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INFORMATION SOCIETY POLICY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT1

Leo Van Audenhove, Jean Claude Burgelman, Gert Nulens & Bart Cammaerts2 Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication

Free University Brussels (VUB) Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

Tel. ++32 (0)2 6292415 Fax. ++32 (0)2 6292861 http://www.vub.ac.be/SCOM/smit/smit.html

This is the draft version of an article in press in Third World Quarterly

Please do not refer to this version.

Leo Van Audenhove (lvaudenh@vub.ac.be)

Leo Van Audenhove holds a licentiate’s degree in Communication Sciences of the Free University Brussels. For his licentiate’s thesis he conducted research on the relation between the mass media and the democratisation process in Gabon between 1990 and 1993. Since 1994 he is researcher at the centre for Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication. Between February 1996 and July 1996 he was project-collaborator for Policy Research at the Flemish Interuniversity Council and produced the report ‘Strategic research: interuniversity development co-operation’. Since October 1996 Leo Van Audenhove is aspirant researcher for the Flemish Research Fund and conducts research on Information Society policy in South Africa. He has lectured in the Post-Graduate on Information and Telecommunications Policy at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. Prof. Dr. Jean Claude Burgelman (jcburgel@vub.ac.be)

Prof. Jean Claude Burgleman is professor in Communication Sciences at the Free University Brussels and is director of the centre for Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication. He has a long experience in Belgian and European media and communication policy research. He has published widely and is a member of several pan-European (academic) networks. He has worked as an expert advisor to DGXIII (EU), the Belgian National Science Foundation, the Belgian regulator (BIPT), and the Flemish Government. Gert Nulens (gnulens@vub.ac.be)

In 1993 Gert Nulens obtained his degree in Journalism. Three years later he graduated in Communication Sciences on the licentiate’s thesis: 'Socio-cultural aspects of information technology in Africa, the missing factor? An analysis of the policy of the World Bank, ITU and UNESCO ('90-'94)’. Since 1996 he is researcher at the centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunication. He is currently analysing the normative and actual information technology policies in Africa of several international organisations (a.o. World Bank, ITU, UNECA, WTO). Gert Nulens has

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lectured in the Post-Graduate on Information and Telecommunications Policy at the University of South Africa, Pretoria.

Bart Cammaerts (bcammaer@vub.ac.be) In 1992 Bart Cammaerts graduated as a social worker. He then travelled to Latin America as a freelance journalist for radio and press. Feeling a lack of theoretical background he started studying political science. In 1996 he graduated on a thesis about the consequences of geo-political and -economic transformations for NGOs. After obtaining his degree he worked as press-secretary and advisor Information Society to Elio Di Rupo, vice-prime minister, minister of economic affairs and telecommunication. At SMIT he is currently researching the role of the state in the information society within the framework of an Inter-University Pole of Attraction-project (IUAP) with the universities of Liège and Namur.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS Burgelman, J.C. (1992) ‘Assessing communication technologies for developing countries’, in Bhatnagar, S.C. & Odedra, M. (eds.) Social implications of computers in developing countries, New Delhi, McGraw-Hill, 51-62. Burgelman, J.C. (1992) ‘Assessing information technologies and telecommunications services: the case of developing countries’, Communicatio, 18(2), 64-79. Burgelman, J.C. (1994) 'Pan European experiences in communication policy: possible relevance for RSA', Communicatio, 20(1), 9-14. Burgelman, J.C. (1995) 'Assessing information technologies in the information society: the possible relevance of communication science and research', in A. Calabrese, S. Splichal & C. Sparks (eds.) Information Society and civil society. Contemporary perspectives on the changing World Order. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 185-207.

Burgelman, J.C. & Verhoest, P. (1996) ‘Trans-European information networks: rhetoric and practice’, Telematics and Informatics, 13(2/3), 67-80.

Burgelman, J.C. (1996) 'Convergence and Trans-European networks: Some policy problems' in Bianchi A. & Richeri G. (eds.) Telecommunication: New dynamics and driving forces. IOSPress, Amsterdam, 7 - 18. Burgelman, J.C. (1997) ‘Issues and assumptions in communication policy and research in Western Europe: a critical analysis’, in Corner, J., Schlesinger, P. & Silverstone, R. (eds.) International media research, London, Routledge, 123-153.

Burgelman, J.C. (1997) ‘European policy with regard to the European information highways (EIH): a critical analysis’, Communicatio, 23(2), 58-62.

Burgelman, J.C. (i.c.w. Jan Servaes & Anura Goonasekera) (1997) Guest editor of the special Telematics & Informatics Issue: Implications of liberalised telecommunications markets in Europe and Asia, 14. Burgelman, J.C. & Cammaerts, B. (eds) (1998) The Public Interest and Role of the State in the Information Society, SMIT IUAP-papers n°1, September, forthcoming. Cammaerts, B. (1998)‘De kabel en convergentie in 1998, het dromen voorbij’ (Cable and convergence in 1998, becoming reality), Tribune in AV-industrie, 10, p.31.

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Cammaerts, B. (1998) ‘De Overheid, een Belangrijke Actor ?’ (The State, an important Actor?), in Geeraerts, G. & Antoine, ., (eds) Internet, de Politieke Dimensie, Brussel, VUBpress, forthcoming. Nulens, G. (1997) ‘Socio-cultural aspects of information technology in Africa. The policy of the World Bank’, Communicatio, 23(2), 15-23. Van Audenhove, L. (1996) ‘Mass Media and Democratisation in Gabon: A political Analysis’, Communicatio, 22(1), 55-66. Van Audenhove, L. (1998) ‘The African Information Society: rhetoric and practice’, Communicatio, forthcoming. Van Audenhove, L. (1998) ‘Development, Co-operation and Linkages in Higher Education: Key issues concerning policy and organisation’, International Review of Education, forthcoming.

Van Audenhove, L. & Bastiaens, J. (1997) ‘Strategisch onderzoek van universitaire ontwikkelingssamenwerking’, Universiteit & Beleid, 11(3), 25-35.

Van Audenhove, L., Burgelman, J.C., Nulens, G. en Cammaerts, B. (1998) ‘Convergence and Information Society Policy in International Perspective’, in Department of Communication, Masters in International Communications Tutorial, University of South Africa, Pretoria.

