Title: National Broadband Plans
Source: OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 181,
Publisher: OECD
Date (published): 15/06/2011
Date (accessed): 12/07/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"This report surveys national broadband plans (NBP) across the OECD area, providing an overview of common elements and goals in those plans. An annex to this report contains references and links to the plans.
OECD countries have previously-agreed key areas of broadband policies, which have been incorporated into NBPs, notably the 2004 Council Recommendation on Broadband and the 2008 Declaration of the Seoul Ministerial for the Future of the Internet Economy.
Policy makers have been updating NBPs, taking into account the effects of the global financial crisis (GFC). The communications industry has emerged relatively well from the GFC, partly due to the experience of the “dot-com bubble”. There has been continued growth in demand for broadband services, at a time when many other sectors experienced a decline. Some governments injected funds, either directly or through support for loans, to help the geographic expansion of broadband access networks, the upgrading of existing networks to higher speeds and also through measures to encourage adoption amongst social and economic groups with limited use of broadband. Governments assessed these interventions based on their costs, benefits and effects on markets.
The benefits of NBPs are expected to be extensive across economies and societies. This has required co-ordination amongst many ministries and agencies, in order to identify realistic targets and to ensure that processes are in place to monitor their achievement.
...
The OECD has undertaken extensive work in e-government and, for example, on e-health. The first presents similar challenges to NBPs, with a requirement to co-ordinate across many parts of government and other stakeholders. Both also require widespread availability of broadband networks to link government offices, hospitals and clinics, plus the widest possible adoption of broadband, so that citizens and business (particularly SMEs) can access e-government services on demand. Only then can governments achieve the savings and quality improvements they have forecast."

Title: Network Developments in Support of Innovation and User Needs
Authors: James Enck, Taylor Reynolds
Pages: 70 pp.
Publisher: OECD, Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy
Date (published): 09/12/2009
Date (accessed): 17/02/2010
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
High-speed broadband networks are a platform supporting innovation throughout the economy today in much the same way electricity and transportation networks spurred innovation in the past. New innovations such as smart electrical grids, tele-medicine, intelligent transportation networks, interactive learning and cloud computing will require fast communication networks to operate efficiently.
Telecommunication companies have been investing to upgrade their older copper and coax cables to new fibre lines which have vastly larger capacity but the economic crisis has threatened to halt this investment just when consumers and businesses are using more Internet bandwidth. Telecommunication investment largely mimics GDP (gross domestic product) growth - but in a more exaggerated way.

Many governments have stepped in to fill the gap using stimulus funds to pay for new broadband networks. But there has been significant debate about whether these investments make economic sense, particularly as governments are entering into an area which has recently been entrusted to the private sector.
This report helps put these interventions in perspective by showing that government investments could be justified based on just small direct benefits in just four key sectors of the economy – electricity, health, education and transportation. Just a small cost reduction across these four sectors resulting from the new networks could justify the government spending.

Title: ICTs for Development: Improving Policy Coherence
Pages: 207 pp.
ISBN: 9789264077409
Publisher: OECD
Date (published): 22/01/2010
Date (accessed): 27/01/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Information communication technologies (ICTs) are crucial to reducing poverty, improving access to health and education services and creating new sources of income and employment for the poor. Being able to access and use ICTs has become a major factor in driving competitiveness, economic growth and social development. In the last decade, ICTs, particularly mobile phones, have also opened up new channels for the free flow of ideas and opinions, thereby promoting democracy and human rights.

The OECD and infoDev joined forces at a workshop on 10-11 September 2009 to examine some of the main challenges in reducing the discrepancies in access to ICTs and use of ICTs between developing countries. The workshop discussed best practices for more coherent and collaborative approaches in support of poverty reduction and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

There is much work to be done on improving policy coherence and there is a need to engage more actively with partner countries. Making the most of ICTs requires that they are seen as part of innovation for development, rather than just another development tool.

This publication examines access to ICTs, as a precondition to their use; broadband Internet access and governments' role in making it available; developments in mobile payments; ICT security issues; ICTs for improving environmental performance; and the relative priority of ICTs in education.

