WIA Report

Telecommunications Reform, Internet Use and Mobile Phone Adoption in the Developing World

Philip N. Howarda, University of Washington

Nimah Mazaheria, University of Washington

Summary

How do telecommunications policies influence technology adoption? Has regulatory reform helped mitigate or exacerbate the digital divide? We examine the effects of four policy reform strategies on a country’s share of internet bandwidth, internet hosts, internet users, personal computers, and mobile phones. We argue that the best policy environment for the telecommunications sector is one maintained by an independent regulator that is not above representing the public interest or entering into public private partnerships to develop national information infrastructure. Holding other factors constant, privatizing the national telecommunications operator only has a few demonstrable effects, and the effects are mixed. Liberalizing the market for consumer communications services and separating the telecommunications regulator from direct control by the executive branch of government are, for the most part, constructive policies for encouraging technology adoption. Yet over time, too little public policy oversight usually has a negative impact on technology adoption. Regulatory independence mitigates against the digital divide, but regulatory withdrawal exacerbates it. Our findings offer greater coverage than prior research, and emerge from a time-series cross-sectional study of multiple technology indicators in 154 countries during the period 1990–2007.

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Sizing Up Information Societies: Toward a Better Metric for the Cultures of ICT Adoption

The Information Society archive
Volume 25 ,  Issue 3  (May 2009)
Pages 208-219
ISSN:0197-2243

Authors
Philip N. Howard, Department of Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Ken Anderson, People and Practices Group, Intel Research, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Laura Busch, Department of Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Dawn Nafus, People and Practices Group, Intel Research, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA

ABSTRACT
When researchers study technology diffusion in a global and comparative manner, they often find that economic productivity explains differences in the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs). But when researchers study technology diffusion in a regional, national, or subnational context, they often find that politics and culture explains different diffusion rates. How do we make use of different kinds of conclusions drawn from different levels of analysis? Just knowing the ways in which wealth explains technology diffusion can obscure the ways in which politics and culture also explain patterns in technology diffusion. In this article, we offer a new perspective on weighting technology diffusion data by economic wealth to set into sharp relief the ways in which other factors—such as politics and culture—influence how well a country metabolizes new technologies. A simple but useful computation is offered, examples are assessed, and implications for public policy, industry, and research are discussed.

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Across the 15 largest Muslim media systems, ownership patterns vary in interesting ways. In many Western countries, there is less and less diversity in the ownership of media assets because these assets are being concentrated among fewer and fewer corporate actors. In some Muslim countries, media assets are also concentrated, but among state actors such as ministries of communications, government secretariats, or publically traded companies in which state agencies still hold controlling shares. In other Muslim countries, there is modest competition among the state and private owners of television stations, radio stations, mobile phone service providers, newspapers, and internet service providers. (more…)

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Almost every city in the world offers cyber cafés or other commercial Internet
access, but they cost average people in a developing city two times as much of their daily income as average residents in a developed city.

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While many governments are working to improve their information infrastructure, a significant number of governments throughout the world do not have the capacity to host their own websites. A third of all countries maintain websites with commercial hosting services in the United States. One-quarter of all countries maintain government websites on servers in other countries. (more…)