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ABSTRACT The Global Information Society (GIS) has in recent years been high on the political agenda of Western countries. These countries have been concerned with the development of Information Infrastructures (II) in order to arrive at the Information Society. In the West there has been a broad consensus about the framework in which the development of the GIS needs to take place. On both national and international level a framework has to be established which supports competition, encourages private investment, supports flexible regulatory frameworks and allows for open access to networks. Recently this dominant scenario has been transposed as the appropriate scenario for the development of Information Infrastructures in the developing world. This article sets out to give an overview of GIS policy in a developmental context. It elaborates on recent policy initiatives in the area. At an international level it critically analyses changes in the communications industries and in the global economy. At the national level it critically analyses the assumptions of the dominant scenario and its proposed strategy to arrive at the GIS.

1 INTRODUCTION

Since the beginning of the 1980s, two reinforcing processes, technological innovation in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and liberalisation of the regulatory context of the media and telecommunications sectors, have profoundly changed the global communications landscape. In the technological field, digitalisation has provided possibilities to integrate graphics, text, video and sound (including voice) into versatile services and applications. The integration of computing and communication technologies has created new possibilities of storing and accessing these digitised services and applications. At the political level liberalisation and privatisation have opened up new markets and possibilities for investment and innovation. Both evolutions lead to the so-called convergence or coming together, regardless of the technological platform, of formerly separate communication realms such as audiovisual media, informatics and telecommunications.3 These changes have primarily taken place in the developed world. However, increasingly technological innovations in the field of ICTs are offering developing countries new opportunities. Politically, world-wide liberalisation of communication sectors is putting pressure on these sectors in developing countries to do likewise. Convergence however is not restricted to changes at the level of technology and content industries alone. Convergence touches upon and instigates changes at the level of the general economy and society, and brings about change at the level of international and national governance and regulatory systems. Unlike other technological changes, the rapid developments and diffusion of ICTs and the emergence of interactive multimedia applications have the potential to affect all economic sectors, organisational and work structures, public services, cultural and social activities. Communication networks and interactive multimedia applications are therefore often thought to provide the foundation for the transformation of existing social and economic relationships into an Information Society. Such an Information Society is viewed as resulting in a paradigm shift in industrial structures and social relations, much as the industrial revolution transformed the then agrarian societies.4

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This article sets out to give an overview of the issue of convergence and Information Society policy in a developmental context. The first part elaborates on recent policy initiatives in the area of the Global Information Society (GIS) and on the proposed dominant scenario to arrive at the GIS. The second part sets out to critically analyse changes in the communications industries and changes in the global economy due to the use of ICTs. In this part, special attention goes out to changes in the international regulatory system in which certain aspects of communications policy tend to shift from national to supra- and international levels. The last part focuses on key issues in convergence and Information Society policy. This last part takes a more inward looking perspective and is basically concerned with the issue in a developmental context. It questions the basic assumptions of the dominant scenario. It furthermore touches upon the problems the dominant strategy towards the GIS faces in the developing world and more specifically in the African context.

2 THE GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY

2.1 GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES

In recent years concepts such as the Global Information Society (GIS) and the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) have been high on the political agenda of Western countries and their allied international organisations. At the highest level policy makers have been concerned with the development of national and global strategies to arrive at the Information Society. Within these views the concept of the GII-GIS encompasses the development and integration of high-speed communication networks, and a set of core services and applications, into global integrated networks. Such networks provide fully interactive access, to network-based services within countries and across national borders. The development of such an Information Infrastructures is expected to have important beneficial impacts on society as it stimulate economic growth and productivity, create new economic activities and jobs, and improve the quality of life. At the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Development Conference in Buenos Aires in 1994 United States Vice-President Al Gore was one of the first to put the concept of a GII on to the agenda. In their quest for a National Information Infrastructure (NII), the West had come to recognise that information infrastructures are not limited by national boundaries. The first real initiative to discuss international aspects of the GII was the 1995 G7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Brussels. This conference re-emphasised the enormous potential of the GII for economic and social change. Although it was recognised that ‘attention to less developed countries’ is necessary, the principles adopted at this conference primarily reflect the industrialised countries concern with liberalised markets, competition, and open access to networks.

At the G7 Conference Mr. Thabo Mbeki, South Africa’s then Executive Deputy President, challenged the organisation and the European Commission to organise a follow-up conference bringing together representatives of the developing and developed world. The Information Society and Development (ISAD) Conference at Midrand South Africa in May 1996 was the result of that challenge. This conference stressed the necessity to adopt national plans to foster the development of the NII. It called for co-ordinated action by G7 countries and the developing countries to promote the use of ICTs. Although the principles of the Brussels Conference were to

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some extent challenged by the chair’s concern with social aspects of the Information Society, its view of the potential of ICT and the prospects for a Global Information Society largely subscribed to the optimistic views of the G7. A large amount of conferences and policy initiatives were to follow on a regional and sub-regional level. For the African continent two events hold particular relevance. In May 1996 the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) adopted its Africa’s Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa’s Information and Communication Infrastructure. In this view, the concept of the Information Society is defined in more modest terms ‘to refer to the pervasive benefits to all Africans of proactive policies on information and communication technologies’. The AISI Action Framework is seen as a broad, long term programme, directed at the utilisation of ICTs to stimulate overall economic and social growth in Africa. The AISI Action framework is of importance, because it is more and more regarded as a guiding framework on which to base other information and communication activities in Africa. A few weeks after the adoption of the Action Framework the ITU adopted its African Green Paper at the Africa Regional Telecom Development Conference in Abidjan. The Green paper focuses on policies concerning network and physical infrastructure development, i.e. the development of the physical infrastructure underlying any future Information Society. 5

2.2 THE DOMINANT SCENARIO

2.2.1 The dominant Scenario in the West

Between Western countries and their allied international organisations, there has been a broad consensus about the framework in which the development of the GII-GIS needs to take place. On both national and international level a framework has to be established which supports dynamic competition, encourages private investment, supports flexible regulatory frameworks and allows for open access to networks and other essential facilities. Within this framework it is only considered a matter of increased investment and continuous innovation to arrive at a full-fledged equitable Information Society.6

This dominant scenario is based on two related assumptions. First, it is expected that the demand for a wide range of new network-based multimedia services will be high. In this respect there is a general belief that new audio-visual entertainment services—often referred to as ‘killer-applications’—will generate the necessary demand to finance the roll out of the (costly) infrastructure. Second, it is assumed that the willingness of the user to pay for these new services is substantial.7 As a result it is expected that the NII will be build in record time and almost exclusively by the private sector. What is needed is a liberalised economic and regulatory context, enabling competition and restricting state intervention. In this scenario competition enjoys priority as it stimulates efficiency within the sector. Furthermore, competition is by many perceived as generic to the pursuit of other objectives such as the lowering of prices and the universal extension of networks.8

2.2.2 The Dominant Scenario and Developing Countries

Although the context in developing countries differs markedly from those in the West, the above scenario has often been extrapolated as the appropriate scenario for the development of the NII in developing countries. Organisations as the World Bank,

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followed in recent years by the ITU, WTO and the ECA, foster the opening up of ICT markets, the liberalisation of the telecommunication and broadcasting sectors and the privatisation of large operators. Though an exception is made for the least developed countries, developing countries are being advised to adopt the same policies. The argument holds that:9: 1) liberalisation and privatisation have been successful elsewhere although most of the evidence is from advanced countries with long established universal services; 2) investment in telecommunication networks enables greater general use of ICTs in support of competitive economic activities; 3) national monopoly operators normally perform very poorly and this provides a strong incentive for major changes in their ownership and operation.

