[kictanet] [Fwd: [APC Forum] New Book: Diversifying Participation in Network Development]

[alice]

*Diversifying Participation in Network Development*
http://www.regulateonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1044&Itemid=63

The final report from the World Dialogue on Regulation (WDR) 3rd 
research cycle has been released and can now be downloaded at 
<www.regulateonline.org>. Edited by Amy Mahan and William H. Melody, 
this most recent collection of the network’s research and case studies 
elaborates on inclusive and propoor strategies for extending network 
development.

The book is divided into three sections. The first, entitled 
*Affordability and Use*, opens with a study on affordability - 
definitions, analysis and issues. This is followed by two demand side 
studies, the first focusing on mobile use by the poor; and the second 
assessing communication expenditures across four developing countries. 
The final chapter in this section reports on a survey of ICT use by SMEs 
in eight African countries.

Section 2, *Models to Extend Participation in Network Development* 
considers /microfinance/, /smart subsidies/, /community owned 
microtelcos/ and the /extension of research networks/. The countries 
used to highlight these alternative approaches include Bangladesh, 
Nepal, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ghana.

Section 3, *Regulatory and Information Practices*, begins with two 
chapters dedicated to the information provision and communication 
practices of regulators - which are important for cultivating informed 
participation in regulatory processes. Next regional regulation in 
support of national regulators and to ensure competitive markets is 
examined using the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States as a case 
study. Further perspective on this is provided by a chapter on 
multinational operators in African mobile markets. The section concludes 
with a case study on the regulatory environment in Guyana.

This report is the third in a series of research cycles that WDR is 
undertaking to assess different approaches to regulation in a rapidly 
changing telecom environment. With the advent of privatisation, 
competition, and converging infrastructure sectors, the role of the 
regulator is in a transitional phase. The first World Dialogue on 
Regulation research cycle assessed two emerging regulatory trends and 
the report, The Next Step in Telecom Reform: ICT Convergence Regulation 
or Multisector Utility Regulation; and the second cycle, Stimulating 
Investment in Network Development: Roles for Regulators - are both 
available for download and hardcopies of the second can be ordered from WDR.