Ed.
Elsevier.
8 FCC (2015) Alternative Connect America Cost Model Overview. Federal Communications Commission,
USA.
9 Ovando, C; Perez, J. & Moral, A. (2015) LTE techno-economic assessment: The case of rural areas in
Spain. Telecommunications Policy 39 (3–4) 269–283

10 Nicolijk, V & Janevski, T. (2014) Applicable Cost Modeling of LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.11ac
based Heterogeneous Wireless Access Networks. Proc. 10th Advanced International Conference on
Telecommunications (AICT 2014), IARIA-Paris, France.
11 Ilyas, M. S., Qazi, I. A., Rassool, B., & Uzmi, Z. A. (2016) Low-Carb: A practical scheme for
improving energy efficiency in cellular networks. Computer Communications, 94, 72–84.

12 Foche-Pérez, I., Simó, R.J., Prieto, I., Morgado, E. & Martı́nez-Fernández, A. (2016) A dual
IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15–4 network architecture for energy-efficient communications with
low-demanding applications. Ad Hoc Networks 37, 337–353.
13 Coomonte, R., Feijóo, C, Ramos, S. & Gómez-Barroso, J. (2013) How much energy will your NGN
consume? A model for energy consumption in next generation access networks: The case of Spain.
Telecommunications Policy 37, 981–1003.
14 Arnold, O., Richter, F., Fettweis, G., & Blume, O. (2010). Power consumption modeling of different
base station types in heterogeneous cellular networks. Proceedings, IEEE Future Network and Mobile
Summit. Florence, Italy (June).
15 Chen, H., Yu, J., & Wakeland, W. (2016) Generating technology development paths to the desired
future through system dynamics modeling and simulation. Futures 81, 81–97.
16 Cruz, G. C., Hisiger, R. S., & Wolff, R. S. (1989) Strategic telecommunications networks planning
in the context of emerging technologies, architectures, and services. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in
Communications, 7 (8), 1198–1206.
17 Cheevaprawatdomrong, T. & Smith, Robert L. (2003) A paradox in equipment replacement under
technological improvement. Operations Research Letters 31, pp. 77–82.

18 Kehr, W. R., & Nystrom, H. E. (2000) Strategy planning for technological discontinuities in a changing
regulatory environment Proc. 2000 IEEE Engineering Management Society. Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (568–574).
Table 10.2 Continued

Proposed Rural 5G
Research Areas Sample References (*)
Yoon et al. (2005)19 , Ansari et al. (2009)20 , Martinelli (2010)21 ,
Schraven et al. (2015)22 , Jeong et al. (2016)23
Spectrum regulation Bernthal et al. (2007)24 ; Freyens and Loney (2013)25 , Sridhar
WRAN and cognitive et al. (2013)26 , Kliks et al. (2015)27 , Basaure (2016)28
radios
Source: Goussal (2017).
19 Yoon, S. H., Yoon, M. G., & Lee, J. (2005) On selecting a technology evolution path for broadband
access networks. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 72 (4), 449–470.
20 Ansari, S., & Garud, R. (2009) Inter-generational transitions in socio-technical systems: The case of
mobile communications. Research Policy, 38 (2), 382–392.

21 Martinelli, A. (2010). The dynamics of technological discontinuities: a patent citation network
analysis of telecommunication switches. PhD. Thesis dissertation, Technische Universiteit. Eindhoven,

Netherlands.
22 Schraven, D. F., Hartmann, A., & Dewulf, G. P. (2015). Research orientations towards the
‘management’ of infrastructure assets: an intellectual structure approach. Structure and infrastructure

engineering, 11 (2), 73–96.
23 Jeong, Y., Park, I., & Yoon, B. (2016). Forecasting technology substitution based on hazard function.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 104, 259–272.

24 Bernthal, J. B., Brown, T. X., Hatfield, D. N., Sicker, D. C., Tenhula, P. A., & Weiser, P. J. (2007)
Trends and precedents favoring a regulatory embrace of smart radio technologies Proc. 2007 2nd IEEE
International Symposium on New Frontiers in Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN 2007)
IEEE Communications Society. Dublin, Ireland. pp. 633–648.
25 Freyens, B. P., & Loney, M. (2013). Emerging issues in white space regulation. Telecommunications
Policy, Vol. 37 (2), 208–218.

26 Sridhar, V., Casey, T., and Hämmäinen, H. (2013) Flexible Spectrum Management for Mobile
Broadband Services: How does it vary across Advanced and Emerging Markets? Telecommunications
Policy, Vol. 37, Special Issue on Cognitive Radio, 178–191.
27 Kliks, A., Holland, O., Basaure, A., & Matinmikko, M. (2015) Spectrum and license flexibility for 5G
networks. IEEE Communications Magazine Vol. 53 (7), 42–49.

28 Basaure, A. (2016) Regulation for dynamic spectrum management (PhD. Thesis) Doctoral Dissertations
127/2016 – School of Electrical Engineering. Aalto University Publication Series - Helsinki, Finland.
(OPEX), but in developing markets with high number of off-grid sites, or

where power quality is poor, energy may count for over 50% of total OPEX.
Moreover, electricity consumption grows yearly between 15% and 35%, and
on the other hand just 15% of the total consumption in the network is used
for conveying bits (Nokia Networks, 2008; International Telecommunications
Union, 2015).
According to Arnold et al. (2010), the main contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions originates in radio access equipment at base stations. Therefore,
there are two ways to reduce energy waste: by energy-aware devices at the
base station, and by energy-aware network deployment strategies, effectively
minimizing idle capacity of base stations (Arnold, Richter, Fettweis, &
Blume, 2010).
But consumption in the radio section of mobile base stations is related
to e.g. signaling overheads, link budget and spectral efficiency, which in turn
call for improved devices and technologies required to raise cell efficiency
in 5G nets (e.g. MU-MIMO/beamforming techniques with large antenna
arrays, low noise high sensitivity receivers, higher order modulation schema,
cell dormancy modes etc.). Furthermore, long RF links with low subscriber
densities, typical in rural areas stresses the need for improved power effi-
ciency including battery duration. Power savings obtained via careful RF and
network layout design, will further impact on overall reductions in CAPEX
and OPEX and improved reliability of database equipment. Engineering the
long technology chain to gain power efficiency is therefore, a matter of further
research on several fields and disciplines (Energy-driven design).
10.3.1.1 Lifecycle management and cost engineering

Lifecycle management is a classical area of research in Industrial Economics
and Decision Theory, related to strategic planning of telecommunications net-
works, and a powerful tool for efficient allocation of resources. Networks are
evolving systems composed of a mix of assets (hardware and software) of dif-
ferent technology generations, capacities and reliability/maintenance profile
-MTTR, MTBF, availability-, variously impacting in OPEX, CAPEX and
expansion decisions under technology refreshment cycles (Peacock, 2015).
Mobile operators are well aware on the implications of e.g. the migration
of whole networks with millions of subscribers, from 4G to 5G. Not is the
case of small rural providers and developing regions, as indicated in 1984 in
the Maitland Report (Maitland, 1984):
“Manufacturers have been known not only to discontinue produc-

tion of an older system, but also to stop manufacturing the spare
part. . . We are aware that manufacturers generally attempt to pro-
duce sufficient spares to last a number of years. Sometimes however
the operator in the developing country may be forced to replace
equipment which is still giving adequate service simply because
the necessary spare parts cannot be obtained. . . A manufacturer
may decide to stop making an older system because the market for
it has largely disappeared and it would not pay him to continue
production even though the system is still used in the network of a

developing country. As a result developing countries may be forced
to create new exchanges or systems using the latest designs at
considerable extra cost when they would have preferred to extend
their existing installations with the older equipment”.
Research on Cost Engineering implies a more general technical and economic

framework, encompassing not only energy efficiency or lifecycle manage-
ment. Strategic planning issues properly harmonized in scope, space and time
For example, the right blend of optical and wireless infrastructure in rural
backhaul options, the location and spacing of base stations or the choices
among licensed/unlicensed bands, and the design of advanced service models
such as on site rural caching or rural cloud caching.
Spectrum regulation is a key research area, as highlighted recently in the
Broadband 2021 report. There are many aspects impacting on future rural
5G networks, of both technical and economic nature. The struggle for more
sub - GHz bands, digital dividend assets and Dynamic Spectrum assignment
(DSA) will last for years and a number of studies have to be developed to
ascertain e.g. the occupation status in TVWS and the bands above 24 GHz,
including the 71–76 GHz, apparently useless for rural services but recently
studied in field strength measurement campaigns in USA.
A multidisciplinary, holistic research approach on rural 5G should keep
track of the fabric of inter-relations between fields of study, which rapidly
surpasses the technological boundaries. For example, the study on Usage
Trends in the case of envisaged 5G applications and services suitable for rural
areas is of the utmost importance for every technical and economic decision
and customer management strategies. This entails forecasting on diffusion
and adoption rates, detailed usage behavior, relevant content, desired Quality
of Experience and willingness to pay among other aspects. Rural IoT applica-
tions such as Smart Farming and rural Telehealth based on next 5G broadband
capabilities will require of course, appropriate services models.
Finally, an alternative research agenda for rural broadband should focus
on the two extreme points of the 5G chain: the provider and the customer.
Devising suitable provision models for rural 5G will likely be the most
challenging thread among alternative agendas and to some extent, the least
explored field so far in empirical studies. In Argentina the oldest licensed
telecommunications provider type, still alive and currently operating rural
broadband networks is that of Utility Cooperatives.
10.3.1.2 Utility cooperatives

Utility cooperatives are providers that bring public services to their members.
Recent research has shown that cooperatives are important in cases where
investments are not undertaken by investor-owned firms due to the risk
and uncertainty surrounding the financing of this investment (Rey & Tirole,
2007).
Around 1880, in the Nordic countries Sweden and Norway small
providers dominated the telephone industry, because local communities in
towns and villages took it upon themselves to organize the service. In Norway
in 1895, there were 108 registered private networks, according to the Norwe-
gian National Telephone Association (Norsk Landstelefonforening). Most of
them were small joint-stock companies owned by local subscribers; others,
mutual associations and others, hybrid mutuals (joint stock mutuals), issuing
shares to raise the initial capital necessary for switching units and central
offices. In 1900, Norway’s teledensity tripled those from leading industrial
economies Germany and the UK (Rinde, 2001).
In 1910, British engineer and writer Herbert Laws Webb in his book “The
development of telephone in Europe” wrote: (Webbs, 1910).
“Many of the early Scandinavian telephone companies were small

co-operative companies, in which the users were the principal
shareholders. Numerous co-operative companies still exist in Nor-
way and Denmark, but in Sweden they have all been absorbed
either by the state telephone system of its great rival, the Stockholm
Telephone Company. In the co-operative systems it has been usual
for the subscribers to build and equip their own lines, generally
using, for the sake of cheapness, iron wire and second hand instru-
ments, and to pay a small annual rate for exchange service and
maintenance. In this way an extremely cheap telephone service has
been obtained; the benefits of telephonic communication have been
extended even to the most rural and sparsely settled parts, and
the “telephone habit” has entered into the life of the Scandinavian
peoples to an extent unapproached in other Continental countries”.
Rural utility cooperatives in USA (also called mutual cooperatives) got birth
in the 1890s, in areas where investor-owned utilities neglected to provide
the service to rural areas. In much similar way as occurred in Norway, they
were consumer-owned firms organized by their customers/members in two
different types of mutual associations: Pure mutuals, usually better adapted
for small rural networks, and Stock mutuals. In 1922, in an early survey of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture focusing a sample of 252 rural telephone
companies, the leading group was stock mutuals (55%), then pure mutuals
(27%), then stock commercial companies (15%) and the rest 3% private
concerns.
In 1935, with the creation of a specialized funding agency - the Rural
Electrification Administration (REA), a steady growth started in cooperative
utilities of the electric sector. Each one was typically governed by a board
of directors elected from the ranks of its residential customers, which estab-
lished policies, rates and hired a manager to conduct the ordinary business.
Only two restrictions were placed on their formation: they could not compete
directly with other utilities, and their members could not live in areas of
more than 1500 inhabitants, or served by other utilities. This was a successful
expansion policy: by the end of 1938, -after just two years - there were 350
cooperative projects funded by REA in 45 states, delivering electricity to 1.5
million farms (Spasoff & Beardsley, 1922).
In Argentina, the first cooperative society operating a telephone network
was founded by David Atwell in 1887. After the approval of the Code of
Commerce in 1889 and the further setting up of specific law regulations,
cooperatives are exclusively non-profit societies. Since 1926 they have been
delivering electricity, telecommunications, clean water and other networked
services, currently in over 600 locations. Small telephone cooperatives are
typically, rural providers. As locally headquartered firms, their business
ventures are customized, nimble and open to social expectancies, with high
responsiveness to technological changes and to emerging IT services, such as
broadband. The first digital local switch in Argentina (a NEAX-61 device)
was installed in 1971 in the town of Pinamar, still during the state monopoly
era, not by the incumbent, but by a local cooperative. After the regulatory
relief of the entry regime for cooperatives in 1988, more than 350 cooper-
atives obtained exclusive licenses, serving an estimated market of 150,000
lines.
One of the Regional Initiatives for the Americas, approved in Dubai at
the 6th World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC-14) is
“Development of broadband access and adoption of broadband”. It aims
at providing assistance to member states in the development of policies to
increase access and uptake. The expected results include support to non-profit
cooperatives that provide services in underserved rural and suburban areas.
In USA, there are some 900 cooperatives providing telecommunications in
more than 40% of its territory, 73% of them delivering video and 66%,
wireless services. In 2014, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
announced plans to fund innovative rural broadband deployments in the order

of million-dollar and received more than 1,000 applications.
In Argentina, there is not a public fund of this type, but by mid-
2016 the communications regulatory body (ENACOM) had given some
300 licenses for the provision of broadband services to utility cooperatives
or their federations. Not only “native telecommunications” cooperatives
working in rural areas since 1958 hold such licenses; now their older sis-
ters, electric and water utilities started reinventing themselves as broadband
providers. Operating in the scarcity of cost-conscious projects, limited expen-
ditures and tariffs, they use to excel in the pioneering introduction of latest
technologies and advanced services, therefore it is worth regarding them
as qualified candidates to pioneer the application of next (selected) 5G
services.
The low-interest loans of REA to cooperative utilities extended in 1949
to telephony, then to video services and lately, to broadband services. In
1971 the Federal government jointly with the telephone cooperatives formed
the Rural Telephone Bank, as a way to provide supplementary loans to the
direct funding provided by REA. In the late 1990s, electric cooperatives
controlled near half of the US power lines and started installing their own
fiber optical lines, initially for smart grid applications, but later to deliver
broadband access to their members at little additional cost (Hatfield, 1993;
Malone, 2001; Worstell, 2002).
Almost identical process replicated in Argentina, where electric cooper-
atives began installing optical cables in the late 1990s, initially to replace
old power line carrier or radio control systems and then, leasing idle strands
of dark fiber as a way to defray costs. In other cases, they partnered them-
selves and/or with telephone cooperatives, or state-owned electric utilities
to build, share or lease dark fiber optical medium-haul backbones via long-
term IRUs, then bypassing the incumbent operators as backbone provider.
Such arrangement was successfully piloted around 2008 in Argentina, when
a group of cooperatives and a public electric utility agreed to build a 340-Km-
span optical backbone over HV lines to connect themselves. Often, projects
of this kind originate in unacceptable location of the nearest interconnection
point (IXC) and/or capacity/prices offered by interconnection agreements. In
other cases, the existing broadband backbone may not be the most efficient
for serving actual known demand, since it was constructed incrementally
over time as demand grew, rather than being configured optimally for
the current number and location of customers (Melody, 1993; Dippon &
Train, 2000).
10.3.1.3 Rural demand