The adoption of such policies in a development context are believed to have the same positive effects as in the West. The AISI Action Framework sets the tone for the positive discourse found in similar statements on the role of the GII in development. The prospects for development through the investment in and use of ICT are presumed to be tremendous. Cheap ICTs offer developing nations the opportunity, not only to leapfrog entire stages of development in setting up their own information infrastructure and applications, but also ‘to accelerate development in all spheres of African economic and social activity’.

The recommendations to arrive at the Information Society are in line with the dominant scenario. At the infrastructural level AISI recommends to establish adequate communication infrastructure by encouraging the liberalisation of national telecommunication and public broadcasting services. The role of government is restricted to shaping an enabling environment for the use and development of ICT.

2.2.3 The Dominant Scenario: A brief evaluation

In general the dominant scenario uses two macro-economic assumptions: 1) that competition on all levels is a precondition to economic growth and prosperity for all, and 2) that interventions by public authorities have a restraining, rather than enabling, effect on economic growth.10

However, liberalisation, infrastructural development, economic development, deregulation and social distribution of services are not linked in a causal manner. In many cases there are considerable trade-offs between these different goals and they need to be balanced against each other. This balancing is informed by a technological, economical, social and political enabling and constraining environment in which suppliers, users and policy-making communities participate in processes of change.11

Amongst critics there is considerable doubt to whether the current shift towards more competition and free-trade will have the positive ‘social’ effects as predicted by the dominant scenario. Full and fair competition is an idealist situation. Concepts like oligopoly, cartels or regulatory capture are strikingly absent in dominant discourse. This is surprising if the recent wave of mergers on a national and international scale is considered. A world of abundance is projected while scarcity is created. This tends to contradict the causal relationship between more competition and free-trade on the one hand and more choice and cheaper prices on the other. Furthermore, the privatisation and liberalisation of the telecommunication market in Europe resulted not in less regulation, but in an increase of new regulation. Instead of becoming obsolete, the state thus plays a pivotal role in balancing economic, social and political goals. With the public interest in mind the state must reconcile those often divergent objectives.

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Furthermore, the dominant scenario’s beliefs in the potential of ICTs is largely based on the assumption that access to information technology and its content equals economic and social development. This assumption is called a technology ‘push’ vision and is inspired by a technological deterministic vision, in which technology is seen as the sole enabler of social action. However, human and institutional capabilities are of prime importance for the development and use of information systems and its content. These capacities can not be taken for granted. The real task ahead for developing countries will be to build up the institutional environment in which information will lead to applicable knowledge in function of development. Information Society policy will have to reform policies in a wide range of areas and draw them together in a coherent and integrated policy for the future.

3 CHANGES IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

3.1 ICT AND THE GLOBALISING ECONOMY

No doubt that our present society is increasingly globalises and integrates economically, involving growing capital mobility, the introduction of world-wide competition and changing patterns of industrial strategy.12 ICTs and global electronic networks play a catalysing role in this evolution. Global restructuring, with its requirements for interconnection of subsidiaries and branches of enterprises, has increased the demand for telecommunications and a more liberal telecommunication regulatory framework in favour of large customers. The resulting liberalisation of markets and the deregulation of tariff structures has, in turn, fostered the creation of global electronic networks.

This global restructuring towards a competitive international market is believed to reshape business structures and practices throughout the industrialised and industrialising world, whereby ICTs play a crucial role. Gurus on the Information Society, such as B. Gates (CEO of Microsoft) and N. Negroponte (head of the MITlab), proclaim that the world is entering a phase in which economies of scale become less important. Through the use of the Internet small and medium sized enterprises have a global potential reach. Everyone can, at very low cost, offer world wide content, services and products on the Internet, hence bypassing the traditional high costs for setting up a distribution network. The AISI Action Framework shares these visionary views on a networked global free market and its potential for the production of content and services in an African context:

...global information infrastructure will provide African countries with many new low-cost opportunities to disseminate alternative cultural, news and entertainment programming and help counter the flood of information from the industrialised countries.13

Some authors are however much more sceptical in their analysis. According to these authors, large transnational corporations (TNCs) increasingly dominate global markets. Through the use of ICTs these TNCs are expanding their reach and flexibility, reducing their dependency upon resource supplies or production location. In this way large TNCs are able to enhance their negotiating power with individual governments, unions, and other groups. In this sence ICTs become a major tool for TNCs to enhance both their market power and their autonomy in negotiating with all nation-states.14

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The possibilities for the production and export of African content and infrastructure in this scenario are less clear. Several developmental theorists are therefore pleading to adopt an Infant Industry Model, focusing on extensive governmental interventions in selected industries. The main concern is to build up new industries under protectionist conditions, not to supply local markets, but to export.15 This developmental strategy could include ICTs and its applications as a future sector of growth. However, according to Mansell & Wehn entry into the electronics industry for export may no longer be viable because automation has reduced the share of labour total cost, and competitiveness depends increasingly on quality and delivery time.16 Furthermore, within an African context, the institutional context to implement such strategies remains rather weak.17 However, whatever the developmental strategy followed, most states believe that a well-developed communications infrastructure is a precondition for attracting foreign investment.

