Stories from Abroad

The demand for faster broadband access is a key driver of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) adoption and fixed broadband competition, and therefore of co-investment. This paper assesses the effects on FTTH adoption and competition of FTTH co-investment. Co-investment had indeed been endorsed in the European Electronic Communication Code as a relevant option for conciliating investment and competition.

The wave of spontaneous protests that rocked Cuba on July 11 was propelled by social media and the proliferation of mobile internet, which Cubans have only had for the past three years. The government responded by leaving the island virtually incommunicado for two days. To contain the spread of mass demonstrations, authorities cut internet service, along with the fixed phone lines of some activists in the island.

The Internet has proliferated unevenly across the world, resulting in a global digital divide. In the past decade, concerns related to technology ‘haves’ and ‘haves not’ have grown in prominence in the countries of South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal) that are witnessing an increased digital divide. This study specifically looks at the case of Pakistan, and how the country's digital inequalities are increasing in terms of the public's access and their use of the Internet and information and communication technology (ICT) devices.

With broadband affordability especially high on the agenda following the pandemic, it could seem that Europe has all the answers. Yet Europe has its own struggles with digital divide, and it hasn't cracked the affordability problem across the board.

Chinese regulators have intensified scrutiny of dozens of domestic internet companies for possible antitrust violations.

No African issue has absorbed as much time in the early months of the Biden administration as has the ongoing tragedy in Ethiopia’s Tigray province. President Biden was forceful and correct in calling for an end to the “large-scale human rights abuses” occurring in Tigray. Now, the administration is stuck in the tough position of considering sanctions that would cut off funding to the country, most prominently a $500 million investment by the US D

There is a vast literature that examines the determinants of the gender digital gap in developing countries, and puts forth policy recommendations to mitigate it. However, few studies examine how gender differences in labor force participation and employment patterns affect ICT adoption in general, or Internet use in particular.

The European Union unveiled strict regulations to govern the use of artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind policy that outlines how companies and governments can use a technology seen as one of the most significant, but ethically fraught, scientific breakthroughs in recent memory. The draft rules would set limits around the use of artificial intelligence in a range of activities, from self-driving cars to hiring decisions, bank lending, school enrollment selections, and the scoring of exams.

The US handily leads the European Union in both broadband infrastructure deployment and broadband adoption—at all speeds—and this lead grows when comparing higher speed offerings. 

Around the world, governments are moving simultaneously to limit the power of tech companies with an urgency and breadth that no single industry had experienced before. Their motivation varies.