Demand studies in rural areas are uncommon, often unfocused and rare
with respect to data from field studies. As in every networked service, rural
demand assessment requires a conditional, two-step model (involving access
and use). For example, adoption behavior has mainly focused on the func-
tional and tangible aspects of technology, even when the consumption behav-
ior of user groups has proven to be more emotional than rational/economical.
Considerable effort will be needed before the deployment of 5G infras-
tructure for the identification and assessment of usage profiles and specific
variables intervening. Critical research in this matter will include minimum
adoption rates along payback periods, or willingness-to-pay for prospective
adopters and non-adopters (Peronard & Fleming, 2011; Carare, Mc Govern,
Noriega, & Schwarz, 2015).
An understudied issue in broadband access demand is that of un-adopters
in developing regions, i.e. those ones who once had Internet connectivity but
no longer do. In USA, this group entails 12% of all non-adopters (2013). As
reasons for disconnecting, and unlike the “never-adopters”, un-adopters cite:
cost, the possibility to get access to the Internet elsewhere, and the inadequacy
of their computer gear. To reach USA un-adopters, subsidized access should
be warranted for households with incomes up to $ 40,000, and that programs
on broadband awareness may be most effectively targeted towards retirees,
according to recent estimations. These results are reinforced with data from
the FCC’s Low-Income Broadband Pilot Projects, where approximately 22%
of those signing up for the program were previous un-adopters (Whitacre &
Rhinesmith, Broadband un-adopters, 2016).
Another selected area for bottom-up research in rural areas is customer
satisfaction, because consumer attitudes toward broadband service providers
are different from urban users -rather skeptical and unfavorable, indicating
that providers are not attentive to marketing-. For example, an exploratory
field survey in Romania revealed that service quality ranks second, in spite
of the respondents’ low overall satisfaction. User satisfaction is strongly
related to perceived service quality of service, but apparently, rural users
have a distinctive expectation regarding quality items e.g. connection speed
versus problem resolution. Aspects such as the provider attitudes toward
customer complaints, accessibility and responsiveness of customer service
lines may prompt negative consumer perceptions of the maintenance and
service strategy (Puschita, et al., 2014).
A review of 157 publications shows two major areas of research: connec-
tivity and inclusion, but targeting just industrialized countries. For inclusion,
the hampered diffusion of technologies, and the lower average levels of

education and skills in rural areas have a negative impact on adoption and
use. Generic policies in this matter neglect specific local needs, and even
when rural communities are most in need of improved digital connectiv-
ity to compensate for their remoteness, they are the least connected and
included. Future research should therefore focus on specific places and
communities combining both connectivity and inclusion issues e in order
to inform ‘customized policies’ for poorly connected and digitally excluded
rural communities (Salemink, Strijker, & Borsworth, 2015).
Zheleva (2014) stresses the importance of bottom-up research for evalu-
ating the performance and the adoption behavior in rural developing regions
for various connectivity technologies and the need for a set of metrics that
objectively capture the level of Internet adoption in rural areas (Zheleva,
2014). The conventional wisdom about the prospective usage in 5G networks
is that as more bandwidth is introduced, consumers will attempt to harness
this bandwidth to access a richer variety of services. Though, broadband
speed and advanced, high-capacity mobile services appear as not as impor-
tant for rural consumers. Instead, they seem to prefer rather basic, normal
speed applications, albeit with high quality and high reliability. This is also
related to another less-explored research for 5G: location studies. Zheleva
remarks that, since rural users rely on cellphones mostly to get locally
relevant information, quality pitfalls such as poor reception impact negatively
in e.g. missed opportunities. Moreover, while urban subscribers tend to a
more globally interconnected usage profile, rural residents link primarily with
“communities of interest” in the same geographic area (Roberts, Anderson,
Skerratt, & Farrington, 2016). To an extent, such usage behavior replicates
the location patterns found in the era of rural telephony in Chile and Kenya
(Klein, 1971; Cleevely & Walsham, 1980).
Classical top-down research in urban environments relies on quantitative
measurement to estimate both access and use. The number of broadband
subscribers is determined by using coarse metrics such as the number of
MSO operating in each census tract or postal code, disregarding the deep
speed and traffic variations among user groups. But next 5G networks, rather
than “quality of service” will require a combined assessment of performance
and adoption (“quality of experience”). Furthermore, measuring prospective
rural take-up rates for the next 5G services will require customizable demand
models. This will be to an extent where there is exists an ample variation in
geography and household profiles in different regions of the world, location
patterns, remoteness, income level and sources, age, educational level, and
other variables.
In fact, research on advanced demand models will have to encompass
the availability of applications and content relevant to rural users, which in
turn depend on external factors (local culture, e-readiness and socioeconomic
constraints). The literature has emphasized the great difference between
having a device and making it useful in terms of accessing information. The
distinction between access and use of the Internet clarifies the goal of policies
aimed at closing the digital divide. In this vein, the big drivers for connectivity
and quality of access are bandwidth and harmonization of the radio spectrum:
the greater the bandwidth, the faster our connections can potentially become
(Stork, Calandro, & Gillwald, 2012; Gregson, Brownlee, Playforth, & Bimbe,
2015).
The boundaries between residential and business usage are blurry and
changing. New interaction mechanisms, such as online social networking
and collaborative work inside single communities of interest will likely tend
to exacerbate in the 5G era, even without considering M2M/IoT interaction
patterns. Disentangling mechanisms of this kind will be cumbersome with-
out extensive field surveys and other bottom-up methodologies. Finally, the
differences in attributes between real and proposed 5G deployment scenarios
will trigger additional bottom-up research on usage, specifically tailored to
rural areas of developing regions.
10.3.1.4 Marginal impact

Rural broadband projects in the next 5G era will be highly dependent on
advances provided by new research on evaluation methods, bottom-up feasi-
bility and marginal impact assessment. These tools are directly related with
important aspects of investment, sustainability, costs and expected results. In
the case of projects undertaken by municipalities or institutions of the social
economy, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and community projects, funding
institutions usually require any type of Product Evaluation (“summative”),
referred to expected outputs of the project, the degree of achievement of
original goals, the benefits and impacts of such products; and any Process
Evaluation (“formative”), to describe how the project was carried out, strate-
gies adopted, degree of success obtained, problems and constraints, and
proposals for improving next similar initiatives (Goussal, 1998).
In projects comprising a sequence of phases or stages (like the 5G
roadmap), summative aspects become more important in the latter stages.
Popular methods such as marginal impact evaluation and input-output analy-

sis are typically utilized in two forms: backward looking and forward-
looking. Research is needed to devise ad-hoc models with variables and
indicators suitable to capture specific effects of 5G broadband services or
applications in targeted rural areas. There is not a single model suitable to
capture such effects urbi et orbi. The design of such evaluation framework
will likely require the specification of ad-hoc variables and indicators with
a clear distinction between the steps of availability, accessibility and usage
(Leung, 2014).
The concept of availability pattern refers to the contingent blueprint of
locations envisaged for supplying a particular access technology (such as 5G).
Then, the accessibility pattern reflects the effective likelihood of exercising
such availability by user groups throughout the envisaged location patterns.
The deployment of 5G infrastructure in specific rural areas is not enough to
guarantee an effective degree of access, since a particular user group may
be subject to socioeconomic constraints (income, e-literacy, language, etc.).
Finally, the usage pattern maps the bundle of applications, services, contents
and interaction resources effectively utilized, which in turn are supposed to
foster changes in selected variables of rural development.
Among other methods, the marginal impact of envisaged rural broadband
projects can be captured by measuring the likelihood of changes in specific
dimensions of socioeconomic development in the proposed rural area. Actual
effects are modulated by the particular adoption behavior pursued by users
of the services brought by the network. In the past, a stepwise conditional
probability model was proposed for estimating the location and marginal
impact in (fixed) ICT public access facilities. As Figure. 10.3 suggests, only
a part of the population target will effectively get access to 5G services. And
even for that part, only a very small part of the whole usage pattern will likely
impact -in varying degrees - in specific aspects of the rural area development
status. The adoption of 5G applications by individuals and communities
will likely be a gradual process, with lagged effects in temporal stages, tied
to the nature of services and required user skills. The introduction of new
e-applications in virgin or unserved rural locations entails the incorporation
of new communities of users with distinctive (but unknown) contingent
needs and degrees of interaction among members regarding the available
applications and services. Some elements of the stepwise models could still
play a role in the measurement of effects of mobile 5G in rural environments,
but they are clearly not sufficient (Goussal & Udrizar Lezcano, 2001).
Figure 10.3
Source: Goussal (2017).
10.3.1.5 Feasibility from the demand side

The conventional sense about feasibility analysis is that of a regular evalu-
ation tool for the supply side, thereby it deals with business like CAPEX,
OPEX, customer base, adoption rates, cash flow and churn. Some market
analysts foresee little commercial use for 5G mobile in rural areas, rural
cooperatives and independent utilities quietly prepare business models for
rural FTTH ventures based in niche, high-ARPU specialty services such as
e-security, smart grids, telemedicine and e-training (Ross, 2016).
Though there is also a feasibility analysis from the demand side, which
may be undertaken either by single users, user groups, governments, funding
institutions, regulators or equipment providers. The concept of feasibility
from the demand side seems a “disruptive” research track in the current
5G roadmap. Nonetheless it is rather an old issue, explained in a pioneer-
ing report “The Feasibility and Value of Broadband Communications in
Rural Areas: A Preliminary Evaluation” (1976) by the Office of Technology
Assessment of the U.S. Congress:
“A rural broadband system is a community-wide communications

network, available to all residents and many institutions. The
system may be used to meet health, education and other social
service needs, facilitate government and administrative transac-
tions, and serve commercial enterprises, as well as provide network
TV and entertainment. The particular services are derived from an

assessment of community needs in which it is determined whether
broadband is the most cost-effective method for filling those needs.
Significant fees are charged for public service and institutional
use of the system. These fees are justified by savings made else-
where (e.g., the salary costs of hiring more teachers.) Institutional
and public service support of the system reduces installation and
subscriber costs for individual users. The combination of services
leads to economic viability”.
While standard cost-benefit analysis has been extensively used in the evalua-
tion of direct costs and benefits of rural broadband deployment, less attention
has been paid to the indirect effects resulting from those emerging applica-
tions, even when these effects have proven to contribute to economic growth.
Some empirical studies in the last years have investigated the indirect benefits
of investments in broadband infrastructure in the same way proposed by OTA,
but just on urban locations. For example, benefits for two specific sectors:
e-government, related to savings on travel and waiting time by introducing
an e-counter; and e-business -reducing traffic jams by allowing employees
to work at home-, were quantified in the cities of Ghent, Belgium and
Eindhoven, The Netherlands by using a bottom-up approach (Van der Wee,
Verbrugge, Sadowski, Driesse, & Pickavet, M., 2015).
The expected outcome in this case is a single metric: the consumer
surplus. Consumer surplus is the difference between what he actually pays
for e.g. a broadband service, and what they would have been willing to
pay. In short, the benefits that broadband represents to the end user: the
rapid and efficient access to information, savings in transportation for con-
ducting transactions, and benefits in health and entertainment (ITU, 2012).
The right calculation of this metric in a multi-dimensional networked ser-
vice like broadband is difficult; there is not a straightforward method for
its evaluation in rural scenarios. In the past, the World Bank has used
“shadow prices” to estimate consumer surplus in investment projects for
more basic telecommunications services like rural telephony. But measuring
true financial value/price ratios in rural broadband networks, either wired
or wireless is much more difficult because they do not bear just live voice:
a smartphone enables access to a wide, changing and almost undetermined
basket of applications and content at varying speeds and qualities of service.
There are empirical studies on willingness-to-pay for fixed broadband, such
as the large scale survey on FTTH access in urban locations of Japan (Ida &
Horiguchi, 2008), for single applications -Google search- (Varian H., 2011),
and for whole markets (Brazil, Canada, China, England, Mexico, Spain and
USA, in this case by tracing out demand curves reflecting broadband use
growth under real price decline (Greenstein & McDevitt, 2001).
However, the practical use of results obtained via top-down studies
is problematic. In forward-looking feasibility analysis at the micro level,
surveys and bottom-up estimations may work better, but most surveyed
individuals will be unable to respond how much will they be willing to pay
(in the future) for a new (unknown) service at the time of adoption (if the
proposed network is finally deployed). Therefore, the lack of suitable tools for
consumer surplus measurements in the 5G era will remain an open question
for research.
Specifically, there is a need for new research on methods to estimate in
advance, changes in rural consumer surplus before and after the deployment
of future 5G regular and advanced services in a proposed area. In rural areas
of Argentina, USA and other countries where rural broadband is provided by
utility cooperatives, the need is more relevant. Utility cooperative members
act in a dual role: as customers, they would favor a low subscription rate
for the new broadband service, but as stakeholders of their utility it will be
important to ensure its sustainability and even, to claim the distribution of
profit. The evaluation of consumer surplus is vital for the harmonization and
right balancing of both counteracting objectives (Mikami, 2010).
10.3.1.6 Data granularity

One of the main concerns highlighted by the research community in the
Broadband 2021 report in USA is on the availability of datasets and suitable
methods to explore the static and dynamic aspects of infrastructure along
different axes and scales, including the micro level. For example, the analysis
of long term evolution patterns in access networks, although a key tool in
strategic planning, often becomes a hard, costly and time-consuming task,
due to the scarce information in Census disaggregated at the micro level, or
the limited access to specific sources of data such as incumbent operators’
historical data and archives:
“. . . the absence of robust and adequate longitudinal datasets, other

time-series data, and panel studies may always be constant chal-
lenge - as a result the research community needs to develop and
refine mixed approaches to this research. As broadband infras-

tructure has developed and become integrated and naturalized
into so many systems, understanding the dynamic and static infor-
mation environments we inhabit might best be probed through
research methods capable of incorporating time, space, scale and
the influence of social organization”.
“While investigators have either used national datasets (for exam-
ple, those provided by NTIA, the Census Bureau, or Pew) or have
undertaken their own large same surveys, relatively fewer stud-
ies have tackled the many environments in which qualitative and
historical data would be particularly useful”.
“There also is a tendency to focus on the grander scale of
emerging infrastructures in order to capture their growth and
importance. . . However, microscale studies can illuminate aspects
of broadband infrastructure that are simply not available from
those other levels”.
These remarks are of utmost importance for broadband research in develop-
ing regions, because of the lack of appropriate data repositories and digitized
archives.
This happened in the 1990s in Argentina and other South American Coun-
tries after the privatization of incumbent public providers. In order to carry out
studies on the dynamics of public access in rural and small towns nationwide,
it was necessary to gather information at the locality level, including variables
and indicators not available in Census and related public sources. At the
beginnings the GTR database was limited to a single inter-census span (1990–
2001) in order to measure pre and post-privatization effects in rural access,
but further projects requiring better accuracy and statistical strength led to
successive enlargements in the three axes aforementioned: space -Argentina,
Paraguay, part of Uruguay-; time - 1948–2010. . . : and scope -access, usage,
customers, operators, network sizes, infrastructure ages and upgrades, etc.
Nevertheless GTR’s rural database is far from a seamless resource; rather it
is a small collection of incomplete/broken pieces of information, digitized
from variously reliable sources. This enables limited scope calculations, just
through “windows of measurement” (Goussal & Udrizar Lezcano, 2000).
One of these operations was a comparison analysis of twin expansion
patterns (electricity/telephone) in small access networks served by utility
cooperatives, performed around 2005. Archival data from independent oper-
ators in Argentina was at that time, not as complicated to borrow as from
incumbents, and permitted a number of relevant taxonomies and cross-