3.2 THE GLOBALISATION OF THE ICT SECTOR

Within the globalising economy the internationalisation of the ICT sector itself has taken place much faster than in other sectors of the economy. To a certain degree one can even say that the internationalisation of the ICT sector enhanced that of other economic sectors.18

Over the last years, there has been a vast expansion in the economic value of the communications industries, an increase in the availability of basic and sophisticated communications technologies and an explosion of information flows. Although in general, the prospects for the expansion of the world economy are considered dim, the communications sector in general is identified as a major area of future growth.19 Especially the opening up of the telecommunications sector, with new possibilities for investment in an area traditionally characterised by high rates of returns, has transformed the industry into one of the key global sectors. Convergence and the expected explosion of new services and applications—especially in the area of entertainment—have at the international level brought together the ICT, audio-visual, and telecommunications industries. The resulting increased competition not only leads to rising international activity in the communications sector itself e.g. through direct investment, strategic alliances and mergers, but also in national governments actively attempting to manipulate the terms of international rivalry to the advantage of their transnational corporations (TNCs) in the ICT sector. At the international level this has resulted in changes in the regulatory regime for communications services and trade in ICT.20 Globalisation and new industrial policies stimulate the demand of large industrial users for fast, reliable and cheap telecommunications. These processes are leading carriers toward implementing globalisation strategies and in particular in trying to provide end-to-end international network management services. Furthermore, as local markets become saturated, carriers are searching for strategic investment in foreign markets, strategic ventures with other telecommunication carriers, and investments in areas outside traditional telecommunication activities. In 1996 more than 15% of the total value of world-wide mergers and acquisitions was generated by activities in the information and communication industries.21

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This oligopolistic rivalry of large TNCs and the search for new markets in the telecommunications sector provide, according to Melody, room for negotiation to affect outcomes in both the short and long run. African countries could use this space to establish a variety of new co-operative and competitive market relations.22 This room for negotiation should however not be exaggerated. TNCs are particularly interested in certain areas of the market, such as wireless services. Furthermore, the circumstances for the development of telecommunications in Africa are less favourable than sometimes thought. Political and economic instability and the enormous costs involved in upgrading outdated technological systems scare of many foreign investors. According to Weiss, from the 26 countries considering privatisation in 1994 only 10 may meet the criteria of foreign investors.23 Even countries such as Senegal or South Africa with the best telecommunications infrastructures in Africa, seem to have a tough time negotiating conditions over foreign participation.24 Convergence and the globalisation of the communications industry has major consequences for the content industries and its ties with the telecommunications sector. There is a global trend of telecommunications TNCs teaming up with the content industries to cover the areas of production and distribution of hard and software, to become the major future players of the GIS. Indeed, telecommunications operators do not want to take the risk of being degraded to a simple ‘carrier’. They prefer to move into horizontal as well as vertical differentiation. To be competitive in an environment of convergence and multi-media applications, a corporate actor must seek to control the four domains of the communication process (production, distribution of hard and software, including content). This logic will stimulate the formation of TNC multi-media groups even more. Given the amount of investment at stake, a scenario of full competition will therefore be very difficult to sustain. The emergence of a limited number of international conglomerates is more likely, probably with telecommunication companies at the head because they are the oldest companies involved and have large funds at their disposal. This process raises specific questions with regard to legitimating a specific policy on pluralism and diversity. Investment in pan-African highways must therefore be long-term, requires collaboration and has to strike a balance between industrial policy—creating a protective environment to stimulate its own content and service production—and cultural policy—safeguarding pluralism and diversity. In this respect, cross subsidisation—an essential element in the world wide competition policy—will have to be extremely carefully looked at. Telecommunication companies can very easily drop their prices when competing in television by using their telephone revenue.

3.3 THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY REGIME

At the international level a large number of institutions and governance regimes are influencing the emergence of information infrastructures around the world. These institutions and governance regimes influence the diffusion of technology and the regulation of (tele)communication networks and service supply, standards agreements for interconnection of networks and terminal equipment.25 In the past regulation of communications has been highly centralised, monopolistic but public service oriented and state controlled. In recent years however it is much more decentralised, market oriented and state independent. The international regulatory regime is fast evolving from a rather protectionist system at the level of the nation state or the region, towards a market access model. Communication as such is

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viewed not as a civil right, but as a tradable product or service. At the international level there has been a shift in responsibilities and power from older organisations as the ITU towards newer organisations such as the WTO. These institutions are increasingly complemented by a multitude of new organisations representing private, corporate and public interest, all trying to influence the international regulatory system.26

As we have already indicated, oligopolistic competition between TNCs and their supporting governments forms an important part of the current global communications scene. Western governments are actively supporting their TNCs in the ICT and telecommunications sector by influencing the rules of the international regulatory regime. Especially the US government is extremely concerned about the access of its TNCs to foreign markets. Most Western governments are therefore trying to set the agenda of international institutions such as the G7, the OECD, the WTO, the World Bank, and the ITU. As a result, these institutions have increasingly promoted free trade in the area of communications and ICT infrastructure. A major breakthrough in the direction of liberalisation of communication at an international level was the 1993 WTO agreement between 130 countries, in which communication is basically treated as a service. Although the WTO makes a distinction between on the one side, telecommunications and computer-generated services, and on the other side broadcasting, film and cable services, it does not have an explicit ‘cultural exemption’ clause. It is up to individual countries to treat broadcasting as a service or a cultural good. In the future convergence will increasingly blur the distinction between both services. There is a real threat that all cultural goods will fall under the heading of digital services and thus be treated as a regular service.27 The agreement was complemented with an Agreement on basic telecommunications service. Delegates from 69 countries including 40 developing countries signed the agreement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in February 1997. This agreement commits countries to opening up most domestic telecommunications markets to competition from foreign companies by the beginning of 1998. The agreement not only provides for liberalisation of market access, but also substantially opens markets for foreign investment and contains binding regulatory principles.28

In relation to the developing countries, other international organisations, such as the World Bank, ITU and ECA play an important role in the spread of the dominant scenario.29 These organisations are able to influence policy formulation as well as the actual implementation of ICTs in developing countries through several mechanisms, such as: programmes in policy assistance, institution building and private sector support; specific ICT related projects; international and regional conferences; and the spread of documents and scientific articles. The World Bank discourse—since the 80s characterised by a strong preference for a minimal state intervention and global free trade—perfectly parallels the dominant WTO scenario. In recent years, formerly more critical organisations such as the ITU and ECA, have joined the World Bank in its neo-liberal stance. The ITU, traditionally a promoter of the national monopolist telecommunication operators, has largely adopted the World Bank discourse. Although the ITU African Green Paper represents a more subtle approach towards privatisation than most World Bank papers, its main argument remains in favour of liberalisation.30 The same goes for the ECA. In the 80s a harsh challenger of the World Bank discourse, it has in the meantime given up its

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critical stance. Its AISI Action Framework is characterised by an enormous belief in the capabilities of ICTs and telecommunication in Africa. AISI favours a strong market driven approach in order to connect Africa with the rest of the world. In general, at the international level, there seems to be a broad consensus around the dominant scenario. This consensus is gradually changing the international regulatory regime in the direction of liberalised trade and neo-liberal market economics. These changes leave developing countries with little chance of resisting liberalisation in the long run. The benefits developing countries will reap from open markets is less clear. Adopting the liberal framework may well restrict countries’ ability to use public policies to guide development of new technologies and services.

