Telecommunication Reforms, AccessRegulation, and Internet Adoption in Latin America

Estache, Antonio ; Manacorda, Marco ; Valletti, Tommaso M.

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: ADVERTISING;    BASIC;    BUSINESS TO BUSINESS;    COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY;    DIGITAL DIVIDE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2802
RP-ID  :  WPS2802

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The authors review the stylized facts onregulatory reform in telecommunications and its effects ontelecommunications development and Internet penetration inLatin America. Relying on data from the InternationalTelecommunication Union, the Information for DevelopmentProgram (InfoDev), and the World Bank for 1990-99, theauthors then test econometrically the determinants of thedifferences in Internet penetration rates across LatinAmerica. The results show that effective implementation ofthe reform agenda in telecommunications regulation couldaccelerate adoption of the Internet in Latin America-eventhough it is only part of the solution (income levels,income distribution, and access to primary infrastructureare the main determinants of growth in Internet connectionsand use). Regulation will work by cutting costs. Costcutting will require that regulators in the region take amuch closer look at the design of interconnection rules andat the tradeoffs that emerge from the complex issuesinvolved. It will also require a commitment to developinganalytical instruments, such as cost models, to sort outmany of the problems. Appropriate cost models will generatebenchmarks that are much more consistent with the localissues and with the local cost of capital than internationalbenchmarks will ever be for countries in unstablemacroeconomic situations. Cost cutting will require anequally strong commitment to imposing regulatory accountingsystems that reduce the information asymmetrics thatincumbents use to reduce the risks of entry. All thesechanges will ultimately require a stronger commitment bycompetition agencies, since in many countries a failure tonegotiate interconnection agreements will raise competitionissues just as often as it will raise regulatory questions.