Title: The impact of the crisis on ICTs and their role in the recovery
Authors: OECD
Pages: 57 pp.
Source: Workshop: Policy Coherence in the Application of Information and Communication Technologies for Development, Paris, France /10-11 September 2009
Publisher: OECD
Date (published): August 2009
Date (accessed): 11/10/2009
Type of information: background paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:...
ICT policies need re-examination and refinement in the crisis and recovery. In recent years these policies have been increasingly integrated into broader strategies to use ICTs, the Internet and other networks to achieve growth, employment and wider socio-economic objectives. These objectives include addressing national challenges (e.g. social cohesion, ageing societies, national security) and global ones (e.g. climate change, energy-efficiency, global health), and using e-government to make the delivery of such services more efficient. The crisis and launching of economic recovery measures are a propitious time to re-evaluate these policies.
Economic stimulus packages to address the economic crisis affect the ICT sector directly and indirectly. The immediate aim of these packages has been to restore the health of the banking sector and stimulate demand in the short-term; re-financing banks, injecting cash into the economy and protecting jobs. These measures may help counteract downward pressures on the ICT sector and sustain the diffusion of ICTs. Most governments also plan to foster growth through long-term investments which have potentially providing an anti-cyclical stimulus on the supply-side. In many cases these long-term plans are directly related to the ICT sector or ICT applications, including “smart” applications in urban systems, transport systems, electricity distribution, etc. The question is how current ICT policies should be maintained or rethought in the context of the economic crisis and what is the appropriate balance between continuity in proven ICT policies and change in the form of ad hoc crisis measures.

Title: How the developing world may participate in the global Internet Economy: Innovation driven by competition
Author: Rohan Samarajiva
Pages: 37 pp.
Source: Workshop on “Policy coherence in the application of information and communication technologies for development"
Publisher: OECD, World Bank
Date (published): 02/09/2009
Date (accessed): 05/10/2009
Type of information: conference paper, draft
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
This report demonstrates that voice connectivity was achieved for a majority of the world’s people, including substantial numbers of the poor, because governments removed or lowered barriers to participation in the supply of telecom services and created conditions somewhat conducive to competition, even if less than perfect.

Table of contents
Executive summary
1.0 Foundation of the global Internet Economy: Electronic connectivity
2.0 How was this foundation laid?
3.0 Lessons from the mobile success story for broadband
4.0 Internet/telecom access and wealth creation through service industries
5.0 Policy and regulation conducive to the Internet Economy
6.0 Conclusion

Report for Joint Workshop on “Policy coherence in the application of information and communication technologies for development,” organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Information for Development Program (infoDev), World Bank, 10-11 September 2009, Paris, France

Title: Piracy of Digital Content
Pages: 138 pp.
ISBN: 9789264065437
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Date (published): July 2009
Date (accessed): 25/08/2009
Type of information: research information
Language: English
On-line access: yes (watermarked PDF)
Abstract:
This book studies digital piracy - the infringement of copyrighted content (such as music, films, software, broadcasting, books, etc.) - where the end product does not involve the use of hard media, such as CDs and DVDs. It presents the unique economic properties of markets for pirated digital products, where the existence of a large number of suppliers willing to provide pirated content at virtually no cost poses new and difficult challenges to copyright owners and policy makers in combating that piracy. These economic features, together with rapid technological developments, create special and unique problems to policy makers and the large number of actors involved in different jurisdictions. This book also provides an illustrative, in-depth case study of the sports rights owners sector, highlighting how it is affected by digital piracy.