4 KEY ISSUES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

4.1 TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE

The development and spread of an Information Society will ultimately depend on its underlying infrastructure. When talking about the development of a Global Information Infrastructure, Western countries are referring to the implementation of integrated broadband networks. Within a developmental context broadband networks are not in place yet. On the contrary basic communication infrastructures are rather weak. Even when one speaks of the provision of simple interactive services such as the Internet, current networks and equipment are hardly available. Although the importance of telecommunications for Africa has been stressed and recognised on several occasions during the last two decades, the situation has not improved accordingly. Telephone density remains at a very low rate of 0.5 lines per 100 inhabitants in sub-Saharan Africa. Rural areas are rarely provided with telecommunications. According to the ITU the prospects for rapid change are dim, as due to the dept crisis and declining terms of trade for export, limited funds will be available for the required massive investments in telecommunications.31

However, in recent years technological evolutions in the telecommunications sector have resulted in tremendous advances in the capacity and flexibility of technology and in a considerable reduction of prices, raising new hopes for the development of telecommunication in developing countries. New developments in local loop technology—traditionally the most expensive part of the network—have resulted in multiple fixed and wireless options to connect households at lower costs, with capacities high enough to transmit audio and video signals. For developing countries wireless and satellite technology offer new possibilities to connect sparsely populated areas. Technically everything seems indeed possible. The AISI Action Framework even argues, that the potential to leapfrog in Africa via ICTs is even more substantial as the investment in older infrastructure is small and vested interests are low.32 However, apart from the vast opportunities offered by developments in technology, the evolution may well have some downsides as well. The full digitisation of networks makes network infrastructure and its management extremely complex. Digitisation may thus even aggravate an already high dependence on foreign expertise and infrastructure. Furthermore, new sophisticated and expensive digital equipment may be able to provide services which remain far beyond the spending power of all but a few developing countries. One of the main challenges for a lot of developing countries is to build up capacity in the area of technology assessment and expertise in

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order to adapt technology to the countries peculiar socio-cultural, economic, and political environment.33

Technological evolutions also enhance the capacity of individuals and firms to bypass the public network. Especially in the case of international communication, these mechanisms put pressures on operators to adjust prices, decreasing the possibility of using cross subsidising to enhance networks. Future global telecommunication systems such as Iridium or Teledesic will be able to connect remote areas before the end of this century. However, they threaten to further erode the financial base necessary to extend the public network. In addition to the physical network infrastructure an important part of the infrastructure for the Information Society is the computer base, software, peripheral information technology equipment, including the customer interface. Without this hard- and software—connected to networks—there is no possibility of accessing interactive applications, be it broadband or narrow-band. When talking about access to the Information Society, only looking at network infrastructure may thus be deceptive.

The situation for developing countries—and especially for Africa—is hard to assess. In general there are very few statistics available about the installed PC base. The ITU report African Telecommunication Indicators 1996 provides information for only 5 African countries. The estimated ‘PC-density’ ranges from 0,3 in Egypt to 2,1 in South Africa. Important to note is that the countries for which the information is available are amongst the best performing countries. However, the high costs for computer software, the low quality of the African electricity network, and the lack of skilled personnel for maintenance of imported ICTs will hinder their spread.34

4.2 PRIVATISATION

Until the end of the 1980s most developing countries telecommunications sectors could still be characterised as classical state monopolies. However, from the end of the 1980s onwards, more and more developing countries are opening up their markets and are privatising their state monopolies.

Within the dominant scenario, the need to restructure the public sector, is seen as the result of different factors: 1) the sector is characterised by increasing inefficiency; 2) the sector does not meet the changing demands of professional and residential groups; 3) new alternative services legitimise the introduction of competition; and 4) the necessary modernisation of the sector is out of the possibilities of the public sector.35 The introduction of competition and privatisation are seen as the prime strategies to revitalise the telecommunications sector. However, the question remains if and under what conditions privatisation does contribute to the development of the sector. In an analysis of recent privatisations in several South American countries Ramamurti comes to the conclusion that the main raisons for privatisation lay outside the sphere of the firm or the sector. The three main goals explaining the privatisation of telecommunication companies and airlines in the region are the following: 1) maximising the proceeds from the sale of these companies to help end the country’s fiscal and balance of payment crisis; 2) sending a positive signal to private local and foreign investors through a “successful” sale of major companies; and 3) improving the performance of the enterprise or sector. In a lot of cases, the first goal of raising cash is the overriding aim of privatisation. In many cases, these strategies lead to

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privatisation packages that are skewed towards increasing the sale prices of the firm, rather than maximising the prospects for improved efficiency. To make the deal more attractive, monopoly privatisation is introduced without competition and weak regulatory institutions are put into place. As the privatisation carrousel continues—and governments are competing with each other to attract foreign capital investment—most developing countries considering privatisation will be confronted with the trade-off between introducing competition supported by sound regulation and the direct financial revenues derived from privatisation.36

In general the results of privatisation are mixed as well. Despite the thorough preparation of most of the privatisations carried out in South America, the revenues derived are rather modest. In the short run, the most striking and most consistent effects of these privatisations have been the fast expansion of the network and the enhanced performance in productivity. However, just as in most Western countries, they have been accompanied by a rebalancing of tariffs between local and international tariffs with negative effects on local tariffs.37 If things go wrong, countries that embrace liberalisation and certainly privatisation, could risk losing substantial power over their telecommunications development and the economic rewards that go with it. The main fear is that liberalisation, will in the long run, obstruct roll-out in areas considered as unprofitable e.g. rural areas. Apart from this, due to weak regulatory arrangements, governments seriously run the risk of diminishing their ability to align telecommunications policies with national economic and social policies.

