Access for All

01.09.2025

Introduction Digital technologies are increasingly a central part of people’s lives, reshaping the way we live, work, and play and creating new opportunities for social and economic development. Businesses are, in turn, using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to fundamentally transform their processes, increase efficiency, develop new products, and enhance their customers’ experience. However, the shift towards an increasingly digital economy can widen the digital divide further between those able to benefit from the digital transformation and those that are not – either because they are in socially and economically disadvantaged sectors of the population or in areas without access…

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Access for All: Value Creation and Demand

01.09.2025

Introduction The broadband ecosystem consists of two key components – supply and demand. On the demand side, value creation is essential to universal service initiatives. This aligns with the Broadband Commission’s observation that there has been a fundamental shift from supply-driven communications access to demand-driven communication (Broadband Commission 2023). While many communities and individuals around the world recognize the value and importance of connectivity, others may need additional support, such as incentives, education, or expanded opportunities to access online services. By understanding the dynamics that impact broadband demand and value creation, policymakers and other government stakeholders can create effective strategies…

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Monitoring and evaluation of universal and meaningful connectivity impact

01.09.2025

Importance of monitoring and evaluating universal and meaningful connectivity policies and projects A key consideration for the design and implementation of policies aimed at promoting access for all is ensuring ongoing monitoring and evaluation of whether a policy or individual project is meeting its intended goals. This consideration of accountability should be a foundational design component of universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC) and universal access (UA) approaches, and relies both on clear, measurable objectives and on the ability to measure progress against them. In a sense, this equates UMC and UA policies and plans with many other government policies or…

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Access for All: UMC and efforts to promote access and affordability

01.09.2025

Introduction Broadband Internet access continues to cement its place as a fundamental necessity to communities across the world, making it increasingly important to ensure the promise of universal service. Without affordable Internet access, individuals and communities experience increased socioeconomic challenges and reduced opportunities for education and employment. Further, as government agencies and other public services continue to rely on the Internet to perform basic administrative functions, it is essential that all citizens have access to the digital world. This section explores the importance of expanding broadband access and affordability to meet global and national connectivity goals. It also introduces several…

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Policies to promote inclusion

01.09.2025

Cross-sectoral policies: digital skills and literacy Universal access (UA) policies – and more recently, universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC) policies – have evolved to extend beyond the information and communications technology (ICT) sector itself, more broadly including cross-sectoral approaches that can leverage ICT benefits across multiple economic segments. The ideas of empowering users and leading to positive impact are arguably the ultimate goals of cross-sectoral policies intended to improve and expand the use of ICTs to achieve broader development goals. Perhaps the most prominent example of cross-sectoral thinking is demonstrated by the inclusion of digital skills in UMC policies and…

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Guide to Meaningful Public Consultations: Collaborative Regulation from Foundations to Sustainable Practices

29.08.2025

About this Guide This Guide was jointly developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator. The Guide is a new tool in the portfolio of tools for national regulators and regulatory associations to support evidence-based decision-making. It provides practical guidance and a blueprint for effectively engaging and conducting regulatory consultations with stakeholders from government, private sector, and civil society and enhancing the outcomes of stakeholder involvement in policy and decision-making processes. Using a blended approach, the guide draws from insights from 13 interviews with regulators across all regions, various resources on good regulatory practices…

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Deep Dive: Collaboration between competition and ICT authorities

25.08.2025

Importance of ICT regulator and competition authority collaboration As noted in Intragovernmental Collaboration, a common area of overlap between vertical and horizontal regulatory approaches is competition in the ICT sector. As such, competition and ICT regulators often work together to achieve common goals in line with their mandates. In some cases, cooperation tools are envisaged in legislation, other times agencies frame them in formal agreements, such as MOUs/MOAs, and in other cases regulators choose to cooperate informally. Often, informal cooperation is the precursor to future – and formal – cooperation. Collaboration between ICT and competition regulators is a common and…

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Deep Dive: Common elements of collaboration agreements between agencies

25.08.2025

An inter-agency collaboration agreement is a written agreement between two or more parties, outlining the terms of collaboration or cooperation to reach one or more common objectives. Such agreements, frequently drafted as an MOU or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), establish a legal basis for collaboration and outline participants’ roles and functions; responsibilities; allocation of funds; and short-, medium- and long-term goals. Typical provisions might also include processes for inter-agency information-sharing, investigations, enforcement, training, and external outreach (DHS 2006). MOUs or MOAs used by ICT regulators can include the following components: an introduction to the specific policy problem addressed by…

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Deep Dive: Industry codes of practice

25.08.2025

Intended as a complement to rules-based regulatory models, industry codes of practice can help establish clear regulatory goals and best practices. According to the Kenya Communications Authority‘s (CA) approach to developing codes of practice, the mechanism is defined as “a set of professional standards or written guidelines agreed on by members of a particular profession, or written guidelines issued by an official body or a professional association to its member, to help them comply with its ethical standards” (ITU 2023). The Kenya Communications Authority’s approach to developing codes of practice Source: ITU, Collaborative regulation for digital transformation in Kenya: A…

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Collaborative governance

25.08.2025

Importance of collaborative regulation Over the last several years, ITU has developed a comprehensive model for tracking the maturity of telecommunications markets – the Generations of Regulation Model. The model presents a framework for considering how policy and regulation have evolved over recent decades, from a narrower telecommunications focus to a broader ICT focus and ultimately to collaborative digital governance (Figure 1) (ITU 2023a). As presented by ITU, fifth-generation (G5) regulation is framed under the premise ‘collaboration across sectors, cooperation across borders, and engagement across the board.’ Figure 1. Generations of regulation Source: ITU Leading G5 regulation is the desired…

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