sections. Years later such data become again useful as suitable inputs in
long-term feasibility studies envisaged for the next 5G era. An example is
shown in Figure 10.4 and Figure 10.5.
Figure 10.4 Household access density - Electricity Utility Cooperatives 8-year evolution
pattern (1996–2004).
Figure 10.5 Household access density - Telephone cooperatives 15-year evolution pattern
(1990–2005).
10.4 Examples of Promising Directions for Rural 5G 273
Around 2005, the database had data of 607 electric utility cooperatives
and 293 telephone cooperatives serving small rural towns. In 122 of those
towns, both services were operated by cooperatives (although not necessarily
by the same utility). Strong differences were found between the evolution
patterns of household access densities (7 and 15 year) in the period 1990–
2005. Power densities in small access networks were naturally, greater than
fixed tele densities, but tend to keep highly stable patterns. In the same
conditions, fixed telephone densities in the sample grew at a strong 6% CAGR
but the 15-year evolution shows much wider variations between different
local service areas (Goussal, 2006).
Section 3
10.4 Examples of Promising Directions for Rural 5G
10.4.1 Channel Modelling for Millimeter Wave: Unexpected
Findings?
Empirical work in millimeter bands is far from a new topic. In 1896, Jagadish
Bose demonstrated a 60 GHz transmission system based on spark gaps and
devices for generating and detecting wavelengths of 25 to 50 mm. Since
1962, experimental design of cryo-cooled low noise receivers based in super-
conducting junctions yielded e.g. a closed-cycle cooled tunable mixer for
220–325 GHz (Edrich, 1977; Sarkar & Sengupta, 1997).
Channel modelling for millimeter waves is a key research for 5G applica-
tions, but so far targeting urban and indoor scenarios - microcell (UMa), urban
microcell (UMi) and indoor hotspot (InH), as labelled in Third Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP) TR 38.900 Release 14. Path loss models for
rural macro cell scenarios (RMa) have not been validated in millimeter wave
bands. Current RMa draw upon urban measurements and remain undefined
above 9 GHz. New RMa models for long-range propagation at millimeter
waves require extensive on-field measurements in rural scenarios. Channel
modelling in bands above 24 GHz is a ramping issue after the release of a
Proposed Rulemaking for the use of spectrum bands above 24 GHz (FCC,
2016).
A detailed behavior of free space attenuation, rainfall and oxygen loss and
other phenomena in millimeter bands is not well known so far. The bands
that FCC has focused as suitable for proposed rulemaking are: 27.5–28.35
GHz - 37.5–40.00 GHz - 40.5–41.5 GHz - 42.0-43.5 GHz - 46.9–47.0 GHz
Figure 10.6
(some of these bands for Mobile, others for fixed satellite and Government
services). The estimated millimeter wave signal attenuation characteristics
based on oxygen and water absorption attenuation from 10 to 400 GHz, as
quoted by the FCC in its NPRM are depicted in Figure 10.3. According
to this, the 71–76 and 81–86 GHz bands experience less attenuation than
frequencies in the 50–60 GHz range. Nevertheless, actual research in narrow
parts of this huge spectrum range can unveil promising physical facts. An
unexpected finding in field trials in rural Virginia (USA) was the distance and
coverage (beyond 10 km) obtained in a measurement campaign at 73 GHz in
an RMa scenario (MacCartney, et al., 2016).
10.4.2 Big Data and Geospatial Analysis

Geospatial big data projects can speed up the stages of rural 5G network plan-
ning by providing accurate maps and powerful analysis methods. Advances
in satellite image processing and improved granularity maps led to the
formulation of an ambitious big data initiative to analyze high-resolution
(50 cm per pixel) satellite imagery for 20 countries with large rural areas:
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Ivory
Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, México, Mozambique, Nigeria, South África, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, and Uzbekistán. This research
was undertaken by the Facebook Connectivity Lab in partnership with the
Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia
University.
10.5 Concluding Remarks 275
The data collection combines pictures from satellites, taken in the past five
years as RGB images of the visible part of the spectrum, color-balanced and
composited to be as cloud-free as possible. Satellite geo data covers over 97%
of the landmass in the selected countries where image processing identifies
populated areas in pre-selected areas of 30 × 30 meters (referred to as “candi-
date areas”). Next, areas without man-made structures are excluded, and the
analysis of candidate regions proceeds extracting image features by using an
image recognition engine based in a convolutional neural network. The neural
network is trained by using recognition classifiers extracted from a sample of
candidate regions, and the subsequent application of these classifiers to have
the neural network process the whole desired landmass.
Once classified the populated settlements of the target areas in the spatial
axe, geo data collected from images are combined with population distri-
bution and density estimates, obtained from the GPWv4 dataset (Gridded
Population of the World) a resource from Columbia University based on
high-granularity census data.
10.4.3 MU-MIMO-OFDM in Rural UHF Macro Cells

Another interesting research, focusing extended coverage and high capacity
backhauling applications, is the exploitation of multipath propagation in multi
user MU-MIMO-OFDM arrangements as a way to drastically increasing the
spectral efficiency in sub-GHz bands. As a coverage strategy, this is quite the
opposite of the “normal” urban approach - MU-MIMO in millimeter wave
bands for network densification via Pico cells-.
Since spectral efficiency is related to the number of antennas, massive
MIMO techniques are obviously best suited to millimeter bands where their
small size is exploited to build large arrays. Dense urban and indoor scenarios
take better advantage of MIMO arrays due to natural generation of multiple
paths in each link, but in rural macro cells it depends on terrain profile,
water surfaces, etc. Experimental MU-MIMO-OFDM links in mobile bands
(806/638 MHz) using circular antenna arrays achieved spectral efficiencies up
to 67 bits/s/Hz according to demonstrations in rural Tasmania and Australia
(Suzuki, Robertson, Ratnayake, & Ziri-Castro, 2012).
10.5 Concluding Remarks

The 5G era is a window of opportunity for the diffusion of mobile and fixed
rural broadband to developing regions and a way to bring adequate services
to rural areas. But at the same time, it can exacerbate the quasi-everlasting
imbalances in geographical coverage, affordability and accessibility. Due
to the lingering nature of the new rural-urban divide, it hampers not just
access (supply side), but also adoption behavior (demand side) (Whitacre,
Gallardo, & Strover, 2014).
Engineering is moving fast and has unveiled promising directions for
rural 5G. Advances like white space, cognitive radios or millimeter wave
transmission have yielded interesting and unexpected results. However, tech-
nology will probably be the “easy part”. History has revealed that there
are more complex and long-lasting problems requiring specific attention
and aid from scientific research. A different framework for research entails
more interdisciplinary approaches, other methods, more variables, new and
larger sources of data, wider scope of studies and more customized results.
Advances like white space cognitive radios or millimeter waves have been
already analyzed but probably technology will be the “easy part”.
There are more complex and long-lasting problems requiring scientific
research, -mainly around applications relevant to rural users, regulation for
dynamic spectrum allocation, bottom-up business models and long-term
strategic planning. According to the U.S. National Research Council, in the
case of information technology “the unanticipated results of research are
often as important as the anticipated results” and “The interaction of research
ideas multiplies their impact”.
The probability of success in this case will depend on timely leveraging
the foreseeable results of undergoing tech improvements by devising research
plans with a different arrangement of inputs*.
11
Public-Private-Community Organizational
and Financial Strategy for Developing 5G
Infrastructure and Services
in Rural Asia: The Case of Thailand,
Indonesia, and the Philippines
Idongesit Williams
CMI, Aalborg University, Denmark
11.1 Introduction
This chapter presents a conceptualization of a potential organizational and
financial strategy of a Public-Private-Community (PPC) strategy that could
aid in the development of rural 5G Base station infrastructure and platform
infrastructure services in rural areas in developing economies in Asia. The
Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are chosen as test cases for the simu-
lation. They are chosen because relevant stakeholders for PPCs are visible
here. A PPC in this chapter refers to a tripartite contractual or a collabora-
tive relationship between stakeholders in the public sector, private network
operator and/or service provider, and a community or group of communities.
A community here refers to any organized group.
5G networks are still being conceptualized, designed and in some cases
tested (see examples (Huawei Technologies, 2016; 5GPPP Architecture
working group, 2016; 3GPP, 2017; NOKIA, 2017)). By 2020, it will be
launched commercially, all things being equal (GSMA, 2015). Based on
the design proposal so far, it is likely that 5G will be either a scalable het-
erogeneous hybrid network that will encompass existing wireless or mobile
networks, with the prospects for forward compatibility. Or it will be a brand
new mobile network. However, what is certain is that the edge of the network
277
278 Public-Private-Community Organizational and Financial Strategy
will be served by base stations with different Distributed Antenna System

arrangement possibilities (Huawei Technologies, 2016). In some conceptual-
ized architecture, there are scenarios where these antenna networks will used
to extend specialized services to the subscriber at the edge of the network
(5GPPP Architecture working group, 2016).
However, with respect to the service delivery, 5G is expected to handle
services that 4G cannot handle efficiently, such as IOT services, M2M etc.
Therefore 5G is one technology, in which service possibilities exist before
the network is perfected. And some of these services will be of great value
to rural areas. An example of such services is platform services aimed at
enhancing commercial activities. It was cited that network operators shy
away from rural areas because they are not commercially viable (Barela,
et al., 2016). However, research has proven that the commercial viability
of rural areas can also be enhanced by mobile and wireless networks. An
example is the mobile money phenomena in Africa, South America and
Asia (GSMA, 2016). The secret to such endeavors has been the provision
of tailor made mobile or wireless services that supports existing commercial
activities in such rural areas. An example was the entrance of Airjaldi into
the Dharamsala market in India (Williams, 2015). One would concede that
these are isolated occurrences. However, with the expected technical and
operational capabilities of 5G; the existing and near future services these will
no more be occurrences but reality. This is because for the first time, there
will be a mobile network where specialized services can be delivered to meet
specific commercial, social and political needs.
In addition to the network and service possibilities, it is expected that the
cost of deploying 5G will be reduced compared to 4G, as 4G was cheaper
compared to 5G (Huawei, 2017). Also in most part of the world, there are
different arrangements, where the public sector forms a partnership with
a network operator and a community to facilitate a telecom network (see
(Nungu & Pehrson, 2011; USAID, 2016)). These partnerships provide inspi-
ration on a financial and organizational strategy that may be adapted to extend
5G infrastructure and services into rural areas. These visions, arrangements
and cost advantages create possibilities towards extending 5G infrastructure
into rural areas, by extending base stations delivering relevant services to
meet the commercial needs of a rural area. Therefore in this chapter, an effort
is made to simulate a strategy using existing markets to demonstrate how –
based on the technological and service delivery potential of 5G – A PPC can
be facilitated to extend the 5G to a rural area in Asia (as an example).
11.2 Introduction to the PPC Concept 279
To create the organizational and financial conceptualization, an existing

PPC arrangement is adopted as a source of inspiration. Some ideas from this
source of inspiration are used to simulate an organizational arrangement –
for the delivery of 5G infrastructure and services – using potential PPC
stakeholders from selected developing countries (Thailand, Indonesia and
Philippines). The case adopted for inspiration is the Almhult municipality
Broadband initiative in Sweden. The potential PPC stakeholders are identified
in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The cases were selected not
from a thoughtful process, but from the point of convenience. The Three
Asian countries were chosen because they had potential rural demand via
a huge number of commercial cooperatives. The Swedish case was chosen,
because there were aspects of their PPC arrangement that would be beneficial
to the PPC simulation in this chapter. The interest of this chapter is not in
the technology adopted by Almhult municipality, Sweden, though it will be
mentioned as the PPC is described.
This chapter is divided into 2 sections. The first section introduces the
PPC concept and the potential for implementing the concept in developing
countries. The second section presents the simulation of the PPC concept in
the Asian countries selected.
Part 1
11.2 Introduction to the PPC Concept
In this sub-section, the PPC concept is explained. The scope of the explana-
tion involves defining the scope of PPCs as it relates to PPPs and PPI. It also
involves identifying the types of PPCs and the core characteristics of PPCs.
11.2.1 What Is and What Is Not a PPC

In the introductory section of this chapter, the PPC concept was defined as a
tripartite contractual or a collaborative relationship between stakeholders in
the public sector, private Network operators and/or Service providers, and a
community or group of communities. One would ask, why not call it a PPP,
a Public Private Interplay (PPI) or a Public-Private-People Partnership (P4).
The answer is that the PPC concept is just an acronym that highlights the main
stakeholders involved in the delivery of telecommunications infrastructure.
So PPCs could be organized as a PPP, a P4 or it could also be organized as
a PPI (see more on PPI (Williams, 2015)). PPPs are partnerships between
the public and private sectors entity which involves the sharing of resources
and risks for a particular project bound by a contract (ibid). A P4 is PPP,
where people groups are involved in the co-design or coproduction of the
Infrastructure or service (Ng, Wong, & Wong, 2013). While a PPI is a loose
cooperation or collaboration between the public and private sector aimed at
developing the telecommunications sector (Williams, 2015). Therefore a PPC
is neither a PPP, P4 nor PPI, but it can be organized as any of these concepts.
What is important to remember is that PPC is a contractual or a collaborative
relationship between the public sector stakeholders, private network operators
and/or service providers and a community or a group of communities?
The only caveat with PPCs being PPIs is that in a PPCs the rela-
tionship between the public sector stakeholder and the private network
operator/service provider should be at least a collaboration and not a cor-
poration. This is important to sustain supply. The relationship between the
community and the public sector stakeholder and the private network operator
can either be a cooperation, collaboration or partnership. In this scenario, the
triangular relationship is a PPC. But if the relationship between the public
sector stakeholder and the private network operator/service provider is a loose
cooperation, the relationship is a PPI but not a PPC.
In a similar vein, if the relationship between the public sector stakeholder
and the private network operator/service provider and the community is either
a partnership or a collaboration, then it is a P4. But if the relationship between
the community and both stakeholders is a cooperation, it is not a P4. In this
case, the community is not collaborating as co-designers and/or co-producers
of the infrastructure or service. They only subscribe to the service which has
been made affordable for them via a PPP. An example of such a scenario is
the case of the e-Agriculture extension project in Ghana (Ghanaian Times,
2014).
An example of a PPC being a PPP is an aspect of Leicestershire Super
Broadband project in the UK and the ICT for rural Development project in
Tanzania (See (Salemink & Bosworth, 2014; Nungu & Pehrson, 2011)). In
the case of Leicester, a local community Group goes into partnership with
the Leicestershire county and British Telecom to deliver FTTH to Walton
and Burton1 . An example of a PPC being a PPI are cases in the EU, the
countries in the EU and the EU itself directly contributes funds to communi-
ties for developing Broadband Infrastructure (Lindskog & Johansson, 2005;
Regeringskansliet, 2014).
1
The country is in partnership with other groups as well.
11.2.2 Types of PPCs

In this chapter, PPCs are categorized in 2 ways. These are core driven PPCs
and extended PPCs. A core driven PPC involves any only core stakeholders.
An extended PPC involves the core stakeholders and any or all of the periph-
eral stakeholders. The Figure 11.1 provides an insight into the stakeholders
involved in a core and extended PPCs.
In the next section, the core characteristics of PPCs will be explained.
11.2.3 Core Characteristics of PPCs

PPCs are characterized by the stakeholders (as described earlier), their inten-
tion to initiate a PPC, the incentives for initiating the PPC and the functions
of each stakeholder in the PPC.
11.2.3.1 Intention to initiate

