Privatizing Telecommunications Systems: Business Opportunities in Developing Countries

摘要

The study aims to deepen potential investors' familiarity with developing country telecommunications--a sector that possesses considerable potential for investment and growth. The centerpiece of the study is a discussion of the investment opportunities emerging in the developing world for private sector involvement in the provision of telecommunications services. These opportunities focus on the installation and operation of communications systems. The study considers several regulatory and technical options that are now available to increase the coverage and improve the quality of both voice and data transmission. These are: Privatization; Overlay Networks; Cellular Services; Build-Operate-Transfer; and Data Transmission and Value-Added Services. In each case, some technical background is provided before discussing the investment requirements necessary, the possible advantages, the markets that might be served, and the countries that provide the most promising prospects for the introduction or expansion of such services. The study takes a brief, but necessary look at the traditional arguments for state ownership and control of the sector, why these arguments may be losing their validity, and what regulatory changes are needed in order to expand the private provision of telecom services. The changing role of the public sector is discussed to provide some indication of the challenges involved as a sector that has traditionally been viewed as belonging in the public domain is opened up to private investment.