Expanding Rural Access

This White Paper puts forward an integrated approach for addressing the information and communication technology (ICT) gap, based on lessons-learned from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Last Mile Initiative (LMI). The document puts forward a replicable community-focused build-out approach for bringing connectivity, both voice and internet, to those living in rural communities. The model integrates models for technology, business, and financing, while addressing required key enabling environment components.


In addition to the LMI, the document incorporates considerations based upon: market liberalisation; mobile telephone growth; universal access/service; shared access centres; and the information-content gap. It recommends beginning with the end in mind and honouring the past through using lessons learnt to map out a viable set of technology, business, and financing models. It reviews past lessons and accomplishment and extracts shared critical success factors (CSFs). These include:
1) "...availability of cost-effective technology... the end of patent and the end of monopolies.....
2) ...governments... creat[ing] the enabling condition for the expansion...
3) Private-sector engagement and engagement in a competitive environment...
4) ...voice is the dominant application...upon this basic service other value-added Internet services can be expanded.
5) community focused build-out..."

The document focuses its end goal on a vision of a totally-networked community with a full complement of telecommunications and access to information-content because the "value of any network is the number of nodes on the network; network economics". In the community-focused approach, there are three interconnected components existing in an enabling environment:
1) "Technology - the need is for an existing technology solution set that can provide a low-cost service, both in terms of initial capital investment and also operating costs.
2) Business - there is the need to develop a business-finance model that can be implemented in various structures (independent, franchise, mobile extension, or PSTN extension) and that can demonstrate a profitable operation to ensure sustainability.
3) Financing - there is the need for start up funding. This builds off of a viable technology solution set and a business-financial plan, as it seeks start up financing, be it private or public investment. For universal service funds this holds the potential for moving from on-going never-ending subsidies approach toward a public investment-oriented funding.
4) And finally there is the Enabling Environment - this will influence how all of the three components are implemented in any given country...be it frequencies, interconnection, business structure, etc. For optimisation there are likely some public-sector changes required."


The document details these elements beginning with the contents of "Telco-in-a-box" as the core technology including: a satellite link where needed; a wireless network (options with WiFi and/or WiMAX); interconnection (with public switched telephone network (PSTN) & internet); voice-over-internet technology (VoIP) switching; and power options (solar and/or wind).


The business model is one of private enterprise satisfying local needs beginning with use of voice technologies rather than print-based information, because that is where the demand lies. It calls for "layering services" to capture demand. This includes: "1) using the technology model to support internet and Voice access through shared-access TeleCenters; 2) delivering Voice services throughout the community to those seeking the service (moving beyond access to individual service); 3) delivering internet services to local businesses, government, and international-funded [non-governmental organisations] NGOs working in the community; and 4) using an approach pioneered by Grameen through it's 'village phone operators' where individuals, typically women through support of micro-loans, provide shared phone access throughout the community to that cannot afford a phone."


The document recommends seeking private sector funding sources for viable business plans, possibly in the form of franchising. For portions publicly funded, the document suggests "country-level Universal Access/Service Funds (USFs) to enhance their operations such that they include the use of loans, not just recurring subsidies."


Finally, the document recommends identifying barriers that can be addressed by enabling action on the part of governments, particularly adjustments of legal and regulatory policy environment to favour community-oriented models. Among other suggestions are: "building a national backbone that can provide cost-based connectivity to rural areas, with fibre being the likely solution with wireless distribution off the backbone; allowing independent service providers (ISPs) to become carriers by providing low-cost Wireless and VoIP services, requiring and aggressively enforcing a provision that existing carriers must interconnect to the microTelcos and provide realistic cost-based call termination fees in a timely manner, and adding to existing carrier licenses a simply provision, that they either provide quality access services to the rural communities or they lose their exclusivity for these areas, thus allowing independent microTelcos to enter the local community market."