Authorized Authorized

SECTORAL POLICIES
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Box 4.1 Policy challenges for digital development (continued)
Map B4.1.1 Price of mobile and fixed broadband services (continued)
US$, purchasing power parity, 2015
b. Fixed broadband services, residential, price per 1 Mbit/s
Prices for fixed, residential monthly
broadband service, in US$ PPP
(based on lowest price of nearest offer to 1 Mbit/s
usage per month, 10 GB data usage cap, residential DSL,
in US$ PPP, implied 2014 rates)
0–5.99
6.00–22.99
23.00–49.99
50.00–109.99
110.00 and above
No data/no service available
Caribbean inset
Europe inset
IBRD 41653
Sources: WDR 2016 team, with additional data from Oxford Internet Institute, Google, http://blogs.oii.ox.ac.uk/roughconsensus/2014/02/could
-you-afford-facebook-messenger-in-cameroon-a-global-map-of-mobile-broadband-prices/ and Plot and Scatter. Data and an interactive map
of mobile broadband prices, as well as affordability measures, at http://bit.do/WDR2016-MapB4_1_1a and fixed broadband prices at http://bit.do
/WDR2016-MapB4_1_1b.
Note: DSL = digital subscriber line; GB = gigabyte; Mbit/s = megabits per second; PPP = purchasing power parity.
Shaping the digital economy
Government policies and regulation of the internet
help shape the digital economy. Particularly through
their policies for the ICT sector, governments and
regulatory agencies create an enabling environment
for the private sector to build networks, develop services,
and provide content and applications for users.
Increasingly, governments seek to cooperate across
borders on issues such as cybersecurity, privacy, and
cross-border data flows.
Internet-enabling policies have evolved over
time, especially those for the ICT sector (chapter 5
looks at complementary policies such as those for
skills, regulations, and institutions). In the past, the
government’s main role was in building the fixedline
telecommunication network and acting as both
owner and operator. That role is now pared back to
policy maker and regulator, establishing an enabling
environment for the private sector to do most of the
work. For mobile networks and the internet, governments
have been less directly involved, but many of
them are seeking a more active role in shaping the
digital economy. Broadband internet, in particular, is
seen as a general-purpose technology, 2 essential for
the competitiveness of nations, 3 and governments
have invested more than US$50 billion in broadband
networks since 2009 as part of stimulus packages. 4
Most also have national broadband plans. 5
The internet has transformed telecommunication
networks. In the same way that containerization revolutionized
physical trade, 6 so the “packetization” of
data has commoditized digital trade. 7 Networks have
shifted from primarily carrying voice tele phony to