In a core driven PPC, the project or initiative can be initiated by any of the
core stakeholders. However, it is important to note that rarely do network
operators or service providers initiate PPCs. In commercially viable areas,
PPCs are not needed because of the existence of competitive markets. But in
areas that are not commercially viable, that is where PPCs are needed and
Figure 11.1 PPC structure.

that is where PPCs are seen (See (Tapia, Maitland, & Stone, 2006; Williams,
2015; USAID, 2016)). A place not being commercially viable does not mean
that it necessarily is a rural area. It could as well be an urban area, where
deploying a certain Broadband technology may not be profitable (see (Fran-
goudis & Polyzos, 2011)). The low profitability is because of low demand
for the service. However, in such areas in developing countries, network
operators do adopt different infrastructure and service delivery strategies to
help them supply the service either on their own, or in partnership with
another service provider. Network operators and service providers also the
resort to zero-rating some of their services to help them deliver their services
in developing countries (Gebhart, 2016).
However, the stakeholders that are more likely to initiate PPCs are the
public sector stakeholders and some periphery stakeholders such as IDAs
(See (GPOBA, 2017; USAID, 2016)). An example of a public stakeholder-
initiated PPCs includes: the Knysna municipal network South Africa, the
Stokab initiative in Sweden owned by the city of Stockholm and the
e-Agricultural extension platform PPP in Ghana to mention a few (see
(Balancing Act, 2017; Forzati & Mattsson, 2015; Ghanaian Times, 2014)).
An example of a peripheral stakeholder initiated PPC is USAID’s ECOFish
PPP initiatives in the Philippines (USAID, 2016). These are multi-stakeholder
PPCs led by the Government of the Philippines. In this project ICT is adopted
to facilitate sustainable fishing for fishermen and fishmongers in developing
countries (ibid).
Communities have often tried to initiate PPCs. In some cases their effort
to initiate such PPCs end up in them deploying the infrastructure and services
alone (see (Belli, 2016; Finquelievich & Kisilevsky, 2005; Hudson, 2014)).
They have often been challenged by lack of funding. But, in areas where there
funding incentives from the public sector, some communities do take advan-
tage of it to join PPCs. In the EU, there are regional and municipal funding
incentive provided to facilitate PPCs (Lindskog & Johansson, 2005). There
are evidences that some communities are taking advantage of these funding
initiatives (see (Sadowski, de Rooij, & Smits, 2006)). In areas where there
is lack of funding, even the attempt to develop the infrastructure becomes
still borne. In Africa, for example, there are potential initiatives that did not
survive as there was no funding for them (Williams, 2015).
The inability of communities to attract public funding and other forms of
public assistance rests on the fact that communities are not taken seriously by
the public and private sector. This is because public sector agencies and the
private network operator perceive that the communities lack of the technical
knowledge, managerial competence, and financial capacity to handle such

projects. Therefore PPCs are more likely to occur if the public sector can
identify with the vision of the community and map out a plan by which all
stakeholders will derive benefit from the project.
11.2.3.2 Expected incentives

The incentive factor for each stakeholder is the bedrock of PPCs, especially
when delivering telecom infrastructure and services in low demand areas.
Hence PPCs can be described as incentive-based arrangements, where the
risks are jointly shared by each stakeholder group.
For the core stakeholders, the incentive of the public sector stakeholder
is to achieve Universal Access and service of the technology and to build
an information society. The incentive of the network operator and ser-
vice provider is a guaranteed return-on-investment. In the Sweden and the
Netherlands, the market entry and exit barrier for the service provider and
the network operator are lowered in PPCs (Godlovitch, Henseler-Unger, &
Stumpf, 2015; Sadowski, de Rooij, & Smits, 2006). This is via open access
regulations in the delivery of FTTH. In Sweden, the public sector stakeholder
provides the infrastructure while the service providers deliver their services
on the infrastructure to housing cooperation (Forzati & Mattsson, 2015).
Hence, the cost of deploying the infrastructure for the service provider is
lowered. This is an incentive.
The incentive for the community lies in the affordability of the service and
the relevance of the service to their daily lives. So in other to organize this
incentive-based system, functions are allocated to different core stakeholders
that will enable them jointly develop the network and provide a sustainable
service as well. As a result, there is no permanent demand and supply
stakeholders in PPCs as each stakeholder has to leverage their resources to
create a demand-pull and a supply push. So far, network operators and service
providers are in most cases supply stakeholders.
For the peripheral stakeholders, the incentives are more divergent depend-
ing on the nature of the stakeholder. In the case of stakeholders providing
loans, their incentive is to interest made in the repayment of the loan. For
those offering technical assistance, their incentive is to build more capacity
for themselves, fulfil their operational mandate and acquire knowledge on
how to replicate such initiatives elsewhere. However, peripheral stakeholders
do have other means of playing these roles in these low demand areas without
being involved in PPCs. Therefore their level of incentive for joining PPCs
may not be as high as that of the core stakeholders.
11.2.3.3 Expected stakeholder functions

Core driven PPC stakeholders: In a core driven PPC as seen in the Table 11.1,
every stakeholder can perform every function from a few. However, only one
of them has a function only they can perform.
And that is the public sector stakeholder. The public stakeholder alone
can perform is facilitate an enabling regulatory and operational environment
for the project or initiative. They also monitor the project to evaluate it and
possibly improve it. Also, only two of the stakeholder classes have a function
they cannot perform. The private network stakeholder can neither regulate
nor be a subscriber. The community, on the other hand, cannot regulate as
well for the project. Though they can provide internal regulations for their
members.
Still in a core driven PPC, the network operator and/or service functions
as a provider and provides the infrastructure and service. They could do so
with the public sector in the case of a Public DBO or Private DBO. The
public sector provides a regulatory environment specifically for the project
or actually joins in developing the project. The community stakeholders are
primarily subscribers to the service. However, in some PPCs, they are actually
involved in deploying the infrastructure and services. But in a full-blown
PPC, the peripheral stakeholders assist the core stakeholders. The assistance
could either be in the form of finance, advice offer technical assistance
or offer operational assistance. Their functional flexibility enables them to
provide help to a core stakeholder that is the weakest link in the project.
Extended PPC stakeholders: Traditionally, these stakeholders neither
build, manage, operate, maintain, regulate. In many cases, just as in the case
of the Ecofish project, they provide oversight functions. In projects assisted
Table 11.1 Stakeholder responsibilities in PPCs

Private Network/Service
Function Public Stakeholder Stakeholder Community
1 Design Yes Yes Yes
2 Build Yes yes Yes
3 Manage Yes Yes Yes
4 Operate Yes Yes Yes
5 Finance Partially/fully Partially/fully Partially
6 Maintain Yes Yes Yes
7 Regulate Yes No No
8 Supply Yes Yes Partially
9 Subscribe Yes No Yes
Source: Williams (2017).
11.3 The Rationale for PPC 285
by IDAs, they provide assistance with respect to designing the project,

capacity building, and support to the public sector in developing regulations,
financing and monitoring of projects. However, their involvement in PPCs
is rare.
11.3 The Rationale for PPC

Why do we need PPC in Asia for extending 5G infrastructure and services?
This is a valid question. It is not only a valid question for Asia, but for
developing countries as well. Though the answers here are geared towards
developing countries, it is representative of other developing countries as
well. Having said that, I would say that the answer to this question at this
moment will be a truism. This is because the 5G market is 3 years from
being launched. The dynamics of the market today may not necessarily be
the same tomorrow. However, it is safe to assume that 5G will face the same
challenges, as 3G and 4G in developing countries in Asia. The bane of this
challenge is the rapid evolution of mobile technology. However the answers
are as follows:
• The rapid evolution of mobile technologies will not permit the extension
of mobile Broadband infrastructure in rural areas.
• Competition will not solve the market failure that exists in rural areas.
• There is the need for a PPC as a market intervention mechanism.
11.3.1 The Rapid Evolution of Mobile Technology

The only digital technology that had enough time to grow was 2G. Even
at that, everyone in Asia, does not have access to 2G. Currently 2.5 bil-
lion individuals, 62% of the population, subscribe to mobile telephony in
the region (GSMA, 2015). Before 3G could be deployed in urban areas,
competitors in the mobile market were already testing 4G. By 2015, China,
Indonesia, Pakistan and India had existing 4G markets, while markets such
as Vietnam and Myanmar were yet to launch 4G (GSMA, 2015). In the
developing Asian economies where 4G, is launched the universal service of
3G has not been attained. As a result the current level of mobile Broadband
subscription is 42.6% which is low (ITU, 2016). And 52% of the inhabitants
in this region live in rural areas (see (ITU/Broadband Commissision for
sustainable development, 2016). This figure is not reflective of all Asian
countries as countries such as Japan and South Korea have a much more
advanced Broadband market. But developing countries with huge populations
seem to suffer more. 45% of the world populations who are offline reside in
Asia. (Broadband commission, 2016)).
So the rapid evolution in mobile technology is not helping in the attain-
ment of the Universal service of Mobile Broadband. It is also not helping
in the diffusion of newer generations of mobile telephony. This is because,
network operators will work to consolidate their market in areas that are
commercially viable. The introduction of an evolution of a mobile network
provides the network operator with a new competitive advantage. Therefore
rural areas are often after thoughts. Hence there is the need for an alternative
approach to extending 5G infrastructure into rural areas.
11.3.2 The Failure of Competition

In the 1990s when the liberalization of the telecommunications markets was
promoted, no one did foresee the challenge posed by the rapid evolution
of mobile networks. In those days, many countries did license operators
with Universal Service Obligations to deliver a 2G network. Competitors
that joined the market did not necessarily introduce innovative networks.
Though we can argue about the quality of GSM and CDMA. However,
the liberalization policies adopted in Asia, had to weather the challenges
introduced by the external factors such as the world economic crises;
the entrance of new competitors, who joined the market with innovative
technology; the eroding of the ARPU due to intense competition in crowded
markets and the competition with Over-the-Top (OTT) providers. And now
here comes 5G. No one knows how stable 5G would be and when the next
generation mobile network will emerge. In Asia, most market, aside China
and Vietnam are competitive markets driven by private network operators. As
commercial entities, they do not only have to invest but also recoup the cost
of their investments. Therefore it is not likely that, in developing countries in
Asia, rural dwellers will benefit from 5G. Except there is a conscious policy
intervention. This is where the PPC comes in handy.
11.3.3 The Need for PPC and Opportunity for PPCs in Asia
This is obviously a strange answer. It is like asking someone, “why do
you need the cup?” and he or she answers “I just need it”. However, this
is not what this answer implies. What is actually implies is, based on the
aforementioned answers, there is the need for a PPC in Asia. This is because
they possess relevant stakeholders to make PPCs happen.
11.4 The Potential of PPC in the Delivery of 5G in Rural Areas 287
In this chapter, these stakeholders, their potentials and their possibil-

ities will be explained. But in a nutshell, rural Asia is home to s huge
number of commercial cooperatives (Kurimoto, 2011). In this chapter, these
cooperatives represent “the community”. In this chapter, evidence of these
cooperatives in Thailand, The Philippines and Indonesia are presented. The
fact that they are commercial entities, imply the ability to pay for a service.
If 5G or its upgrade will deliver the capacity and technical requirements as
advertised, then it should support the activities of a large group in a localized
area. And if 5G can support specialized services, then there is the possibility
of facilitating a platform service that will aid in their commercial transaction.
So there is potential demand. On the supply side, Asian countries do provide
direct financial investment to aid the development of telecom infrastructure.
In many cases they do so via universal services funding-in which most do not
use (ITU (a), 2013; GSMA, 2013; Williams, 2016). Other via direct financing
of telecom infrastructure initiatives (ref). Obviously, there are mobile network
operators in these countries and government entities that regulate the cooper-
atives and other relevant stakeholders. So there is an opportunity for a PPC.
What is now necessary is how to organize and finance the PPC.
This chapter is written based on the problems, identified as well as the
needs and opportunities identified.
11.4 The Potential of PPC in the Delivery of 5G in Rural

Areas in Developing Countries
PPCs do not have potentials for Asia only, they also have potentials for
other developing countries. PPCs have been adopted to facilitate mobile
wireless infrastructure and FTTH in the EU, in the US, Africa and Asia
(see (Sadowski, de Rooij, & Smits, 2006; Tapia, Maitland, & Stone, 2006;
Nungu & Pehrson, 2011; USAID, 2016)). The adoption of PPC to extend
mobile infrastructure is can be identified in activities by some universal
access agencies that collaborate with the private sector and communities to
deliver mobile infrastructure in developing countries (ITU (a), 2013). These
activity of adopting PPCs can be extended to the delivery of 5G infrastructure
in rural areas in developing countries. In this section, the potential of PPC
in the delivery of 5G in rural areas of developing countries in general is
described.
In this section, the demand, supply and potential inspiration for PPC
organizational and financial strategy needed for the development of 5G in
rural areas of developing countries are described.
11.4.1 Potential Community and Potential Demand

In the previous sub-sections the use of PPCs to facilitate a demand-pull was
mentioned. It is not debatable that 5G services will be delivered in rural
areas if there is reasonable demand for the technology. Therefore how to
facilitate the demand is important. And as seen in existing PPCs, the demand
is harnessed from the community. The demand aggregation is unique to each
PPC because the initiator of the PPC actually studies the community to
understand their needs. Then they proceed to educate the community of these
needs in order to prepare them towards the supply of the service (Williams,
2015). Therefore it is important to identify a community and their need for
5G Services.
So far, the use case scenarios presented by industry experts with respect
to 5G does not include direct use cases for rural areas in developing countries
(see (GSMA, 2014; Nokia Networks, 2008)). Most inhabitants in rural areas
in developing countries are farmers, artisans, and other minor commercial
endeavors. These groups of people are also members of other different rural
groupings and associations. They do this to share ideas, enhance their trades
and form a formidable front towards selling to city buyers and governments.
Some of these groups are subsets of much bigger regional and national
associations in their millions. These groups are identified as communities or
“demand clusters”.
The services available in the first four generations of mobile telephony
were not of much interest to them. Though they were not the target in the
development of 5G services, there are properties of 5G that will be indirectly
useful for them. 5G is expected to enhance wireless cloud-based office,
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivity and above all deliver a connection
density of 1000-x bandwidth per unit area (GSMA, 2014). This provides an
opportunity for the provision of platform services, which handles their trans-
actions, business processes, business interactions as well as supporting the
activities of the association. With 5G there are no geographical boundaries for
these groups as one platform can serve more than 100 groups in different parts
of a country, going by the expected connection density of 5G. Similarly, the
M2M connectivity presents an opportunity towards innovative agricultural
cultivation, monitoring of elderly patients and many other possibilities.
The existence of these communities (market clusters) imply that the
service will be used continuously each day. It also implies, that as a group,
they can buy the needed customer premise equipment. They can also help
each other to buy the needed equipment. Also, as a group, they can develop
an organizational and financial strategy, where they can have access the
11.4 The Potential of PPC in the Delivery of 5G in Rural Areas 289
platforms or possible M2M services. This is where a coordination from the

public sector will help in a PPC. This will result in trade volumes and a poten-
tial source of revenue for the network operator. However this will require,
the customization of applications to be delivered via 5G to the groups. In
this way, different services can be delivered to different commercial groups.
Therefore one would say, that there exist a potential demand and a potential
community for a PPC in some developing countries in rural areas.
11.4.2 Potential Supply Possibilities

