Ubiquitous Broadband

Taking Universal Connectivity From Pipe Dream to Reality

There is little argument over the importance of ubiquitous broadband. Consumers enjoy faster access to richer content. Businesses profit from improved efficiency and reduced transaction costs. Governments benefit from increased investment and growth, particularly in rural and remote areas. To capitalize on this opportunity, governments around the world are currently undertaking programs to digitize and modernize their services on a massive scale.

Such enthusiasm is not surprising given the economic benefits expected to accrue from ubiquitous access to modern information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure. A recent study states that creating ubiquitous access to broadband technology has the potential to yield a US$5.4 trillion incremental gain in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade.

Despite strong statements of intent from governments around the world, the private-sector-led deployment of broadband has not resulted in widespread access. Ben Verwaayen, BT Group’s chief executive, recently acknowledged that “our industry, along with government at all levels, has a huge role to play to accelerate broadband availability, demand and take-up.”

The question facing national and regional governments today is not whether to intervene to encourage infrastructure deployment, but how. For the telecommunications industry, the key question is how to best seize the global opportunities that intervention offers. This paper explores the answers to these questions.