Connections
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Connections is a weekly series of knowledge notes from the World Bank Group’s Transport & Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Global Practice. It covers projects, experiences, and front-line developments.
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Publication
Russia’s Ambitious Broadband Goal: Is the Progress Sustainable?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)In 2012, the Russian Federation announced one of the world’s more ambitious broadband Internet development goals: providing 80 percent of Russian households with ultrafast connection speeds - at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2018.1 That goal exceeds the current targets in Germany and the European Union, and it is about equivalent to those currently being pursued by countries with ambitious strategic broadband connectivity goals, including Denmark, Sweden, and the United States. As part of the effort to reach its 2018 target, the Russian government recently tasked Rostelecom - a largely state-owned enterprise and the dominant firm in Russia’s broadband market - with the responsibility of connecting 4 million people (about 2.8 percent of all households) in small, widely scattered settlements throughout Russia by installing 200,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable providing speeds of at least 10 Mbps. The assignment is both a great opportunity and a huge challenge for Rostelecom and for the entire Russian broadband sector. What can Russia do to ensure Rostelecom’s successful completion of its specific task as well as the success of the broader 2018 target? -
Publication
Will the Digital Revolution Help or Hurt Employment?: Adaptation a Key to Realizing Job Gains
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02)What will technological change deliver in the coming decades? And what can we do to determine the outcome? Technological change in any given society is never smooth and always negotiated. Although both perils and opportunities await, the ultimate result depends on our choices today. Governments, businesses, and individuals have shown that adapting to changing circumstances can alter the consequences of apparently ‘inevitable’ changes. And developing countries can be profoundly affected by changes seemingly limited to the advanced economies; they must adapt to what is actually a global technological playing field. The World Bank’s recently issued World Development Report 2016: digital dividends focuses on strengthening the ‘analog complements’ of the digital economy, including adapting skills to get the most out of the digital revolution. Countries whose governments can facilitate innovation, strengthen education and skill building, and build up the social safety net may be the most likely to benefit from the coming changes. -
Publication
Digital IDs for Development: Access to Identity and Services for All
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-04)Lack of personal official identification (ID) prevents people from fully exercising their rights and isolates them socially and economically - voting, legal action, receipt of government benefits, banking, and borrowing are all virtually closed off. The widespread lack of ID in developing countries is a critical stumbling block to national growth. Digital ID, combined with the already extensive use of mobile devices in the developing world, offers a transformative solution to the problem - a simple means for capturing personal ID that can reach far more people; and new, more efficient ways for government and business to reach and serve the population. Robust digital ID systems can produce huge savings for citizens, government, and business, increase transparency and accountability, and drive innovation. Harnessing their power will require strong political will and leadership, foreign assistance matched with local incentives, and a supportive institutional environment. Trust in data security will be critical to achieving tangible results. -
Publication
Key Pathways to High-Speed Internet in the Middle East and North Africa: Spurring Competition and Building New Networks
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-03)Most countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are falling behind in their quest to develop high-speed Internet for rapid socioeconomic development. Despite young adults’ rising use of social networking tools and solid progress in a few countries, most of the region’s Internet remains hobbled by monopolized, inadequate infrastructure; weak investment incentives; and high costs. High-speed (broadband) Internet can drive economic and social transformations. To realize that potential, a recent World Bank study finds that MENA countries must pursue a three-pronged approach: reduce costs by fully liberalizing access to the existing Internet infrastructure; support the resulting competition with independent national regulators working within a harmonized regional framework of regulation; and promote investments in new fiber-optic networks and other ultrafast broadband infrastructure (including Long-Term Evolution or LTE) alongside existing technologies. With these measures, plus aggressive strategies for sharing public works infrastructure and subsidies for rural access, MENA can leapfrog its current information and communication bottlenecks. -
Publication
Boosting Mass Transit through Entrepreneurship: Going beyond Subsidies to Reduce the Public Transport Funding Gap
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-02)Most of the world’s urban mass transit systems cannot cover operating costs, let alone capital expenses, through farebox revenues. On average, 25 percent of metro operating expenditures are not funded by farebox income. With limited public subsidies, as well as obstacles to raising fares and political sensitivities to road user taxes, metro systems have been increasingly pursuing income from commercial activities connected with their operations. Metro systems earn commercial income, such as from advertising, naming rights, and especially real estate activities, are making inroads in their operating deficits. Commercial revenue in some systems is nearing 20 percent of fare revenue. Although reforms of transit financing structures remain high on the policy agenda, a review of ancillary income streams of metro systems around the world shows that a more entrepreneurial approach to tapping their commercial potential can help them narrow their funding gap.