International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

234 International Trade in Services
means of relatively simple software products such as messenger services and voice
over Internet protocol services that allow free instant chat, voice, and videoconferencing.
Consequently, regulators should think twice before banning any types of
innovative Internet-based services. However, until recently, voice over Internet
protocol services were banned in many developing countries (Touré 2007). In
2007, 36 African countries prohibited or allowed only monopoly incumbents to
use such services, while seven countries (Algeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia,
South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda) had legalized these services. In Egypt, voice
over Internet protocol services are allowed only for business-to-business applications
(El Shenawi and Lanvin 2009).
Policy makers in countries with particularly high broadband prices and low
connectivity capacity should investigate local market conditions and assess
whether capacity and prices are a result of the regulatory environment or the anticompetitive
behavior of local providers. If necessary, they should then take action
to improve competition or modify the rules and regulations that cover telecommunications
and Internet broadband providers and thereby stimulate private investment.
Policy makers in landlocked countries and countries that are far from the
global arteries of fiber-optic cables should seek to work together with neighboring
countries and connect to optical networks. For example, landlocked Bhutan and
Nepal both enjoy relatively low prices thanks to their agreements with neighboring
China and India. In contrast, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has a broadband
price that is more than 1,500 percent higher than the price across the border
in Vietnam. Developing-country policy makers can target international donors
and investors in seeking to cofinance links to international fiber-optic networks,
given the potential benefits from cost-effective Internet connectivity.
Providing a conducive infrastructure and business
environment in high-technology parks
The poor supply of electricity, telecommunications-Internet broadband, and real
estate services and weaknesses in the local business environment resulting from
particularly burdensome regulation and government administration are common
issues that entrepreneurs in many developing countries must deal with. To attract
greenfield investment from foreign IT service companies, several developing countries
have sought to overcome these constraints through software and hightechnology
parks. In the parks, export-oriented entrepreneurs enjoy dedicated infrastructure
and streamlined administration for a fee. In China, the parks are referred to
as software parks; in Egypt, the local IT sector increasingly operates in parks that are
known as smart villages; in India, the parks have been named software technology
parks; and, in the Philippines, they are called special economic zones. 8 The parks can
be an effective way of pooling resources for investment in a limited area.