4.3 UNIVERSAL SERVICE, UNIVERSAL ACCESS & PUBLIC SERVICE

Historically, governments in many countries have seen telecommunications as a social good to be made available to all at affordable prices. The main motive behind this universal service concept is that telecommunications are considered strategic means to create social and economic prosperity.38 For the developing countries, a large amount of studies have indicated that the provision of basic telephone services in the rural areas can have considerable external economic and social benefits.39 This argument alone suffices to legitimise the introduction of at least universal access. However, within an information society in which information is considered to become the main driving force of economic and social development, universal service may even become more important. Within the context of this debate, the question is therefore widely raised as to whether the definition of universal service should be broadened to include provisions of service levels above that of simple narrow-band dialtone. This discussion is rather delusive in a developmental context, in which even basic universal service is far from reached. Although the dominant scenario predicts that liberalisation and competition will lead to an accelerated expansion of networks and a fulfilment of unmet demand, the fundamental question within a developmental context remains if liberalisation and universal service are indeed complementary. The developed countries will probably not have problems assuring universal service in a liberalised context, as their networks were brought to near universal service under monopoly conditions. However, developing countries are bound to hurt on an antagonism between universal service and liberalisation. Trying to introduce universal service in developing countries will in most cases lead to frustration. Due to low network availability it is probably more appropriate to think

15

in terms of universal access and to develop innovative ways of extending access to networks and services. Parker et al. propose to introduce a multi-level definition of access for rural areas, identifying requirements within households, within communities, and for education and social service providers. This way the definition could include more advanced services, such as the internet, at the level of schools, clinics, libraries and community centres. As these more advanced services will cover other areas of public service, it will have to encompass and co-ordinate a much broader body of different policy frameworks.40 One should however bear in mind, that the concept of universal service has always been the result of a compromise between the principle players and interests at stake. Forcing new and broader concepts of universal service or universal access upon players without their consent or commitment, may not have the intended results.41 Within a competitive environment, the willingness of private players to commit themselves to these objectives may be much more limited than under monopoly conditions.

4.4 REGULATION

The processes described above will, in the end, have to lead to a fundamental review of the institutional and regulatory frameworks governing licensing, access and use of infrastructures and provision of services. At the moment, most countries still have separate regulatory structures dedicated to telecommunication, and to broadcasting, supplemented by regulation for content. Theoretically it could be argued that liberalisation and technological change as such, are in the long run sufficient to allow self-regulating competition. However, as the case of Great Britain illustrates, regulation is more complex then first thought. Although at the time of installation in 1984 it was assumed that the role of Oftel—the British independent regulator—would only be temporary, its role seems to become even more important over time. A decade after the introduction of competition British Telecom still dominated 90 percent of the market.42

Most countries have followed the example of Great Britain, as they liberalised their markets and separated the legislational, the regulatory and the operational spheres of telecommunications. In most instances this has resulted in the establishment of a seperate regulatory institution which main responsibilities are achieving progress towards social goals concerning ‘universal service’; protecting the interests of telecommunication users; supervising the dominant operator; ensuring technical preconditions for effective operation of the public network; etc.. As already indicated regulation in Africa will have to succeed in enforcing operators not only to invest in lucrative markets, but also to invest in residential and rural services. This means the need for a strong and independent regulator. However, the effectiveness of regulation will depend on the political structures, on the political will, on the relative freedom from co-optation by private interests and a relative low level of corruption. The road ahead may be more difficult than sometimes suggested. The political or regulatory power of similar bodies in the audio-visual sector are rather weak and are prey to external pressures from large private industries.43 Especially small countries with less attractive markets will have a very difficult time regulating foreign investors. In countries where there is already an acute shortage of professionals, including engineers, economists, and lawyers, establishing an effective regulatory body may be one of the most difficult challenges facing a government intent on restructuring the sector.44

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4.5 INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

According to Mansell & When, there are two keys to the ability of any country to exploit the potential of ICTs for economic and social development. The first is the availability of a network infrastructure which is essential for the provision of applications. The second is the capability to create and administer an enabling environment and to develop the applications that exploit the infrastructure in ways that are consistent with needs in the local environment.45 However, the debates in recent years on the impact of ICT tend to emphasise capabilities for producing or acquiring hardware (telecommunication networks, personal computers, fax machines, etc.). In general the capabilities for producing and using software and information content have largely been ignored. The underlying assumption in the dominant scenario is that the mere connection to ICTs is sufficient to foster development. This position is based on four basic—but highly questionable—assumptions: 1) that information technology is neutral and easily transferable; 2) that information as such is neutral (and equals knowledge); 3) that citizens, by means of information technology, have access to information which is in itself necessary and sufficient to accelerate development; 4) that information will be free or near to free in the Information Society. However, the institutional and individual capabilities needed to turn information into useful knowledge for development are often neglected. These capabilities can not—as most policy documents do—be taken for granted.46

Over the last years several authors have stressed the importance of institutional changes necessary to use the potentials of ICTs in future societies. These authors recognise that ICTs and their applications have the potential to transform the traditional ways of operating for large and small businesses, government agencies, education and health organisations, and other institutions. It is anticipated that new applications and services will permit a major restructuring of all organisations with as a result an increase in efficiency and responsiveness. However, these changes cannot take place without widespread social and institutional changes affecting especially education, training, the labour market, management structures and the new infrastructure.47

Within this view life-long learning, education and training are considered of prime importance, as they develop and enhance the capability to process, analyse and transform information into useful knowledge. New capabilities are necessary for employment in the ICT related production and services sector. However more importantly, new capabilities are needed throughout the whole of society. Within both the workforce and the household new capabilities are a prerequisite in order to use new services creatively. To foster the new capabilities major changes are needed in formal education systems and institutions that contribute to informal learning.48 According to the High Level Expert Group on Social Aspects of the Information Society, commissioned by the European Commission, government should provide political and financial incentives to new operators in the field of education and training making possible the combination of a broad spectrum of information and content.49

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4.6 CONCLUSION: TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF POLICY REALMS

As has become clear in the above discussion, convergence between different technological platforms, is not restricted to changes at the level of the communication infrastructure and its related industries alone. Convergence touches upon and instigates changes at the level of society in general, the national and international economy, and brings about change at the level of national and international governance and regulatory systems. At the national level convergence and related service developments imply the need for an adaptation of existing definitions and concepts. However, the debate is much broader than this. As discussed in the last chapter, converting the potential into actual gains in productivity, living standards and quality of life, requires a lengthy process of learning and institutional change. According to the High-Level Expert Group leaving the development of the Information Society to the private sector—as proposed by the dominant scenario—is to take an exclusively minimalist approach to the role of the public authorities in the process towards an Information Society.50 It is increasingly recognised that pro-active policy has an important role to play.