There are also potentials for the delivery of 5G Access Network infrastructure
and 5 services in rural areas in developing countries. Here, these potentials
are revealed.
5G Access Network infrastructure delivery: In many PPCs, the network

operator rarely spends in the development of the Infrastructure. This is
because, they are paid by the public sector to do so. In other cases, they
operate and maintain an infrastructure provided by the public sector. In this
manner, they do not bear the risk of owning the infrastructure. But the public
sector agencies have the potential of facilitating the 5G access networks to
the rural areas. This is because, currently, national governments in developing
countries are adopting different initiatives to facilitate the Universal Access
of Broadband infrastructure. These measures range from regulatory to deve-
lopmental initiatives. In the regulatory bit, most developing countries adopt
competition policies to facilitate Universal Access and service (Williams,
2015), others have added developmental initiatives to that but as well. This
they do by providing universal service funding, direct funding of backhaul
and access networks, the development of citywide and municipal networks
and PPPs (Yardley, 2012). Hence, it is safe to say that these initiatives will
continue with the advent of 5G towards rural areas towards extending the 5G
access network into rural areas.
5G Service delivery: In developing countries, mobile network providers

and service providers are currently delivering different forms of platform
services (See (Qiang, Kuek, Dymond, & Esselaar, 2011)). A popular example
is the mobile money services which currently serves 1.9 billion people in
developing countries (GSMA, 2016). Also, network operators in developing
countries are already delivering platform services. In Nigeria, Glo mobile
has a data package for Netflix (Goodie, 2016). Facebook and Wikimedia
are already delivering Zero-rated services in some developing countries, and
there are marketing platforms in developing countries (Gebhart, 2016; Qiang,

2017). Hence, mobile network operators and service providers are likely to
have services they can supply.
Another supply possibility if from the public sector stakeholder and IDAs.
Earlier the Ecofish initiative was mentioned. In many cases, public sector ini-
tiatives are often from International development agencies. Examples include
e-government initiatives in African countries such as Ghana and Rwanda,
supported by the World Bank. Between 2003 and 2010, the World Bank
handled 95 ICT related projects. The IFC was involved in 100 projects and
Multilateral Investment Guarantee agencies (MIGA) were involved in 12
of those projects (World Bank, 2012). Therefore, there is the possibility of
supply of the relevant services to rural people in developing countries by
IDAs, even though they may not have a great incentive to do so in a PPC as
mentioned earlier.
11.4.3 Potential PPC Organizational and Financial Strategy

Developing a PPC organizational and financial strategy in developing coun-
tries would have been difficult if there were no other PPCs to learn from.
Though most PPCs exist in developed countries, lessons on how they are
organized, how they spread risk, facilitate demand and handle infrastructure
and service delivery can be useful. What will not be useful is the replication
of those PPCs. This is because some of them are deployed in countries
with a high GDP. Inhabitants of those rural areas have a different culture,
educational background and a different type of rural area. Therefore PPCs
adapted for developing countries should not replicate the dynamics of PPCs
in western countries.
In the next section, a practical example of a PPC inspiration from another
country. Inspiration from this PPC will be used simulate a PPC for the
Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, later in this chapter.
Part 2
11.5 Inspiration for the Organizational Framework
for Supplying Telecom Infrastructure
This section describes the Almhult Municipality Broadband organizational
and financial strategy. It is an example of a core driven PPC. Though the case
is described, to provide the background for the organizational and financial
11.5 Inspiration for the Organizational Framework 291
strategy description, the emphasis is on the organizational and financial

strategy. In this section, the background for the organizational and financial
strategy; the action adopted by the municipality; how the organizational and
financial strategy was arranged is described. This case is extracted from one
of the cases studied by the author in another research (See (Williams, 2015)).
An aspect of the research was aimed at understanding why people in rural
areas in developed and developing countries facilitate various Broadband
Internet infrastructure.
11.5.1 Background for the Organizational

and Financial Strategy
Almhult municipality is part of the Kronoberg County in the Southern
part of Sweden. The land size of the municipality is 891 Km2 (Statistics
Almhults Municipality, 2016). In 2015, Almhult was home to 16,168 inhab-
itants (Statistics Sweden, 2016). 4631 of the inhabitants live in rural areas
(Statistics Almhults Municipality, 2016). The average income of the citizens
of the municipality is between 240 000 Swedish Krona (SEK) and 500 000
Swedish Krona (SEK) (Williams, 2015). Most permanent inhabitants of the
municipalities are artisans, entrepreneurs, civil servant or work with IKEA
(ibid).
Ensuring the existence of a Broadband infrastructure has always been
the desire of Almhult Municipality. This is because the mobile telecom and
Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) infrastructure delivered by
the private network operator in some parts of Almhult are in sometimes
affected by natural disaster. Due to the fact that some parts of the municipality
are not commercially viable to the incumbent operators, re-erecting such
infrastructure after the storm is expensive. In 2005, the municipality did
facilitate Wi-Fi infrastructure for the municipality. The politicians from the
municipal council were not happy with the data rates provided by Wi-Fi and
the cost of replacing spoilt parts.
However, an opportunity for facilitating a new a more durable Broadband
infrastructure emerged, after the municipality connected its outstations in
the municipality using fiber optics. They realized that the municipality net-
work was in close proximity to residential areas. Therefore, multiple access
networks can be created to facilitate FTTH. In this way, a broadband infras-
tructure which is storm proof, can deliver Quality of Service and provide
citizens of the municipality with a platform with multiple Broadband service
options. This is when the municipality decided to facilitate FTTH.
11.5.2 Municipality Action

The municipality decided to create a Public-Private Partnership framework,
where the municipality, the private network operator, and citizens of Almhult
will leverage their resources to build the access networks. In order to facilitate
this framework, the municipality has to identify the relevant stakeholders and
co-opt them to fulfil their assignments. These stakeholders were the citizens
and the private network operator.
The citizens: As the municipality does not have geographical administra-
tive units in the municipality, they had to rely on the 9 old church parish
system to demarcate the municipalities and the access networks. This is
represented in Figure 11.2.
Though these church parishes were defunct, the municipality had to
establish some form of organization. This they did by encouraging residents
of these old parishes to form cooperatives. These organizations would own,
partially deploy by digging the ducts and partially manage the access fiber
optics infrastructure as their own. The creation of the sense of ownership for
the communities was to ensure active community participation in the process.
The adoption of cooperative as a form of organization was also to help the
communities receive EU funding for cooperatives, for their administrative
functions. And to entice the citizens of the municipality towards participating
in the endeavor, the municipality had to facilitate subsidies for the project
from the EU and well as from the municipality themselves. In this manner,
the financial commitment from the cooperatives would not be as high as it
Figure 11.2 Almhult Broadband parish structure.

1. Hallaryd, 2. Delary-Göteryd, 3. Pjätteryd, 4. Diö-Stenbrohult, 5. Liatorp, 6. Eneryda,
7. Virestad, 8. Bräthult, 9. Häradsbäck
Source: Almhults Byanät (2014).
would have been at market value. To organize the cooperatives, the munici-
pality embarked on mobilization campaigns, via seminars, training, mail and
newspaper campaigns.
Private network operators: Initially, the municipality had approached
Telia for the project. But the municipality was interested in having a com-
petitive market via Open Access on equal terms. This involved active and
passive sharing. This sharing agreement at that moment was not an entic-
ing offer for Telia, so the partnership could not hold. This was when the
municipality decided to use the cooperatives to facilitate the access networks
and encourage active sharing rather. But there was now room for the private
network operator to build maintain and operate the network under three-
year renewable contracts. Therefore the municipality decided to open up a
procurement process. The terms for they would be private network operator
would be that they should partner with a Platform (briefcase). The platform
must include at least 5 Internet Service Providers (ISPs), 5 IP telephony
providers and 2 IPTV providers (See (Williams, 2015)). This was aimed at
encouraging competition at the retail or service network of the Infrastructure
that would be provided to the end user. In 2013 Zitius was selected in
the initial procurement process and its sister company Quadracom provided
the platform (Almhults Kommun, 2013). Other interested network operators
were Open Universe, Net at Once and Wexnet (ibid).
11.5.3 Description of the Organizational and Financial Strategy

In this section, the organizational and financial strategy adopted in the pas-
sive, active and service layers are explained. The contents of this chapter
are based on the interview conducted with the municipality representative
in Almhult. The common organizational and financial strategy adopted in
each layer is the Public DBO forms of PPP. This is because the public sector
enables wholesale and retail services on their network and the cooperatives
access network respectively. At the active network – though the network is
owned by the cooperatives – the private network operator and the platform
providers are in contractual relationships with the municipality and not the
cooperatives. This is why they are recognized as Public DBOs. However, at
the active layer, the delegated management contract form of PPP is evident.
Here the private network operator for a short period manages the network
and is paid by the public sector. In this case, it is a 3-year contract. The
explanation of the PPP arrangement in each layer is as follows.
Municipality Passive network: At the municipality passive network, the

network is built and owned by the municipality. They earn revenue from
monthly interconnection charges from the assess networks owned by the
cooperatives. The network is leased to Zitius to operate. The Public DBO
form of PPP is adopted in this layer, as the municipality owns the network,
while the private network operator acquires a lease to operate it on behalf of
the municipality.
Cooperative active networks: The Public DBO is extended to this layer. This
is because the network operator represents the municipality in the facilitation
of the infrastructure under the municipality’s supervision. The responsibilities
of the different partners in this layer are represented in the Table 11.2.
As mentioned in the Table 11.1, the municipality served as the overall
manager of the project. They have an office dedicated to the project. The
Swedish board of roads regulates the right of way for digging the ducts for
the fiber optic network. The municipality also provided 40 Million Swedish
Krona (SEK) for the project. The cooperatives controlled the mobilization
of members (who are equally subscribers). They also handled the digging of
the ducts. The network operator provides the infrastructure and maintains the
network for the duration of the contract.
The financing model includes income and expenditure streams for each
stakeholder. The financial models are represented in the Tables 11.3, 11.4
and 11.5.
Table 11.2 Active network supply stakeholders

Municipality Cooperatives Network Operator
1 Manage the project Facilitation of more Laying and blowing
members the fiber
2 Partially finance the Facilitate digging Maintaining the
project of duct network
Table 11.3 Responsibility of the municipality

Expenditure Revenue
1 Financial contractual obligations to Interconnection fees from
network operator cooperatives
2 Procurement of equipment for the
project
Table 11.4 Responsibilities of the cooperatives

Cooperative Swedish Cooperative Swedish
Expenditure Item Krona (SEK) Revenue Stream Item Krona (SEK)
*One time Access Fee per Between Annual cooperative **200
household 20 000 membership fee SEK
and 25 000
Monthly, payment for 1000 per EU funding for ***-
maintenance by Network cooperative cooperatives
operator
Monthly payment for About 8000
interconnectivity to per
municipality network cooperative
*The money was also used for paying the diggers. EU funding disbursed from the county reimbursed
half of the money raised for the digging.
**For Hallaryd Broadband Cooperative, Each cooperative charges different amounts as decided by them.
*** Not certain how much as it was not disclosed in the interview.
Some cooperatives are up to 170 members.
Table 11.5 Responsibilities of the network operator

Revenue Known Expenditure
1 Financial contract obligation from Buy access from Tele 2
municipality
2 Monthly payment by cooperatives for
having access to their technical house
(maintenance)
*most expenditure not certain.
Provision of service network: At the service/retail network, a new stake-

holder is involved and that is the owner of the service platform. The respon-
sibilities of the municipality and the cooperatives evolve, while the network
operator coordinates its activity with the owner of the service platform at this
layer. The responsibilities of the stakeholders are as follows:
• The platform owner: The platform owner provides access to multiple
ISPs, multiple IP telephony providers, and multiple IP TV providers.
The current service provider is Quadracom. They provide access to 11
Broadband Internet providers, 3 IPTV providers and 7 IP telephony
providers (QMarket Almhult, 2016). This platform as mentioned earlier
in the active network owned by the cooperatives.
• The cooperative members: Each cooperative member from each of the

9 cooperatives is provided access to the service provider’s platform at
www.almhult.qmarket.se. Here they can choose the Broadband Internet,
IPTV and IP telephony services and monthly subscriptions that they
need.
• The municipality: The municipality regulates competition indirectly
at this layer, as they ensure that Zitius introduces a service provider
with a service platform. This act forms the basis of the municipality’s
relationship with Zitius.
At each layer, the commercial risk is mitigated by facilitating demand and
supply. Though demand aggregation is utilized to generate demand the ser-
vice, demand for the project was propelled by the sense of ownership of the
project by the cooperatives, the usefulness of the service to the people and
the ability for the people to afford the service. These three factors, facilitated
by the municipality, served as an incentive for people to synergize via the
vehicle of cooperatives to aid the FTTH infrastructure and service deliv-
ery. On the supply side, the municipality reduced the market entry barriers
for the network operators. At wholesale market, the municipality bore the
financial risks, while the network operators provided their management and
operational competencies. At the retail market, the municipality regulated
competition in the delivery of the services. This was done to encourage
operational, service and organizational and financial strategy innovations. It
was also to ensure that the services are affordable to the citizens and enough
to compete with existing Broadband technologies.
The critical aspect adopted by the municipality to mitigate the com-
mercial and demand risk was the revenue and expenditure models adopted.
The revenue requirements involved a combination of the user-pay and the
authority-pay approach. The user-pay approach is adopted at the point of
interconnection to the municipality network, access connectivity to the coop-
eratives, and annual membership fee for the cooperatives, maintenance for
the network operator and access to the service for the service providers on
the platform. The authority-pay approach is adopted in the financing of the
access network infrastructure delivery and service platform by the munici-
pality to the network operator. The authority-pay also involves EU funding
for the cooperatives. In adopting these forms of revenue requirements, the
cooperative and the municipality can recoup their operational cost on the long
run. The network operator also had an incentive to become a partner in the
project.
Lessons from this project will be handled in the discussion section. In the
next section, an attempt is made to make a demand assessment of Indonesia,
11.6 Demand Assessment for Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand 297
Thailand and the Philippines for the development of a PPC for the delivery of
5G in their rural areas.
11.6 Demand Assessment for Indonesia, Philippines

and Thailand
In this section, an overview of the level of adoption of Broadband and the
potential demand for 5G services in the rural areas of these countries.
11.6.1 Overview of the Adoption of Broadband in Indonesia,

Thailand and the Philippines
These countries are developing countries in the ASEAN region with an
average rural population as seen in the Table 11.6. They are also home com-
petitive, dynamic and fast growing mobile Broadband markets. A snapshot of
the level of adoption of mobile Broadband subscription, Internet subscription
and LTE coverage in these market are represented in the Table 11.6.
The Philippines is also identified as the fastest growing smartphone
market in the ASEAN region (IDC, 2016). This is a positive sign towards
their ability to access 5G services in the future. It also implies that over time,
people in rural areas in the Philippines will also have access to smartphones
in the future, if they do not have it now.
Citizens of these countries as seen in the Figure 11.3. spend between 2.9
hours to 4 hours on social media each day, as seen in the Figure 11.3. This
implies that most broadband internet subscribers in these countries are not
passive users of the Internet but active users of the Internet.
In the rural areas of these countries, people are already using the Internet.
In rural areas in the Philippines, they use it for entertainment and communica-
tion (Barela, et al., 2016). They are able to access the Internet using Internet
enabled feature phones (Deloitte, 2015). Though the percentage using the
Table 11.6 Broadband penetration in Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia

