Title: Proceedings of the ACORN-REDECOM Conference 2011
Editors: Liliana Ruiz de Alonso [et al.]
Pages: 397 pp.
ISBN: 2177-3858
e-ISBN: 2177-1634
Publisher: Americas Information and Communication Research Network
Date (published): 18/06/2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information:
Language: English, Portuguese, Spanish
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
Contents / Contenido / Sumário
ICT POLICY AND REGULATION (Sipan Salon)
Broadband Policies and Deployment (Session 1A – May 19th, 2011)
A deployment strategy for Internet exchange points as part of a national broadband plan (Daniel B. Cavalcanti) 1
El plan colombiano para integrar un ecosistema digital (Fernando Beltrán and Lina Gómez Torres) 7
Oportunidades y desafíos de la banda ancha móvil (Ernesto Flores Roux and Judith Mariscal Avilés) 17

Social Media and Social Participation (Session 2A – May 19th, 2011)
Hacia un índice de medición del desarrollo de los cibermedios (Elias Said-Hung and Carlos Arcila-Calderón) 39
Redes sociales virtuales. Más allá de la mediación tecnológica (Mónica García Gil and Arturo Uscátegui Maldonado) 49
Impacto de las TIC en los procesos de comunicación de las organizaciones sociales de base de Daniel Hernandez (Gabriela Perona Zevallos) 57

Impact of ICT on Rural Communities (Session 3A – May 19th, 2011)
Refarming frequencies in rural areas: A regulatory perspective (Enrico Calandro) 67
Descontinuidades e sombras: acessos, usos e fontes de informação numa comunidade rural e remota na sociedade da informação (Fausta Clarinda de Santana) 81

Impact of Technology and Other Industries: Health, Agriculture, and Tourism (Session 4A – May 19th, 2011)
Información para la agricultura y capital social. Uso de smartphones entre pequeños agricultores en la costa peruana (Roberto Bustamante Vento) 91
Adopción de Internet, empleo y pobreza en Uruguay (Fernando Borraz and Daniel Ferrés) 101

ICTs and Industry (Session 5A – May 20th, 2011)
Impacto de las TIC en el emprendimiento empresarial: Estimaciones econométricas a nivel de un panel de países (Jorge Vélez Ospina) 121
Governança, Commons e Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual: uma análise em termos de Social Choice (Alain Herscovici) 137

E-Governance and Regulation (Session 6A – May 20th, 2011)
Democracia, espacio público e internet (Marina Vieira Villela) 151
E-Governo, Participação e Transparência de Gestão (Othon Jambeiro, Rosane Sobreira and Lorena Macambira) 159
Modelo teórico para el abordaje de la regulación de internet y el ciberespacio (Nelson Díaz
Pardo and Luz Naranjo) 164

ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND CITIZENSHIP: ACCESS AND APPLICATIONS (Quechua Salon)
Telecom and Economics (Session 1B – May 19th, 2011)
Empirical Evidence on the Impact of Privatization of Fixed-Line Operators on Telecommunications Performance: Comparing OECD, Latin American, and African Countries (F. Gasmi, L. Recuero Virto, P. Noumba and A. Maingard) 181
Broadband Economic Impact in Brazil: A Simultaneous Equations Analysis (Hildebrando Rodrigues Macedo and Alexandre Ywata de Carvalho) 211
Investment, Dynamic Consistency and the Sectoral Regulator`s Objetive (Duarte Brito, Pedro Pereira and João Vareda) 229

Mobile Policies and Pricing (Session 2B – May 19th, 2011)
Mobile Number Portability in South Asia (Tahani Iqbal) 259 Mobile Termination Rate Debate in Africa (Christoph Stork) 267

The Future of Laws and Regulations (Session 3B – May 19th, 2011)
Telecommunications Law Indicators for Comparative Studies (TLICS) Model: A Hermeneutical Approach (Marcio Iorio Aranha) 283 Convergence and Regulation in Brazilian Telecommunications (Jose Rogerio Vargens) 295
Avaliação de portais de compras brasileiros centrada na perspectiva dos fornecedores (Heryck Leonardo Resende Paranhos and Adriane Maria Arantes de Carvalho) 309

Broadband Policies and Impact (Session 4B – May 19th, 2011)
Broadband tariffs in Latin America: Benchmarking and analysis (Hernán Galperin and Christian Ruzzier) 317
Redes de comunicación electrónicas, políticas públicas y bienestar (Omar Emilio Carrera Félix) 343

Policies for Access (Session 5B – May 20th, 2011)
El acceso universal a las telecomunicaciones y su vínculo con las políticas de banda ancha en América Latina (Roxana Barrantes Cáceres and Aileen Agüero García) 353
Políticas Públicas que Incentivan el Uso de las TICs: el caso de Culiacán, Sinaloa, México (Ana Elizabeth Ramírez Gómez and Ana Luz Ruelas Monjardin) 365

ICT in Education (Session 6B – May 20th, 2011)
¿Cómo debe ser un producto digital educativo? (Luis Alberto Lesmes Sáenz, Luz Dary Naranjo Colorado and Abdénago Yate Arévalo) 377
TIC e desenvolvimento na América Latina: uma análise sob a perspectiva da educação (Lucilene Cury and Luciana de Queiroz Telles Maffra) 385
Redes Multiexpresivas 2.0 en Educación: Estrategias de Análisis y Gestión en Educación Pública (Jose Cabrera Paz and Luisa Fernanda Acuña Beltrán) 391

Title: Broadband in Latin America: Opportunities to reduce tariffs, improve quality and expand service
Authors:Hernan Galperin, Christian Ruzzier
Publisher:DIRSI - Diálogo Regional sobre la Sociedad de la Información
Date (published):05/11/2010
Date (accessed):05/11/2010
Type of information:policy brief
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
„A new study reveals that prices in Latin America are almost three times as high as those in more developed countries. A 10 percent tariff reduction would result in a nearly 19 percent increase in penetration, equivalent to 4.7 million additional connections in the region.

