broadband strategies handbook.pdf - Khazar University

for improving, streamlining, or realigning the activities of LatinAmerican UAS policies and UASF programs. Since universal access totelephony is, in the opinion of the study’s authors, close to beingachieved in Latin America, the study recommended reorienting UASFstoward supporting “ubiquitous deployment of advanced technologiesand services (Bossio and Bonifaz 2006, 45).” The study advised that, asthe communications technology revolution continues, the new generationof UASFs could become leaders, not followers, in ensuring thatpopulations have access to the most modern and effective networks,services, and applications available. This would include broadband,wireless, multiservice platforms permitting full access to all functionsand features of telephony, Internet, data transmission, e-commerce,e-government, multimedia entertainment, and interactive communications.The new USAFs’ role in promoting broadband would be throughsupport to intermediary facilities, such as backbones (including POPs),towers, and other passive infrastructure.The study recognized, however, that a new generation of funds managedby public sector administrators is still unlikely to have the capacity to leaddevelopments in the field of advanced technologies and services; instead,the private sector is likely to continue to be the leader in technology andservice innovation and in service expansion, which is in line with marketdrivendevelopments. Therefore, new UASFs may not lead, but, by puttingemphasis on broadband, can at least mirror in rural and underserviced areaswhat the market is achieving on its own in urban areas. Once governmenthas agreed on an aggressive broadband promotion policy, new UASFs willnot wait until a large portion of the population has access to broadband tostart filling in the gaps, but rather will act in parallel to the market, whiletaking care not to subsidize areas that the market would serve on its own. 27As illustrated in boxes 4.6 and 4.7, other countries from around the world arealso shifting the focus of UASFs.Best Practices for Effective Management of Flow of FundsWhether funds flow through a UASF or other public financing body such asa PPP or municipal-led project, several key principles are applicable toensure that funds go to projects aimed at achieving universal broadbandaccess:• Transparency. Relates to the effective and transparent management ofthe flow of funds in accordance with the mandate of the entity managingthe funds. Transparency of procedures can be enhanced throughExtending Universal Broadband Access and Use 185