Population
Mobile Using the Rural
Broadband LTE Internet Population
Country Subscription (%) Coverage (%) in 2016 (%) Population 2015 (%)
1 Thailand 75.28 39 42.7 68, 146, 609 50
2 Philippines 41.58 43 43.5 102, 250, 133 56
3 Indonesia 42.05 20.4 3,424,971,237 46
Source: Internet Live Stats (2016); Broadband commission (2016); Open Signal (2016); World Bank
(2015).
Figure 11.3 Number of hours spent on social media in Asia.
Source: GSMA (2014).
service might be small compared to urban adoption of the service, the rural
citizens still understand the usefulness of the services. There is evidence that
NGOs in rural Indonesia use the Internet for rural development initiatives
(Nugroho, 2010). In Thailand, some community wireless networks are sup-
plying access to Wireless Broadband Internet to rural areas (Lertsinsrubtavee,
et al., 2015). So some rural folks some rural folk in these three countries
are familiar with the Internet. What might not be so obvious is if they feel
they need to prioritize the adoption of the Internet in the midst of other more
pressing issues fighting for their attention.
11.6.2 The Existence of Huge Rural Commercial Cooperatives

in the Three Countries
However, in the three countries, just as it is in many other Asian countries,
there are multiple clusters of commercial cooperative activities (Kurimoto,
2011). The clusters are either agricultural service based clusters or otherwise.
Most of these Asian cooperatives are in rural areas. The existence of these
commercial cooperatives and other organized groups presents a demand
opportunity for 5G services in these rural areas. The fact that these rural
cooperatives engage in commercial activities implies the possibility towards
paying for an affordable 5G solution that supports their commercial activity.
In the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, cooperatives are institution-

alized as a means of enabling the national economy at the grassroots. These
cooperatives support the national GDPs of these countries. There are various
kinds of cooperatives operating in mostly rural and in some urban areas in
Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Let’s take a look the influence of
cooperatives in these countries.
Cooperatives in Thailand: The Government of Thailand initiated coopera-

tives in 1915 as a means of sustaining the livelihood and economic activity
of their farmers (Ratanamalai, 1999). Today, there are diverse forms of
cooperatives in Thailand and most of them operate in rural areas (ibid). Coop-
erative activities in Thailand are regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and
cooperatives. In May 1998, there were 5418 cooperatives in Thailand, with a
cumulative membership of 6, 642, 584 members as seen in the Table 11.7.
Table 11.7 Number of cooperatives in Thailand

Number of Number of % of Number of
Type or Cooperatives Membership Cooperatives Cooperative Cooperative
Cooperatives (1999) in 1999 (2009) in 2009 2012
Agricultural 4433 58.71 3684
cooperatives
1 Agricultural 3250 3,876 582 4241 56.16
Cooperatives
2 Fisheries 74 9855 97 1.28
cooperatives
3 Land settlement 100 118 594 95 1.26
Cooperatives
Non- 3118 41.29 2854
Agricultural
cooperatives
4 Consumer 365 725 433 301 3.99
cooperatives
5 Service 369 116 247 994 13.16
cooperatives
6 Savings and 1260 1, 795 873 *1333 17.65
credit
cooperatives
**490 6.49
Farmer group 4093
Total 5418 6, 642 584 7,551 100 10 631
Source: Ratanamalai (1999); CAD (2012); CAD (2009).

*Thrift and credit cooperatives.
**Credit union cooperatives.
15 of the cooperatives were national cooperatives with a combined

member cooperative societies of 1600 (Ratanamalai, 1999). 3 of them were
regional cooperatives with 33 member societies (ibid). 81 of them were
provincial cooperatives with 1276 member societies (ibid). However, as can
be seen in the Table 11.7, the agricultural, fishing and part of the savings, land
settlement and credit cooperatives are located in rural areas. Also between
1999 and 2009, 2133 new cooperatives were added were registered. In 2012
the number of cooperatives grew to 10 631 cooperatives (CAD, 2012). The
total amount of members grew to 11.5 million representing 17.9 million of the
population (ibid). The number of agricultural cooperatives was 3 684 cooper-
atives, the non-agricultural cooperatives were 2854 and 4093 farmer groups
were added. Their combined capital was 1.8 trillion baht and 1.9 trillion baht
in business value which is 16.4% of Thailand’s GDP. In 2012, they made
a combined profit of 55 Billion Bhat. The activities of the cooperative are
regulated by the ministry of agriculture and cooperatives (MAC, 2017).
Cooperatives in the Philippines: In the Philippines the cooperatives are

regulated by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), (See (CDA,
2016)). In 2014, the country recorded 10,762 cooperatives with a total
membership of 7, 675,283 (CDA, 2014). In 2015, there were about 25610
cooperatives registered counted on the CDA website (CDA, 2016). This
implies that cooperatives are increasing in the Philippines. About 2700 of
these cooperatives are in the Manilla metro area (ibid). This is in the urban
area. 703 of them carry out some form of agricultural activity, majority of
them are multi-purpose cooperatives located in areas that are rural (ibid). The
significance of cooperatives in the Philippines is in the volume of business
carried annually. In 2014, the volume of business conducted by cooperatives
in the Philippines was 313, 835,095,083. This presents potential demand for
5G services that can support this volume of business (CDA, 2014).
Cooperatives in Indonesia: The Ministry of cooperatives and SMEs regu-

late cooperatives in Indonesia (APEC, 2016). In 2012, there were 192,443
cooperatives in Indonesia with 33.68 Million members (ILO, 2012). 70% of
these cooperatives reside in rural areas (ibid). Most of them were agricultural
cooperatives (ibid). However, in 2016, it is documented that 30% of cooper-
atives in Indonesia are no more active due to their inability to compete with
up and coming companies (Sugarda, 2016). This presents an opportunity for
5G services as means or reviving the activities of ailing cooperatives. But
there are still a sizable number of localized cooperatives, which represents

potential market value for 5G operators.
11.6.3 The Need for ICT by the Cooperatives

The need for these cooperatives in these countries to adopt the Internet to
optimize their services is not new. Some academics view that these speciali-
zed and multi-purpose cooperatives can benefit from e-commerce activities
that link them to the outside world (Chieochan, Lindley, & Dunn, 2003). In
Thailand, there was an effort by the government to encourage the adoption
of Information systems to optimize the operations of cooperatives (FAO,
2004). It is safe to say that adopting information systems in the past was
capital intensive. For cooperatives in rural areas, that was a non-starter, as
most of them operate in areas where people live either a little above, close
to or below the poverty line. However, the emergence of a sharing economy
and platform services implies that members of these cooperatives can adopt
ICT at a lower cost. All they need is their mobile phone and access to
the sharing platform. In a few cases, they may need a laptop or an IPad.
However, operating within the confines of the cooperative, there is the ability
to share knowledge, share resources in order to help each member optimize
their processes. The organization of cooperatives to either facilitate or adopt
the services of either mobile or wireless network operator is not new (See
(Townsend & Stern, 2006; Williams, 2015; Williams, 2016)). Therefore there
are different inspirations, one can get to harness the potential of cooperatives
toward adopting 5G in these three countries. Therefore, people in these rural
areas in these three countries do have some sense of awareness that they can
adopt ICTs for their operations. The reality could be that they do not know
how. This is solvable.
11.6.4 The Potential for Network Effect

In a previous study conducted by Williams (2015), it was evident that the
more people adopt a relevant Internet service, the more the internet service
becomes valuable. They can use it to communicate with one another within
their network, and as more people see the value the Internet presents towards
communicating, the likely they will join cooperatives to facilitate the Infras-
tructure. In the same vain, 5G services adopted by cooperatives and NGOs
that produce a network effect within the cooperatives are more likely to be
adopted than other 5G services. In most cooperatives, the members are also
customers to each other as well as business partners. They have various tools,
such as the telephone calls, face-to-face meeting going to the bank etc., that
serves as a means of transacting business. Assuming they had a platform
enabled by 5G that helps them reduce their transaction costs. There is every
likelihood, that the adoption of that 5G service in that community will be
valuable to each member. The more members hook up to the service, the
more the network effect grows. This is a possibility for delivering 5G in rural
areas to cooperatives, NGOs etc. in these three countries.
These cooperatives have market value, based on their commercial activ-
ities. They are also well networked nationally and ICT services provided
using a 5G platform and M2M services will enable them increase their
productivity with minimal labor. As the cooperatives are already organized
in large numbers, a critical mass necessary for the adoption of platform or
localized services that meet their collective needs can be deployed profitably.
However, profit is only guaranteed with the right business model. This is an
opportunity for demand.
11.7 Potential Supply Possibilities

The Almhult municipal case described in Section 3 is a core driven PPC.
However, considering the fact that Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia
are developing countries, an extended PPC will be considered. This does
not imply that a core driven PPCs will not be successful in these countries.
For core driven PPCs to be successful in these countries, the cooperatives
and the public sector contribute towards facilitating the infrastructure and
services. These contributions will include financial, technical and operational
resources into the PPC as in the case of Almhult. It is not clear if they have
the financial might to fund the extension of 5G base station infrastructure
into their neighborhood. Therefore, this proposal is not designed as a core
driven PPC.
But with an extended PPC, the cooperatives will only be demand
stakeholders. They will be:
• Trained on how to use the 5G services that will be delivered by the public
sector stakeholder
• Advised on how to purchase and install the customer premise equipment
needed for the service.
Therefore the supply stakeholders, in this case, will be public sector agencies,
private network and service providers and international donor agencies. How-
ever, an aspect of the Almhult municipality initiative that will be replicated
here is the mode of Service delivery level and partially at the Network
11.7 Potential Supply Possibilities 303
delivery level. This implies that the public sector will own the infrastructure,
while the private network operator and service providers on contractual basis
will deliver their services via this infrastructure. In this section how the
infrastructure will be supplied, the role of the relevant stakeholders and the
financial plan will be described. This PPC is designed as a Public DBO at the
infrastructure and service level.
11.7.1 The Infrastructure to Be Supplied

Expected Network Infrastructure: The inspiration for the network infras-
tructure is extracted from the 5GPPP proposed architecture (5GPPP Archi-
tecture working group, 2016). Other proposed architectures are similar,
with minor technical and functional differences. However, the 5GPPP for
explanatory purposes and not because it is better than the others.
The network scenario considered for this PPC is the utilization of 5G
base station to extend 5G connectivity to rural Thailand, Philipines and
Indonesia. The 5G bases station will be extending connectivity from the near-
est existing Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) to the rural areas. C-RAN
is mentioned because in the proposed 5G infrastructure so far, the baseband
processing multiple base stations will be centralized (COMMSCOPE, 2017).
The C-RAN could be owned by either a private network operator or a public
network operator. However in the network scenario presented in this section
is preferable if the existing C-RAN is unbundled and owned by the public
sector, while the transport network, the core network and the Internet network
is owned by the private network operator. However, in a situation where
C-RAN is owned by the private network operator, this network scenario
proposed in this chapter will still be useful. The only aspect that has to be
considered critically is the access regulations needed for such an endeavor.
The access regulation will inhibit the private network operator from killing
the PPC using discriminatory access pricing schemes.
Expected Services Infrastructure: The expected service will be a cloud or

platform based service and an M2M service for the cooperatives. But with
this PPC simulation, the focus is on a cloud and platform based service. This
is because, with 5G, the quality of service to enable hundreds of users will
be possible. A national service platform that will enable the cooperatives
to conduct their daily transactions. It could be a platform for cooperatives
involved in cash crops, fishing, and any other agricultural activity or service.
The platform will host different service providers, providing different cloud-
based services which the cooperatives can choose from. The cooperatives
can be served on a national, regional or local level. The presence of the 5G

infrastructure in the area that will imply that access to the service is available.
11.8 The Role of the Stakeholders in the PPC

Organizational and Financial Strategy
11.8.1 The Public Sector Stakeholders
The role of the public sector stakeholders will include, the stakeholders
involved in the central coordination of the PPC, the stakeholders involved in
the delivery and ownership of the service platform, the stakeholders involved
in the delivery and the ownership of the 5G base stations and the stakeholders
involved in capacity building.
11.8.1.1 Public sector stakeholders involved in the central

coordination of the PPC
The National Central Coordinating council: In the Philippines, Indonesia, and
Thailand, as will be seen in this section, there are more than one public stake-
holder involved in the development of telecom infrastructure and regulating
cooperatives. The cooperatives in these respective countries are regulated
by different laws. The telecom sector is also regulated by different laws. In
order to develop a harmonized framework for creating the PPCs, there is the
need for a central coordinating body. The will serve as the overall project
managers. Their duty will be to coordinate the projects as well as coordinate
various lead public sector stakeholders to design and build the service and
network infrastructure necessary for the PPCs. In the case where there is no
relevant stakeholder to regulate the cooperative or facilitate Universal Access,
they can take up the role of organizing PPCs to develop the services and the
network. The body has to be mandated by law and given oversight functions
over PPCs relating to the development of 5G infrastructure and services. They
will not be paid from revenues accrued from the projects. Rather they will be
paid from the administrative fees, when running the project. They cease to
exist when all cooperatives have access to 5G networks.
11.8.1.2 Public sector stakeholders needed in the facilitation

of the service platform
In the delivery of the 5G Service, a national service platform that can also
serve cooperatives at the regional and local level will be facilitated by the
relevant public sector agencies. These public sector agencies are the ones
who regulate cooperatives in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These
11.8 The Role of the Stakeholders in the PPC Organizational 305
are the ministry of Cooperatives and SME, The Ministry of Agriculture

and Cooperatives and the cooperative development authority in Indonesia,
Thailand and the Philippines respectively (See (MAC, 2017; MICT, 2017;
CDA, 2016)). Their duty will be as follow:
• The Control of the service platform: The national service platforms that
will host access the service providers providing the cloud solutions will
be designed owned, managed and operated by the cooperative regulation
agencies in Thailand, Indonesia, and The Philippines. They will design
an organizational and a financial strategy on how the cooperatives can
have access to these platforms. They understand the cooperatives, the
needs of the cooperatives and the services the cooperatives may need.
They will serve as an intermediary between the cooperatives and the
service provider and ensure that the service provider is paid for their
services as cooperatives subscribe to them. The platform can be devel-
oped via a PPP or via a service contract. However, it is important that
these regulatory bodies, conduct a needs assessment to understand which
service they can deliver via this platform.
• Regulation of platform service providers: The aforementioned agencies
will design mechanisms to decide which platform provider should be
allowed on the platform. In the case of Almhult municipality, the ser-
vices delivered are regulated indirectly by facilitating competition. This
may be the case here. What is important is that there are many platform
providers as possible, where these thousands of cooperatives in their
respective country can choose from. In order to make it more compet-
itive, the market entry and exit agreement for the cooperatives should
be low. This implies that the respective cooperative regulatory bodies,
regulate the service level contracts between the cooperatives and the
service provider, to ensure that the cooperatives can change a provider
if they are not happy with the contract they have. The language of the
platform will also be determined by the regulators of the cooperatives.
11.8.1.3 Public sector stakeholders needed for the facilitation

of the 5G network infrastructure
One or more the public sector stakeholders will design, build and own the
5G Base stations that will be extended to the vicinity of the cooperatives.
In Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, the regulator of the cooperatives
will not be involved in the building of the infrastructure. In Indonesia and
Thailand, their Universal Service funds BP3TI and the Universal service
Fund of Thailand respectively can lead this process and own the infrastructure
as well (BP3TI, 2017; BRTI, 2017). These agencies have the experience in
handling and managing similar projects.
They can be supported financially by other relevant public agencies. In
Indonesia, such agencies include, Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund
(IIGF), Badan Regulasi Telekomunikasi Indonesia (BRTI) (the regulator)
and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (the sector
ministry) (See (MAC, 2017; Kominfo, 2017; Sugarda, 2016; IIGF, 2017)).
Currently, In Indonesia, public sector funding via the IIGF and the Universal
Service fund has been utilized to facilitate undersea backhaul Fiber-Optics
connectivity and rural telephony projects respectively (Talbot, 2013; IIGF,
2017). The Government also co-finances the GPOBA finances rural tele-
phony initiative (GPOBA, 2017). The country is also dynamic in how they
apply universal service funding. Initially, they were funding rural telephony
initiatives, now they are also funding tech start-ups (Timmerman, 2016).
Therefore there is the political will to finance universal access, which can
be extended to facilitating 5G for the cooperatives. However, In Indonesia,
removing political and administrative bottlenecks in disbursing universality
funds is important. In 2015, the report from ADB indicated that Rp7 trillion
(493 Million Euros) were not disbursed (Tabor & Yoon, 2015). This money
can be used the funds for PPCs extending 5G into rural areas.
In Thailand, such supporting agencies include, Ministry of Digital Econ-
omy and Society (the sector ministry) and the National Broadcasting and
Telecommunications Commission (the regulator) (MICT, 2017).
The Philippines does not have a Universal Service agency anymore
(GSMA, 2013). They might consider recreating one for this types of project.
However, their sector ministry, Department of Information and Communica-
tions Technology, is still involved in funding Universal service initiatives (see
(DICT, 2017)). They also have a regulator that can fund the project (NTC,
2017). But in an ideal situation, the central coordinating council can design,
build and own the Access networks in PPCs located in the Philippines (ITU
(a), 2013).
However, the only caveat here is that infrastructure development should
be in phases and probably one locality at a time. This is necessary to ensure
an effective infrastructure delivery.
11.8.1.4 Public sector stakeholder needed to facilitate

capacity building
The cooperatives have to understand why they need these platform services
and how it will help in the efficiency of their transactions and operations.
They have to understand how to navigate around the platforms. They also
11.8 The Role of the Stakeholders in the PPC Organizational 307
need to understand where they can access the platforms. Most rural coopera-
tive members may not be able to afford the relevant CPE. Hence helping them
set it up in the cooperative premises as an access point may be the way to go.
These are things to consider by the public sector.
In these three countries, the relevant sector ministries have the capacity
to help the cooperatives set up. They will also need to have the capacity
to train and provide simulation training. This could be between two remote
cooperatives. They could also adopt a similar approach as in the Almhult case
where selected champions were trained to train the others.
11.8.2 The Private Network/Service Stakeholders

