Benefits for Governments
and Regulators
- When emerging economies leapfrog technology they advance their development and help bridge the digital divide.
- Broadband enables a truly digital society, which in turn strengthens democracy, creates more social cohesion and enables sustainable growth.
- Government broadband initiatives can improve access to information and services, save time and money, and reduce the digital divide between rural and urban areas.
- Broadband is a catalyst for new business opportunities. It increases productivity, reduces the need for travel, simplifies information sharing and creates new revenue channels from digital distribution and advertising.
- People in broadband-powered communities find it easy to stay in touch with each other, while constantly making new connections and exploring the world.
- Broadband enables people to more easily access government services, reducing travel and saving time and money.
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What governments need to know
Whole societies benefit when countries invest in broadband infrastructure. Expanded broadband coverage with higher access speeds can improve accessibility to government services, increase business efficiency, encourage entrepreneurial activity and improve the quality of life for citizens.
In addition, broadband makes it easy for people to live and work in rural areas, which in turn, helps limit rural-urban migration. People’s overall quality of life can be improved by enabling them to work, study and live wherever they choose.
A well built-out broadband infrastructure is a significant contributor to economic growth in developed countries, as well as those that lack basic infrastructure. When emerging economies leapfrog technology, they advance their development and help bridge the digital divide.
To get the most out of broadband, policy makers should consider activities that stimulate investment in high-speed networks, while also encouraging broadband usage.
What regulators need to know
Allocating spectrum for mobile broadband will increase coverage around the world, and help bridge the digital divide. Lower frequency bands offer cost-effective coverage for rural areas and good indoor coverage, while higher bands provide capacity in urban areas. The analog TV spectrum, which is becoming available as TV goes digital in many nations, can be allocated for broadband.
Regulators and policy makers need to take a holistic view of the whole area and set policies that stimulate competition and bridge the digital divide. Holistic regulation for TV, for example, would solve many issues in regards to distribution via broadcasting, the internet, broadband and cable.
Regulation is needed to stimulate fiber build-out so that operators can offer the bandwidth-demanding services that consumers will expect.
The capabilities of mobile-broadband technologies are rapidly approaching those of legacy ADSL and ADSL2+ access, and should be seen as an alternative way of stimulating competition between providers of broadband services.
Advanced technologies such as HSPA and LTE will provide coverage, data speeds and capacities suitable for most applications and users. The spectrum for these services needs to be allocated in a globally harmonized way to avoid interference and allow for global roaming and economies of scale.
Page Tools
Related links
- Broadband Everywhere - key to a digital society
- Reaping the full benefits of the digital dividend in Europe
- TV frequencies open up for mobile communications
- The Digital Dividend – a new opportunity for broadband everywhere
- Making Broadband Truly Universal
- The Mobile Planet
- Broadband benefits society (Video 5.34) to F&O
- Broadband - A basic necessity (Video 2.19 min)