The level of prices for a service is a key variable that affects households’ ability to purchase and reveals the degree of competition among service providers. This paper analyzes tariffs for access to fixed broadband Internet service in the residential segment in Latin America and the Caribbean and seeks to estimate the accessibility of the service for various households and the effect of potential price variations on adoption of broadband in the region.”

Title: SMS Interconnect Fees
Author: Steve Song
Source: Many Possibilities blog
Date (published): 20/11/2009
Date (accessed): 30/11/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
An interesting offshoot of my investigation in to Fair Mobile statistics was the discovery that some African operators charge an interconnect fee for SMS messages. Now interconnect fees are a topic of hot debate at the moment here in South Africa. Interconnection Fees are the charges that operators levy to terminate calls from other operators on their network.

Title: The Role of Institutional Design in the Conduct of Infrastructure Industry Reforms: An Illustration Through Telecommunications in Developing Countries
Authors: Farid Gasmi, Paul Noumba, Laura Recuero Virto
Pages: 13 pp.
Source: The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication, Issue 9
Publisher: Learning Information Networking and Knowledge (LINK) Centre, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, Wits University
Date (published): 02/04/2009
Date (accessed): 05/10/2009
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and pdf)
Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the role of political and economic institutions in the conduct of the infrastructure industries reform process in developing countries. Our point of departure is that the specific features of these countries' economies should be accounted for when considering policy design. We discuss the main results and policy lessons drawn from two studies of the telecommunications sector based on an econometric analysis of time-series-cross-sectional data on developed and developing countries. We synthesise the main empirical findings and policy implications pertaining to two issues. The first issue concerns the impact of the quality of institutions on the function of regulation. Our review points to the fact that political accountability of institutional systems is a key determinant of regulatory performance, in particular in developing countries. The second issue relates to the factors that shape the sectoral reforms themselves and the impact of these reforms on the development of the industry in developing countries. Our main conclusion is that countries’ institutional risk and financial constraints are among the major factors that explain which reforms are actually implemented.

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

Title: Digital Poverty: Latin American and Caribbean Perspectives
Author: Hernan Galperin and Judith Mariscal (editors)
Pages: 160 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-85339-663-2
e-ISBN 978-1-55250-342-3
Publisher: Practical Action Publishing IDRC
Date published: 2007
Date accessed: 16/06/2009
Type of information: research publication
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
This book examines the problem of inadequate access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the need to develop appropriate pro-poor ICT policies within the Latin American and Caribbean context. The authors show how market reforms have failed to ensure that the benefits of the Information Society have spread across the many social and economic divides that characterize the region.

The authors explain and support the formulation of a new perspective on ICT access and develop an analytical framework with which to assess the critical variables involved in effective ICT adoption in developing regions. The research supports policy reform that builds upon the achievements of market liberalization efforts in the region but which must also address the realities of ‘digital poverty’ – a concept that grasps the multiple dimensions of inadequate levels of access to ICT services by people and organizations, as well as the barriers to their productive use.

This is the first publication of the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI), a regional network of leading researchers concerned with disseminating knowledge that supports the participation of marginalized communities using ICTs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The book will be of interest to anyone interested in ICTs and international development policy and practice.

The Editors

Hernan Galperin is Assistant Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (USA) and Research Associate at the Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina). Dr Galperin is also affiliated with the Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research (UK) and the Edelstein Center for Social Research (Brazil). His research and teaching focus on the international governance and impact of new information and communication technologies.

Judith Mariscal has extensive research experience in Information and Communications Technologies focusing on public policy and regulatory issues. She is currently a professor of the Public Administration Department at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), an independent research and educational institution based in Mexico City. She has authored numerous articles on telecommunications policy and regulation, and the book Unfinished Business: Telecommunications Reform in Mexico (Praeger Press, 2002).

Title: ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks
Author: Rohan Samarajiva and Ayesha Zainudeen (editors)
Pages: 320 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-7619-3673-2
e-ISBN 978-1-55250-378-2
Publisher: Sage India, IDRC
Date published: 2008
Date accessed: 16/06/2008
Type of information: research publication
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
This book brings together scholars, practitioners, former regulators, and policymakers to address the problem of expanding information and communication technology (ICT) connectivity in emerging Asia. It centrally engages the widespread claim that technology by itself — independent of policy and regulatory reform — can improve access to ICTs. In doing so, it shows that while complex workarounds are possible, they are significantly less effective than the appropriate policy and regulatory reforms.

This book examines how theoretically optimal concepts actually get implemented in the hard terrain of emerging Asia. It gleans lessons from five Asian countries — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka — based on their experiences with expanding ICT connectivity. It reports the findings of a cutting-edge 3000+ sample demand-side survey of telephone use at the "bottom of the pyramid" in India and Sri Lanka. It considers the problem of expanding connectivity from different angles: that of the user, the operator, the policymaker, the regulator, and civil society. And it sheds light on a range of situations and technologies, like telephone use in post-conflict regions of Sri Lanka, Wi-Fi deployment in Indonesia, and universal service obligations in India.

The Editors

Rohan Samarajiva is Executive Director of LIRNEasia, and former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in Sri Lanka. He is also former Team Leader at the Ministry for Economic Reform, Science and Technology, responsible for infrastructure reforms in Sri Lanka.

Ayesha Zainudeen is a researcher at LIRNEasia. She has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics.