Promotion of high-capacity broadband in the face of increasing global stress

Abstract

Promoting high-quality fixed and mobile broadband for all, at an affordable price, is an important enabler of the digital transformation of society and can help to close the digital divide. This became clearer than ever during the pandemic, when broadband access was a crucial enabler of remote work, distance learning, telemedicine and e-commerce. More recently, geopolitical tensions have compounded supply chain disruptions that were already visible during the pandemic in ways that make achievement of ubiquitous broadband even more difficult and potentially more expensive than in the past.

Promotion of broadband deployment, adoption and use are all important for both fixed and mobile broadband; however, different policy levers are needed in each case, on both the supply and demand sides. The market will not always deliver complete solutions. On the supply side, there is a role for regulation, targeted industrial policy and public finance. Promotion of competition, combined with prompt and efficient provision of access to resources such as electromagnetic spectrum and access to land and rights of way, can be particularly important. The demand side calls for different measures, including ensuring not only widespread availability of personal computers or smart phones, but also training and demand aggregation. Broadband availability can potentially also be boosted by judicious use of economic recovery funds, and potentially also from new tax revenues arising from global tax reforms agreed within the G20 and the OECD.

This paper seeks to provide examples of contemporary best practice, based on examples drawn primarily from countries that are members of the G20.