Description:
This book suggests an ecosystem approach
to broadband policy that could help in the design of
strategies, policies, and programs that support network
expansion, have the potential to transform economies,
improve the quality and range of services, enable
application development, and broaden adoption among users.
To identify emerging best practices to nurture this
ecosystem, this volume analyzes the Republic of Korea and
other leading broadband markets. It identifies three
building blocks to support the growth of the broadband
ecosystem: defining visionary but flexible strategies, using
competition to promote market growth, and facilitating
demand. An important but often neglected building block is
demand facilitation. This includes raising awareness about
the benefits of broadband and improving affordability and
accessibility for the largest number of users. Successful
countries have often focused on creating a suite of useful
applications that increase the relevance of broadband to the
widest base of users. Programs to mainstream information and
communication technology (ICT) use in education, health, or
government have been common.