General description of the report
For this report, the World Bank retained the services and co-authorship of Andrew Dymond, Intelecon Research & Consultancy Ltd. of Canada.

The study reviews relevant international experience in rural telecommunications, draws out the lessons to be learned, and provides an overview of the policy options for effective commercial service development within the context of the ongoing sector reform process. The focus of the study has been to answer the following four questions:

• Is there an ideal policy environment and regulatory framework for the development of rural telecommunication services in developing countries on a commercial basis?
• Are current technology and cost trends significant enough to change the financial equation, which has until now been viewed as unfavourable?
  If the technology and cost trends are positive, what are the limits of feasibility and what policy interventions would be required beyond these limits?
• Can rural service programs be established that combine commercial viability with enlightened policy intervention, in order to attract sufficient finance to accelerate the infrastructure and service deployment?

The report presents an array of options for commercial operation of rural telecommunications and challenges the general perception that rural telecommunications are unprofitable.

It demonstrates that services can be economically delivered to rural areas at affordable prices while at the same time providing reasonable financial returns to investors.

The following chapter summaries give an overview and insight on the various issues discussed in each chapter.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Current Environment
3. The Economic Role of Rural Telecommunications
4. Technology & Cost Relationships
5. Commercial Viability of the Operation
6. Pricing, Tariffs & Interconnection
7. Financing Options

The chapter summaries contain excerpts of the report. These are only abridged for reasons of style and do not change the content.

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Options for Rural Telecommunications Development
World Bank Technical Paper No. 359
by Rogati Kayani and Andrew Dymond
Copyright © 1997 by The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the co-editors and contributors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.