In general ICT policy overlaps with four well-established and often seperatly organised policy fields: technology, industrial, telecommunication, and media policy. Furthermore, as the Information Society is a learning society, educational policy will have to play an overall underpinning role. With the convergence of ICTs, the formulation and implementation of new policies are starting to cut across existing policy domains. Information Society policy will thus have to encompass and co-ordinate a broad body of different and formerly separated policy areas and frameworks. New methodologies for policy formulation and implementation will have to be adopted in order to overcome current obstacles. Mansell & Wehn observe that national ICT strategies involving a process of participatory, interactive learning, and planning are emerging as an alternative to either state planning or pure market mechanisms for constructing national information infrastructures.51 New fora and other innovative legislative and regulatory instruments involving a wide range of stakeholders from government, industry, civil society and the science and technology community can play a catalysing role in the process. In 1995 the European Commission decided to set up the Information Society Forum, consisting of 128 representatives from different backgrounds, in order to create a new and authoritative source of reflection on the Information Society. In South Africa, the National Telecommunications Forum, comprised of representatives of different stakeholders and civil society, played an important role in the consultative process leading to the Telecommunications White Paper and Act. According to Horwitz, the process of policy formulation in South Africa was innovative in the sense that the process constructed a public sphere in the area of telecommunications policy.52

For developing countries an international consensus has emerged on the urgent need to prepare national ICT strategies to provide a framework to govern the allocation of resources among different groups of users and sectors, and to establish priorities. These strategies need to be planned and developed as an integral part of each country’s overall development strategy. This requires an integrated approach with broad participation by all stakeholders. Some developing and new industrialising countries may be able to formulate and implement developmental policies directed at entry into the international equipment and services markets. Most of them are likely to concentrate on strategies to build capacities for using ICTs within existing

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developmental strategies. However, the uncritical adoption of the dominant scenario would for some of these countries create an ever increasing and unmanageable trade deficit to create a capability for services they do not need and are not capable of using effectively.If ICTs are to be effective they need to be responsive to local needs and circumstances.53 As a conclusion one can thus agree with the High Level Expert Group that: ‘(...) there is no such thing as the Global Information Society, neither (that) their is one scenario towards its accomplishment. In the future there could be different models on the Information Society, just as today we have different models of industrial society. They are likely to differ to the degree to which they avoid social exclusion and create new opportunities for the disadvantaged.’54 1 This article is an abbreviated version of a chapter for the Masters in International Communication

Tutorial, Department of Communication, University of South Africa, Pretoria. It was written as part of

our ongoing co-operation with the University of South Africa (UNISA) ‘Capacity Building in

Telecommunication and Information Policy’, funded by the Flemish Ministry of Education.

2 Leo Van Audenhove would like to thank the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO-

Vlaanderen) for his scholarship. All authors would like to thank the Research Counsil of the Free

University Brussels (OZR-VUB) for the support of our ongoing research. This article forms part of an

interuniversity project ‘Research & interdisciplinary evaluation of the information society: networks,

usage and the role of the state’, funded by the Federal Institute for Science Policy (DWTC). Partners

are SMIT, Lentic (Liege) and CRID-CITA (Namur).

3 OECD, Global information Infrastructure-Global Information Society (GII-GIS). Policy

requirements, Paris: OECD, 1997; J C Burgelman, 'Assessing information technologies and

telecommunications services: the case of developing countries', Communicatio, 18(2), 1992, pp.64-78.

4 OECD, 1997, op. cit.

5 ECA, African Information Society Initiative (AISI): An action framework to build Africas

information and communication infrastructure, http://www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/, 1996a; ECA,

Background Information, http://www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/, 1996b; ECA, Twenty-third meeting of

ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning 5-8 May

1997. Progress Report on the Implementation of the African Information Society Initiative,

http://www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/, 1997; ITU, The African Green Paper. Telecommunications for

Africa, Geneva: Telecommunications Development Bureau, 1996, pp.157; For a critical analysis of the

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AISI Action Framework, see: L Van Audenhove, ‘The African Information Society: Rhetoric and

Practice’, Communicatio, 24(1), 76-84.

6 R Mansell & R Silverstone, 'Introduction', in Communication by design. The Politics of Information

and Communication Technologies, R Mansell & R Silverstone (eds.) ,Oxford, Oxford University

Press, 1996, pp.1-14; OECD, 1997, op. cit., pp.8.

7 J C Burgelman & P Verhoest, 'Trans-European information networks: Rhetoric and practice',

Telematics and Informatics, 13(2/3), 1996, pp.67-80

8 J C Burgelman & P Verhoest, 1996, op. cit., pp.62; JM Bauer, 'Conceptual frameworks for the design

of telecommunications policy', in Telecommunications in transition. Policies, services and technologies

in the European Community, C Stienfield, JM Bauer & L Caby (eds.), 1994, pp.18-35.

9 R Mansell & U Wehn, Knowledge Societies: Information technology for sustainable development,

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp.192

10 B Cammaerts, ‘The crisis of the sovereign welfare state: What about (tele)communication policy?’,

12th IAMCR-Converence: The End of the Nation? Media Forms and Media Identities in the Digital

Age, Glasgow, July 26-30, 1998.

11 J. M. Bauer, 'Conceptual frameworks for the design of telecommunications policy', in

Telecommunications in transition. Policies, services and technologies in the European Community, C.

Steinfield, J. M. Bauer, & L. Caby (eds.). London: Sage, 1994, pp.18-35; R. Mansell, 'Communication

by design?', in Communication by design. The Politics of Information and Communication

Technologies, R. Mansell & R. Silverstone (eds.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, pp.15-43.

12 B Cammaerts, ‘The crisis of the sovereign welfare state: What about (tele)communication policy?’,

12th IAMCR-Converence: The End of the Nation? Media Forms and Media Identities in the Digital

Age, Glasgow, July 26-30, 1998; Y Murakami, An anticlassical political economic analysis: A vision

for the next century, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996.

13 ECA, 1996a, op. cit.

14 WH Melody, 'The information society: The transnational economic context and its implications', in

Transnational communications. Wiring the Third World, G Sussman & JA Lent (eds.), Newbury Park,

20

Sage, 1991, pp.27-41. W Ruigrok & R van Tulder, The logic of international restructuring, London:

Routledge, 1995, pp.344

15 J Rapley, Understanding development. Theory and practice in the Third World, London: UCL Press,

1997, pp.125.

16 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit., pp.12

17 TM Callaghy, 'Africa and the world political economy: Still caught between a rock and a hard place',

in Africa in world politics. Post-cold war challenges. Second edition, JW Harbeson & D Rothchild

(eds.), Boulder, Westview Press, 1995, pp.41-68; J Rapley, 1997, op. cit., pp.135.

18 A Mohammadi, 'Communication and the globalization process in the developing world', in

International communication and globalization., A Mohammadi (ed.), London, Sage Publications,

1997, pp.67-89; Group of Lisbon, Limits to competition, Brussels: VUBPress, 1994.

19 D Winseck, 'Contradictions in the democratization of international communication', Media, Culture

and Society, 19, 1997, pp.219-245

20 P Drahos & R A Joseph, 'Telecommunication and investment in the great supranational regulatory

game', Telecommunication Policy, 19(8), 1995, pp.619-635; WH Melody, 1991, op. cit., pp.31;

OECD, 1997, op. cit., pp.7-8.