11.8.2.1 Private sector stakeholder needed for 5G
infrastructure delivery
The network operator: It will be risky to advice that a network operator to
build a 5G base station in a rural area for this PPC. This is because now, 5G
is still under development and how the Value Added Services of the network
operator will be priced is not clear. However, based on the inspiration from
the Almhult initiative, leasing the operations, management and maintenance
of the infrastructure on a short-term lease is proposed for the PPC in the three
countries. Here the private network operator does not have to invest in the
delivery of the infrastructure. Rather, they are paid based on the contractual
agreement by the public sector agency that owns the infrastructure. The owner
of the infrastructure can decide to renew the lease or find another operator.
This is a win–win situation for both parties, as the owner of the infras-
tructure only has to pay the management contract fee as stipulated in the
procurement contract. The network owner on the other hand also gains via
the delivery of their 5G services on the public network. This will encourage
innovation in service delivery as well as open up the rural market for potential
5G services in the future.
11.8.2.2 Private sector stakeholder needed for the delivery

of the service infrastructure
The cloud/platform service provider: This service provider is given access
to the platform managed by the regulators of the cooperatives at no cost.
They only have to meet the criteria decided upon by the cooperative regulator
and enter into a contractual relationship with this public sector agency. The
reason no they are not to pay for this access is because they have to compete
with other platform providers. There is the risk of uneven competition in
advertising etc. this may result in the cooperatives preferring one provider
to another due to their visibility. The provider with less advertising budget
may lose out initially but some of the cooperatives may adopt that services
much later. Asking a platform provider to pay for this uncertainty is risky.
Hence it should be free for them.
The International development Agency: Earlier on, in this chapter, it was
mentioned that IDAs may not have much incentive towards fund PPCs. How-
ever, their track record in financing telecom related projects in the Philippines,
Indonesia, and the Philippines, implies that they could be persuaded to fund
these PPCs. See the examples in the Table 11.8.
Their financial and technical assistance will be valuable in aiding the pub-
lic sector stakeholders in these three countries facilitate the PPCs, especially
at the network infrastructure level.
11.9 Financial Design

In order to sustain the infrastructure and the service, the authority pay and
user pay options will be adopted.
Authority-pay: This will be the adopted for the lease of the network infras-
tructure, just as in the case of Almhult. The network subscriptions to the
cooperatives will be charged by the public sector. This will help the owner
of the infrastructure recoup the cost of the infrastructure on the long run.
It is also an avenue for the public sector owner to provide access to the
Infrastructure at an affordable rate and not at the market value. The services
delivered by the network operator to the public will be charged at market
price. When there is a competitive 5g market in the rural area and they have
recouped their investment, the public sector entity can sell the access network
to the network operator.
User-pay: This will be adopted for the 5G service delivery from the national
platform, just as in the case of Almhult. The cooperatives will decide which
platforms services they will subscribe to. They will also pay an annual access
fee for the platform to the regulator of the cooperatives. The cooperative
regulators will use this annual fee to maintain the platform. On the service
platform, the potential demand for the three countries respectively is huge.
This demand risk is small. This is why the user-pay is adopted. However,
the supply risk resides in the relationship between the regulators of the
cooperatives and the service providers.
Table 11.8 IDA telecom infrastructure initiatives in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines
Indonesia
Project Project Description Financiers Duration Implementing Agency(s) Project Cost
1 Telecom sector A reform program for the telecom sector; 1995–2002 *MTPT/TELEKOM $USD 1288.80 Million
modernization The development of legal framework, • The World Bank
institutions and infrastructure for a
• EXIM bank/Ministry of
competitive telecoms market
International Trade Japan,
• Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufau
Germany
• US EXIM bank
• Government of France
• Overseas Economic Cooperation

Fund
2 Extending The provision of telecom infrastructure 2009 - Ministry of finance and $USD 2, 128,000.00 GPOBA
telecommunications into and services to 4139 villages • GPOBA (A multi-donor trust the Ministry of grant ($USD 1 868 340)
rural Indonesia owned by DFID and Communications and GPOBA technical Assistance
administered by the World bank) Information Technology ($USD 368000)
Thailand
***Thailand Canada The facilitation of telephony and Internet Hickling Corporation
Telecenter project enabled computers at access points in • Canadian International Canada, TeleCommons
rural and remote areas Development Agency (CIDA) Development Group
Canada and Loxley Public
Company, Thailand
Philippines
Regional The facilitation of telecommunication Department of 3,803 million yen (Loan)
Telecommunications networks by constructing electricity • Japan International Cooperation Transportation and
Development Project in facilities in the Northern Luzon area Agency (JICA) Communications (DOTC)
Region III
Sources: The World Bank (2002); GPOBA (2017); Wong, Hanchanlash, Chatikavanij, & Barr (2005); JICA (2008).
*Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications (MTPT).
** Provided subsidy funding and technical assistance.
11.9 Financial Design
***Partial financing.
In the telecom sector modernization project, the themes included rural telecom infrastructure and service development, telecom services and housing for the urban poor, telecom infrastructure
services for private sector development, formulation of regulation and competition policy, and the development of legal institutions for a market economy (The World Bank, 2002).
309
Based on this supply dynamics, coupled with the demand dynamics, one
can say that there are possibilities for Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines
extending 5G infrastructure to rural areas much earlier than other developing
countries.
11.10 Discussion
In this chapter, an attempt has been made to explain the possibility of
extending 5G into rural areas in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
This simulation has an implication not just for the countries studied but for
Asia and other developing countries. Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philip-
pines are not the only Asian countries with a large number of cooperatives.
Cooperatives have been institutionalized in Asia for many years. A study
indicates that between 1935 and 1998, the number of cooperatives in Asia
grew from 10% to 57% with the largest cooperatives residing in India and
China (Kurimoto, 2011). Therefore, just as in the case of Thailand, Indonesia,
and the Philippines, there will be potential demand in most Asian economies.
Though there is potential demand for PPCs in Asian economies, their
national GDPs vary greatly. Hence the approach toward PPCs in other Asian
countries may differ. This is because of uneven GDPs in the region. South
Korea, Japan, China, and India may adopt more of the core driven PPC in
facilitating 5G in their rural areas. This is because they may not need a periph-
eral stakeholder to help them facilitate the initiative. However, countries such
as Laos, Vietnam, and Bhutan may adopt different forms of extended PPCs
to deliver 5G services in their rural areas.
But it is important to note the extended PPC can become quite complex
and burdensome, especially if loans are involved. In this case, adopting a
national platform service may not be the way to go. In the case of the three
countries studied, that idea became feasible due to the national spread of the
cooperatives and its volume of trade and business activity. Hence adopting
more localized and smaller PPCs would be the wise thing to do for small
Asian economies. Also, it is important that platform services adopted are
services that will enhance production. An example is the linking of a farmers
cooperative to sellers that buy in tons. If such a relationship exist then the
local farmer, whose is a cooperative member, has an incentive to produce
more to enhance their operations. But if they have occasional buyers, then the
incentive is less and it affects the national GDP. Therefore the potential of
these platforms rests in the ability to attract more customers. Such services
will make the farming community commercially viable for more 5G services
to be delivered.
11.11 Conclusion 311
Based on the case of Almhult municipality and the simulations made,

there are few factors that have to exist in order to facilitate a good PPC.
There are:
• The existence of a formidable commercial community to facilitate
demand for the PPC;
• The existence of relevant national institutions and organizations neces-
sary for the PPC;
• The development of a regulatory framework to guide the PPC;
• The political will by the relevant public sector holders to design and
facilitate a PPC;
• Understanding the potential of the technology (5G) to the commercial
activities of the community;
• The public sector encouraging research to identify areas in the rural area,
where 5G can support continuously;
• Finding out ways of how to spread the risks in the PPC to determine if it
should be a core or an extended PPC;
• And facilitating low market entry and exit barriers for network operators
and service providers.
Based on this factors, among others, PPCs can be designed to turn a market
that is not commercially viable into a commercially viable market for the
delivery of 5G services. And 5G as a technology is a technology of possi-
bilities. This technology will invade various aspects our lives more than ever
before. Asia is well positioned towards adopting 5G. What is important is
for the national governments to identify areas, where platform services will
convert offline practices into online practices that can be commercialized.
11.11 Conclusion
In conclusion, one would say that designing a PPC may be challenging in
practice. One would be nave to say that facilitating a PPC for 5G will not
be risky. What this chapter presents, is a possibility rather than a certainty.
It points out how a PPC could be arranged by gaining inspiration from
elsewhere and adapting that experience in the local context. If PPCs for the
development of 5G infrastructure were to occur in South America or Africa,
the community dynamics will be different. It is also possible that that the
nature of PPP or collaborations within the PPC will also vary. However, what
is important is that with PPCs, the possibility of extending 5G infrastructure
into rural areas is possible in Asia and in developing countries.
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Index
3G 3, 43, 139, 285 Mobile applications 109, 139,

5G 11, 34, 248, 260 228, 234
Mobile broadband 16, 42, 100, 285
A
Mobile communications 40, 52,
Africa 7, 130, 215, 225 136, 235
Agriculture 67, 133, 206, 238 Mobile networks 30, 52, 137, 194
Asia 195, 277, 285, 298 Mobile phone 14, 150, 212, 230
C P
Cloud computing 196, 198, PPP 279, 280, 293, 294
217, 254 Public-Private Partnerships 244, 266
D R
Developing countries 1, 111, Rural broadband 9, 173, 235, 243
130, 173 Rural Connectivity 8, 175, 177, 178
Digital divide 21, 75, 123, 146 S
Digital switch over 173, 174 Signal strength 173, 180, 186, 187
E Smallholder farmer 192, 193,
e-agriculture 113, 280, 282 204, 209
Education policy 78 Smart farming 8, 191, 260
e-health 2, 75, 125, 151 Social network 30, 138, 192, 166
e-learning 86, 87, 94 South America 6, 271, 278, 311
Sustainable development goals 2, 4,
I 216, 217
ICT 37, 40, 77, 88
T
ICT policy 5, 144, 145, 228
Telecommunication policy 142
ICT4D 2, 214, 218, 250
Throughput 175, 180, 181, 187
Internet of things 191, 194,
TV White Space 8, 173, 177, 187
198, 206
U
M Universal service 11, 23, 30, 244
Millennium development Goals
2, 214 W
Wi-Fi 44, 144, 175, 291
355
About the Editors
Knud Erik Skouby is professor and founding director of center for

Communication, Media and Information technologies, Aalborg University-
Copenhagen – a center providing a focal point for multi-disciplinary research
and training in applications of CMI. Has a career as a university teacher and
within consultancy since 1972. Working areas: Techno-economic Analyses;
Development of mobile/wireless applications and services: Regulation of
telecommunications.
Project manager and partner in a number of international, European and
Danish research projects. Served on a number of public committees within
telecom, IT and broadcasting; as a member of boards of professional soci-
eties; as a member of organizing boards, evaluation committees and as invited
speaker on international conferences; published a number of Danish and
international articles, books and conference proceedings. Editor in chief of
Nordic and Baltic Journal of Information and Communication Technologies
(NBICT); Board member of the Danish Media Committee. Chair of WGA in
Wireless World Research Forum;
Deputy chair IEEE Denmark. Member of the Academic Council of the
Faculty of Engineering and Science, AAU.
357
358 About the Editors
Idongesit Williams is a consultant and a lecturer with the center for

Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI) located at
Aalborg University Copenhagen. He lectures in Internet governance and
economics course at CMI, Aalborg University Copenhagen. He holds a
Bachelor in Physics from the University of Uyo, Nigeria; a Master degree
in Information and Communications Technologies and a Ph.D. from Aalborg
University, Denmark. Since 2010, he has researched into socio-economic,
socio-technical related to Information and Communications Technologies.
His research areas include the facilitation of telecom and ICT infrastructure
using Public Private Partnerships, the development and the sustenance of
Community-Based Networks, e-government implementation, Science and
Technology Studies, gender adoption of ICTs, Organizational adoption of
ICTs, User experience with ICTs and Organizational Learning. He has
authored more than 26 research publications, including journal papers, books,
book chapters, conference papers and magazine articles. He was the co-editor
of the Book, “The African Mobile Story”. He has delivered presentations
at conferences and also helped in organizing conferences such as the CMI
annual conference and the CMI/GTUC conferences.
Albert Gyamfi is a Ph.D. Fellow and guest lecturer at Aalborg University

Copenhagen. He serves as a guest lecturer for the Media management course
in the Operations and Innovation Management program at Aalborg Uni-
versity. He earned his Master’s degree in Management Information System
About the Editors 359
from the University of Ghana. His current research interest focuses on the
broad field of knowledge management. He has general interest in the theore-
tical foundations of organizational behavior and organizational structures
with a growing interest in organizational learning, organizational creativity
and innovation. His current research is focused on how Information and
Communications Technologies (ICTs) such as cognitive technologies and
big data influence knowledge management practices in organizations and in
Agriculture (ICT4AD).
About the Authors
Dr. Adebowale Ojo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of

