BROADBAND THAILAND 2015 - Center for Ethics of Science and ...

similarity between the telephone and broadband markets is thecapital expenditures needed to create the foundational network.Fixed broadband networks still require digging ditches andhanging wires, and the civil engineering costs can be penciled inat a fairly constant rate. But even this similarity is fading as aresult of the advent of high-speed wireless technologies, whichpromise to drastically reduce capital costs for access networks,and expand the range of options available to locations andcommunities.” 26As Pepper’s comment implied, low-income nations must achievea Big Push to reshape their telecommunications systems to fit thenew realities of broadband. To do that political will is needed.Government leaders must understand the optimal benefits theycan achieve through broadband – and the severe damage to theireconomies that can occur if they ignore this matter. Noting that“economic stimulus” is currently driving budget priorities inThailand, the secretariat of Meaningful Broadband WorkingGroup determined that the best way to move broadband high onthe national agenda is to show how broadband could enable thegovernment’s own goals for macroeconomic transformation.26 http://www.broadband.gov/docs/ws_int_lessons/ws_int_lessons_pepper.pdfMeaningful Broadband Report 2.0 BROADBAND THAILAND 2015 33