21 European Commission, Green Paper on the convergence of the telecommunications, media an

information technology sectors, and the implications for regulation, Brussels: European Community,

1997.

22 WH Melody, 1991, op. cit., pp.34-40.

23 S Bagchi-Sen & P Das, 'Foreign direct investment by the US Bells', in Telecommunications politics.

Ownership and control of the Information Highway in Developing Countries, B Mody, JM Bauer & JD

Straubhaar (eds.), Manwah, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995, pp.85-112.; EO Weiss, 'Africa in a

global economy. Taking advantage of experiences in Europe and Asia', in Telecommunications and

development in Africa, BA Kiplagat & MCM Werner (eds.), Amsterdam, IOC Press, 1994, pp.97-110.

24S Humphreys, 'Africa's rising star, Senegal: which partners for a strategic marriage?', Intermedia,

25(3), 1997, pp.23-25

21

25 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit., pp.180-181.

26 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit., pp.180; P Drahos & R A Joseph, 1995, op. cit., pp.620.

27 D Winseck, 1997, op. cit., pp.238-240.

28 J Deane & A Opoku-Mensah, 'Telecommunications, development and the market: The promises and

the problems', Panos Media Brieging, (23), 1997, pp.3-4.

29 Nulens, G. & Van Audenhove, L. (1998) 'The African Information Society: An analysis of the

information and communication technology policy of the World Bank, ITU and ECA.' 12th IAMCR-

Converence: The End of the Nation?, Glasgow, July 26-30.

30 L Van Audenhove, 1998, op. cit.; G Nulens & L Van Audenhove, 1998, op.cit.

31 ITU, 1996, op. cit.; the ITU Green Paper starts with a rather pessimistic analysis of the current

telecommunications situation in Africa. It emphasises the enormous challenges ahaed in order to

upgrade infrastructure. As such it is a welcome change to other documents professing an easy road

towards the development of an Information Infrastructure.

32 ECA, 1996a, op. cit.

33 R U Akwule, 'Telecommunications in Kenya. Development and policy issues', vub, 16(7), 1992,

pp.603-611; STK Boafa, 'Communication technology and dependent development in Sub-Saharan

Africa', in Transnational communications. Wiring the Third World, G Sussman & JA Lent (eds.),

Newbury Park, Sage, 1991, pp.119.

34 B Balleto, ‘Power protection for Africa’, Computers and Communications in Africa, 8(8), 1994,

pp.37; ITU, African Telecommunications Indicators, Geneva: Telecommunications Development

Bureau, 1996; D Wilson, ‘Towards a diachronic-synchronic view of future communication policy in

Africa’, Africa Media Review, 3(2), 1989, pp. 37.

35 W H Melody, 'Privatisation: a story of successes, failure and regrets', Intermedia, 25(3), 1997a, p.15. 36 R Ramamurti, 'The new frontiers of privatization', in Privatizing monopolies: lessons from the

telelcommunications and transport sectors in Latin-America, R Ramamurti (ed.), Baltimore, John

Hopkins University Press, 1996, pp.1-45; see also P K McCormick, 'Telecommunications divestment.

An erosion of democracy in the Caribbean', Gazette, 59(2), 1997, pp.91-104.

22

37 R Ramamurti, 1996, op.cit., pp.22-25; also JD Straubhaar, PK McCormick, JM Bauer & C

Campbell, 'Telecommunications restructuring: The experience of eight countries', in

Telecommunications politics. Ownership and control of the Information Highway in Developing

Countries, B Mody, JM Bauer & JD Straubhaar (eds.), Manwah, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995,

pp.225-245.

38 JC Burgelman, 1997, op. cit., pp. 137.

39 HE Hudson, When telephones reach the village. The role of telecommunications in rural

development, Norwood: Ablax Publishing Corporation, 1984, pp.154; RJ Saunders, JJ Warford & B

Wellenius, Telecommunications and economic development. Second edition, Baltimore: Hopkins

University Press, 1994, pp.476.

40 EB Parker & HE Hudson, Electronic Byways. State policies for rural development through

telecommunications (Second edition), Washington: The Aspen Institute, 1995, pp.xxxiii, OECD, 1997,

op. cit., pp.42.

41 JC Burgelman, 1997, op. cit., pp. 137.

42 M Joosten, 'De Engelse Les, De Grenzen van Liberalisering van Telecommunicatie', Informatie en

Informatiebeleid, 9(2), 1991, pp.31-36.

43 A-J Tudesq, l'Afrique Noire et ses Télévisions, Paris: Anthropos INA, 1992, pp.340.

44 HE Hudson, Global connections. International telecommunications infrastructure policy, New York:

Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1997, pp.210; WH Melody, 'Designing a Workable Telecom Regulatory

Structure for 21st Century Information Societies', in Telecom reform. Pinciples, policies and regulatory

practices, WH Melody (ed.), Lyngby, Technical university of Denmark, 1997, pp.501; JD Straubhaar,

'From PTT to privat: Liberalization and privatization in Eastern Europe and the Third World', in

Telecommunications politics. Ownership and control of the Information Highway in Developing

Countries, B Mody, JM Bauer & JD Straubhaar (eds.), Manwah, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995,

pp.3.

45 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit., pp.192.

46 L Van Audenhove, 1998, op. cit.

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47 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit.; C Freeman & L Soete, Work for all or mass unemployment.

Computerised technical change into the 21st centry, London: Pinter Publishers, 1994; C Freeman,

Information highways and social change, Ottawa: IDRC, 1995; High-Level Expert Group, Building the

European information society for us all. Final policy report of the high-level expert group,

Luxembourg: European Communities, 1997; W H Melody, 'Towards a framework for designing

information society policies', Communicatio, 23(2), 1997, pp.79-89.

48 W H Melody, 1997, op.cit., pp.82. 49 HLEG, 1997, op. cit.; C Freeman, 1995, op.cit.

50 HLEG, 1997, op. cit.

51 R Mansell & U Wehn, 1998, op. cit., pp230-235; HE Hudson, 1997, op. cit., pp.210.

52 Information Society Forum, Making the most of the Information Society in the European Union.

First annual report to the European Commission from the Information Society Forum, Brussels:

European Community, 1996; R B Horwitz, 'Telecommunications policy in the new South Africa:

participatory politics and sectoral reform', Communicatio, 23(2), 1997, pp.63-78.

53 WH Melody, 1997c, op.cit., pp.497-500.

54 HLEG, 1997, op. cit.