Management, IT and Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa. Prior to joining the University of KwaZulu-Natal for the fellow-
ship, he taught at the department of Information Resources Management,
Babcock University, Nigeria. He obtained a Ph.D. in Information Resources
Management, specializing in Health Information Management from Babcock
University, Nigeria. His research interests lies within the intersection of
information technology and health care. Particularly, He is interested in the
application of mobile technology for improving health outcomes, as well as
the implementation of information systems for improved healthcare services.
He is a member of the Association of Information Systems (AIS), the Health
Information Managers Association of Nigeria (HIMAN), the South African
Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologist (SAICSIT),
the South African Healthcare Informatics Association (SAHIA), and the
Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA).
Alexander Osei-Owusu (B.Sc., M.Sc.) is a telecommunications manage-

ment expert heavily involved in telecommunications research. Alex’s inter-
ests are mainly in the areas of telecommunication’s policy formulation and
research. He is currently a Ph.D. student at Aalborg University, Copenhagen-
Denmark where he is researching on a topic “Policy framework to facilitate
access to telecom infrastructure for Ghanaian mobile network operators”.
Alex is an exceptional scholar. He was adjudged the overall best student and
was also presented with the best thesis award during his M.Sc. studies at
Ghana Technology University where he successfully completed with distinc-
tion. Alex has conducted extensive research work in the area of Information
and Communications Technology (ICT). Some of his research work has been
accepted at international conferences such as International Telecommuni-
cation society held in Spain (Madrid), United Kingdom (Cambridge); 37th
meeting of (WWRF) world wireless conference held in Germany (Kassel);
the Global Development Network (GDN) conference in Accra, Ghana;
361
362 About the Authors
the 7th International Research Conference organized by Koforidua Polytech-

nic in Koforidua, Ghana and the African Finance and Economics Association
(AFEA) conference in Boston in March 2014. His recent journals publi-
cations were on “Policy foundation of the Ghana telecom industry”; “The
land rental system and diffusion of telecom infrastructure in Ghana – an
institutional and transaction economics approach” and “Investigating the
Applicability of Dynamic Pricing to Ghana’s Telecom Infrastructure Market.
Alex is currently working a paper and titled “Telecom infrastructure diffusion
in Ghana: Analysis of network tower management and sharing agreements –
a structural conduct performance (SCP) approach”. Alex Osei-Owusu is
highly motivated to contribute his quota to the world and his country through
cutting edge research.
Prof. Darı́o M. Goussal, born in Resistencia (Argentina) is Professor, found-

ing member and coordinator of the Rural Telecommunications Program
in the Department of Electricity and Electronics, School of Engineering
of Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE). After graduated in Elec-
tronics Engineering from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional of Argentina
(UTN), and postgraduate studies in Rural Telecommunications and Data
Telecommunications Engineering in Mexico and Japan, in 1992 he founded
a small research unit (GTR) primarily focused on high-level planning of
rural telecommunications networks and universal access. He has authored
scientific and technical papers or presentations in Argentina, Brazil, México,
Perú, USA, Canada, Germany, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary,
Scotland, Syria, Japan and Hong Kong, the ITU World Telecommunications
Development Conferences in 1994 and 1998, the ITU-D Study Group 2
in 1999 and as member of ITU-D Focus Group 7 (FG7) on New Tech-
nologies for Rural Telecommunications. He is a specialist in problems of
the strategic planning of Rural Telecommunications, with extensive experi-
ence in engineering, consulting and training missions for the International
Telecommunications Union and other regional or international agencies of
the United Nations. Having conducted or participated in project evaluation
and field studies in 12 countries, he has contributed to activities of the Inter-
national Telecommunications Society (ITS), the Research Committee of the
Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), Caribbean Knowledge Learning
Network (CKLN) and the organizations Community Teleservice Centers
(CTSC), Village Computing and Grameen Foundation (USA). At UNNE he
has coordinated a number of research projects concerning rural community
telecenters, long-term expansion behavior of local networks in small towns,
supply/demand studies involving access networks, optical routes, research

and educational networks (NRENs), white-space technologies with cognitive
radios (WRANs) and lately, feasibility aspects of rural broadband networks
operated by utility cooperatives.
Prof. Gary Cifuentes is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at

Los Andes University in Bogota (Colombia). He holds a Ph.D. in Human
Centered Communication and Informatics from Aalborg University
(Denmark). As an Assistant Professor he is in charge of the research group
on ICT and Education. His academic and teaching interests gravitate around
educational innovation, ICT leadership and the political dimension of inno-
vation. Drawing from qualitative and mixed methods -specifically policy
enactment, case studies and sociomateriality- his research agenda examines
the interconnection between technologies, policies and education from a
critical perspective.
Gregory Kunyenje is lecturer at Chancellor College, a constituent college of

the University of Malawi, where he teaches introductory courses in Computer
Science such as Systems Analysis and Design and Object-Oriented Analysis
and Design, among others. Mr. Kunyenje also provides tuition in introduction
to economics and management information systems to students studying for
Masters in Business Administration under Management College of Southern
Africa on part-time basis. Gregory holds degrees in Computer Science and
Computing from the University of Malawi and the University of Bradford
respectively. Prior to joining academia in 2008, Gregory worked with the
central bank in Malawi as Systems Development Manager and then Director
of Information and Communication Department between 1996 and 2007.
He is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in information systems at the
University of Cape Town focusing on public policy.
Dr. Heike Baumüller is a Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Program

of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) at the Centre
for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn, Germany. In her
research, she assesses at the role of information and communication tech-
nologies in facilitating agricultural innovation along agricultural value chains
in developing countries. From 2008–2009, she was a Senior Research Fellow
with the Energy, Environment and Development Program at Chatham House
in London, focusing on the environmental and socio-economic dimensions
of trade in natural resources. Previously, Dr. Baumüller worked as an inde-

pendent consultant in Cambodia (2007–2008) where she conducted research
on the impacts of trade and investment policies on sustainable development.
From 2000 to 2006, she coordinated the Environment and Natural Resources
Program and led the implementation of projects on fisheries and biotech-
nology at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
(ICTSD) in Geneva. She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences from the
University of Bonn, a Master of Environmental Studies from Macquarie
University, Sydney, and a Bachelor in Cognitive Science from the University
of Exeter, UK.
Dr. Idongesit Williams is a consultant and a lecturer with the Center for
Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI) located at
Aalborg University Copenhagen. He holds a Bachelor in Physics, a Master
degree in Information and Communications Technologies and a Ph.D. He
has since 2010 researched into socio-economic, socio-technical related to
Information and Communications Technologies. His research areas include
the facilitation of telecom and ICT infrastructure using Public Private
Partnerships, the development and the sustenance of Community-Based
Networks, e-government implementation, Science and Technology Studies,
gender adoption of ICTs, Organizational adoption of ICTs, User experi-
ence with ICTs and Organizational Learning. He has authored more than
26 research publications, including journal papers, books, book chapters,
conference papers and magazine articles. He is the co-editor of the Book,
The African Mobile Story. He has delivered presentations at conferences and
also helped in organizing conferences such as the CMI annual conference and
the CMI/GTUC conferences.
Prof. Iwona Maria Windekilde is Associate Professor at center for

Communication Media and Information technologies (CMI), Aalborg Uni-
versity Copenhagen, Denmark. She completed her Ph.D. at Szczecin Uni-
versity in Poland in 2002. From the year 2002 to 2005 she worked as an
Assistant Professor at Szczecin University in Poland at the Department of
Economics and Organization of Telecommunication. During her work at the
University she received a prize of the Headmaster of the Szczecin University
for outstanding achievements on the field of didactics. In 2005 she received
Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships – project co-funded by the European
Commission within the Sixth Framework Program. Her main research focus
is on the ICT innovation and socio-economic implications of ICT. She has
published a number of scientific papers and research reports within the areas
of broadband development, business model for personal electronic networks,
Green ICT, telecom networks, IT and broadcasting.
Olga Kretova is a Ph.D. fellow at Aalborg University Copenhagen. She is a

licensed advocate in Ukraine with an extensive legal experience of 13 years.
She has represented individual client and corporate entities on a wide range
of legal issues including general civil litigation, bankruptcy, debt recovery,
winding-up and insolvency, tax matters, business formation and business law.
The aspects of her Ph.D. thesis includes the regulation of telecommunications
market, transnational trade in telecommunications services and the political
and legal issues with development of a digital society Ukraine. She has a
number of publications on legislation approximation with respect to telecom-
munications services and information society under the WTO and the EU –
Ukraine Association Agreement.
Rebecca Agyemang Nyarko is a finance expert specializing in financial

policies and business investment research. She holds M.Sc. Finance from
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and
B.Sc. Administration (Insurance) from the University of Ghana, both with
distinctions. Prior to Joining GIMPA 2013 as a research assistant, she has
worked with the largest insurance companies in Ghana like Enterprise Insur-
ance, Vanguard Assurance and Provident Insurance. Her recent research was
on “Effect of exchange rate volatility on stock market return: A test of the
arbitrage pricing theory on Ghana stock return”. She intends to start her Ph.D.
and her interest is to research on public policy with specific interest in Health-
care issues. Rebecca is well motivated in helping younger generation with the
desire to research and invest prudently to drive economic development.
Dr. Roslyn Layton is an Internet policy consultant with Strand Consult

Copenhagen and studies internet economics and policy at the Center for
Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg
University in Copenhagen, Denmark. To improve the quality of internet
policymaking, her research project assesses the impact of net neutrality
rules to innovation and investment in 50 countries. She is unique in mak-
ing an empirical inquires on zero rating and net neutrality. Her research
areas include regulatory modernization, international broadband compar-
isons, spectrum allocation, and telecom policy to improve internet access
for the poor and developing world. Roslyn is also a Visiting Fellow at the
Center for Internet, Communication & Technology Policy at the American

Enterprise Institute. She writes for Forbes, US News and World Report,
TechPolicyDaily, and RoslynLayton.com. She has been featured in a number
of academic and popular media. Roslyn has a background in the IT industry,
having worked with a variety of companies offering analytics software and
platforms, disruptive technologies, outsourcing, healthcare/biotech IT, and IT
development services. She was a business development executive for Tata
Consultancy Services based in Innovation Labs-Hyderabad and an associate
in TCS Netherlands. She wrote KPIs for Search Engine Marketing (McGraw-
Hill, 2009) and managed a leading digital advertising agency for Coremetrics
IBM. She has been employed in Silicon Valley, India, Netherlands, and
Denmark.
Thai Do Manh is a telecommunications expert working with the Viet Nam

Public Utility Telecommunication Service Fund an agency with the Ministry
of Information and Communications of Vietnam. He has been working with
issues relating to Universal service in Vietnam for 12 years. He is also actively
involved in the drafting and development of Universal Service policies in
Vietnam. He holds a bachelor degree in business administration in 1998 and
master degree in economics in 2004. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. at
Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI), Department of
Electronic Systems, Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark. His research
is focused on telecommunications policies aimed at developing broadband
infrastructure and services. In this research, he is exploring ways of fostering
the penetration of broadband infrastructure in rural and mountainous areas
in developing countries. He also has produced several publications both on
journals and conferences.
Tomonari Takeuchi holds M.Sc. in ICTs for Development from the Univer-
sity of Manchester, UK, and B.A. in Political Science from KEIO University,
Japan. He is a development practitioner with strong interest in ICT for
Development. He began working for in the international development field as
a voluntary IT teacher in Ethiopia in 2003. Then, he worked as a consultant
for the grant assistance for grassroots projects at the Embassy of Japan in
Ethiopia. In 2010, he joined Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
and was responsible for various ICT4D projects in developing countries.
Currently, he is a representative of JICA Ghana Office and a visiting lecturer
for ICT Innovator Master Course at Kobe Institute of Computing, Japan.
N
O N ICT I
HANDB
OOK O U N T RIES
E L O P ING C
DEV
TIVE
R S P E C
5G PE lbert Gya
mfi (Edito
rs)
A
it Williams and
k S ko u by, Idonges
Knud Eri
The mobile communications market in developing countries is

growing at a rapid rate. This is evident in the rapid spread of mobile
broadband cellular networks such as 3G. 4G is also being deployed in
developing countries around the world. As the global communications
market proceeds towards 5G, it is evident that developing countries
will not be left behind. However, there are challenges and barriers on
the road ahead specific to developing countries. To aid policy makers,
researchers and members of the academia make informed decision
that will help the advancement of 5G, this handbook provides an
insight into the impact of existing mobile cellular networks in some
Topics discussed in this handbook include:
and Albert Gyamfi (Editors)

Knud Erik Skouby, Idongesit Williams
Ø Digital divide
Ø Policy outlook
Ø 5G and rural areas
Ø 5G readiness
T IN RIVACY –
Ø Telco Business models
O K ON I
I
T Y
C
A N DIPES
Ø Telecom tower pricing B O
HANBERSEIC
D U R COUN T R
Ø Mobile application adoption C Y O P N G
DEVEL
G TCHT E
I VGEAP
DEGRISNP E
5BGRIP amfi (Edit
ors)
y
d Albert G
illiams an
ongesit W
Skouby, Id
Knud Erik
WIRELESS WORLD
RESEARCH FORUM

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The mobile communications market in developing countries is

and Albert Gyamfi (Editors)

The “River Publishers Series in Communications” is a series of comprehensive aca-

For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com

Knud Erik Skouby

ISBN: 978-87-93379-91-6 (Hardback)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

List of Figures xix

List of Tables xxi

List of Abbreviations xxiii

1 The Evolution of Universal Service in Vietnam

1.3.5 The Stakeholders Carried Out the

2 Regulatory Challenges Affecting ICT Development

2.4.3 2009–2016 Decisive and Pro-Investment Regulatory

3 The Will to Innovate in Colombia: ICT Policies as a Means

4 The Role of Zero-Rating and Free Data in Promoting

4.3.2 Relevance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

5 Digital Divide: The Case of Africa 121

5.4.3 Telecommunication Pricing Measures . . . . . . . . 131

6 M-Health in Africa: A Situation Analysis 149

7 Leveraging TV White Spaces as a Tool for Improved Rural

7.3 TVWS Network Setup at Case Study Location-Koforidua

8 Towards Smart Farming? Mobile Technology Trends

9 How Africa Can Gain Benefits from Next Generation

9.4 Issues and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

10 Rural Broadband in Developing Regions: Alternative Research

10.3.1 Research Policies: Feedback from The Missing

11 Public-Private-Community Organizational and Financial

11.4.2 Potential Supply Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

11.8.2.2 Private sector stakeholder needed

About the Editors 357

About the Authors 361

The WWRF Series in Mobile Telecommunications

Dr. Nigel Jefferies

Knud Erik Skouby

Figure 3.1 Index of institutionalization of ICT policies. . . . . . . . . 82

Figure 10.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Table 1.1 Overview of the targets of the telecommunication

DSA Dynamic Spectrum Assignment

ITU International Telecommunications Union

Knud Erik Skouby, Idongesit Williams and Albert Gyamfi

The focus of this book is on the development of mobile communications

Internet subscription (See (GSMA, 2016)). Conversely, this challenge also

the roles described, a perspective of the Vietnamese approach towards the

countries and in Columbia. South American countries share a homogenous

five questions that should guide regulators in developing countries towards

initiatives being implemented to deliver wireless, mobile and fixed-broadband

1.2 Overview of the Vietnamese Telecoms Policy

state-owned-company monopoly (VNPT) and no competition existed at that

CDMA 2000 technology. ETC also commenced providing mobile cellular

1.2.2 A Snapshot of Vietnamese Telecom Policy Approach

Table 1.2 Telephony subscription in the Vietnamese telecoms market

Vietnam has adopted various forms of market interventions, as will be

1.3 The Evolution of Universal Service Policies in Vietnam

of the pace of technology development and the incompatibility of the new

1.3.1 Before 2005

The nation government – DGPT: DGPT was a state organization in charge

International organizations: In the process of liberalizing the telecommu-

VNPT: At that time, VNPT controlled the telecommunication market includ-

1.3.2 From 2005–2010: Program on Provision of Public

• 97% of communes in the whole country had at least a public telephone

1.3.3 Key Stakeholders in Implementing Program 74