Table of contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Chapter 1. Market Overview
*Key differences between tangible and digital products
*Copyrighted digital products
*Markets for pirated digital products
*Economic mechanisms that drive markets for pirated digital products
Chapter 2. Drivers of Digital Policy
*Supply drivers
*Demand drivers
Chapter 3. Industry Initiatives and Institutional Remedies
*Industry Initiatives
*Data collection and educational campaigns
*Co-operation between rights holders
*Government co-operation
*Remedies for copyright infringement
*Liability for circumvention of technological protection measures
Chapter 4. Case Study: The Sports Rights Owners Sector
*What is the sports rights owners sector?
*What is at stake?
*How is intellectual property created in this sector?
*How does piracy take place?
*What are the market characterisitics of the sports broadcasting sector?
*Industry responses
*Specific industry examples
Conclusions
Annex A. Legal Aspects of Copyrights and their Infreingement
Annex B. OECD Council Recommendation on Broadband Development
Annex C. The Seoul Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy

See also

Title: OECD Communications Outlook 2009
Pages: 356 pp.
ISBN: 9789264059849
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Date (published): August 2009
Date (accessed): 25/08/2009
Type of information: research information
Language: English
On-line access: yes (watermarked PDF)
Abstract:
The OECD Communications Outlook 2009 presents the most recent comparable data on the performance of the communication sector in OECD countries and on their policy frameworks. The data provided in this report map the eight years of competition for many OECD countries that fully opened their market to competition in 1998. The 2009 edition analyses the communications sector over the years following the "dot com bubble" crisis and explores future developments. The OECD Communications Outlook provides an extensive range of indicators for the development of different communications networks and compares performance indicators such as revenue, investment, employment and prices for service throughout the OECD area. These indicators are essential for industry and for regulators who use benchmarking to evaluate policy performance.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
Chapter 1. Main Trends
Innovation through convergence | The wired upgrade | Mobile/wirless growth | Transformation of voice
Chapter 2. Recent Communication Policy Developments
Introduction | Trends in competition | Platform competition vs. local loop unbundling | Regulatory issues | Local loop unbundling | Fixed-to-mobile interconnection (or termination charges) | Household expenditures on communications
Chapter 3. Telecommunication Market Size
Introduction | Fixed access lines | Mobile revenues | Television | Voice traffic | Research and development | Employment trends
Chapter 4. Network Dimensions and Development
Introduction | Fixed-line developments | Mobile developments | Broadband developments | Investment | OECD accession countries and China
Chapter 5. Internet Infrastructure
Introduction | Internet hosts | Web servers | Secure servers | The domain name system | Address space | Networks on the Internet | Peering | Security
Chapter 6. Broadcasting
Introduction | Traditional broadcasting | New broadcasting platforms
Chapter 7. Main Trends in Pricing
Introduction: prices overall | Flat rate vs. usage charging | Mobile pricing trends | Broadband pricing trends | Leased lines
Chapter 8. Trade in Telecommunication Equipment and Services
Annex Tables
See also

Title: Internet Access for Development
Pages: 110 pp.
ISBN: 9789264056312
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Date published: 16/06/2009
Date accessed: 10/07/2009
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (copy protected pdf)
Abstract:
The Internet has been remarkably successful in developing greater opportunities for communication access - and economic growth and social development - for the first billion users. The majority of the next several billion users will be mainly from developing countries and will connect to the Internet principally via wireless networks. But there are substantial discrepancies in access to ICTs between developed and developing countries and also within countries, depending on factors such as gender, rural coverage, skills and educational levels.

This book examines how the market for internet traffic exchange has evolved and explores the coherence of policies pursued by developed and developing countries. It notes the increasing innovation occurring in a number of developing countries with competitive markets and discusses how liberalisation has helped to expand of access networks and make ICT services increasingly affordable and available to the poor. The report also highlights the employment, micro-entrepreneurial and social development opportunities which have emerged as access levels have risen among low-income users. The study notes that gateway service monopolies - still in 70 countries - raise the prices for accessing international capacity and reduce the affordability of Internet access to business and end users.

Table of contents:
- Executive Summary
- Policy Coherence for a Globally Accessible Internet
- The Importance of Liberalisation
- Providing Internet-Based Opportunities to Low-Income Mass Markets
- Growth in Access and Convergence toward the Internet
- Global Connectivity
- Conclusion
- Bibliography