includes index and biblioraphy

This volume brings together scholars, practitioners, former regulators, and policy makers to address the problem of expanding information and communication technology (ICT) connectivity in emerging asia. It centrally engages the widespread claim that technology by itself-independent of policy and regulatory reform-can improve access to ICTs. In doing so, it shows that while complex workarounds are possible, thery are significantly less effective than the appropriate policy and regulatory reforms. The key features of the volume are: > It examines how theoretically optimal concepts actually get implemented in the hard terrain of emerging India > It gleans lessons from five Asian countries-Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka-based on their experiences with expanding ICT connectivity > It reports the findings of a cutting-edge 3000+ sample demand-side survey of telephone use at the bottom of the pyramid in India and Sri Lanka > It considers the problem of expanding connectivity from different angles: that of the user, the operator, the policy maker, the regulator and civil society > It shed light on a range of situations and technologies, like telephone use in post-conflict regions of Sri Lanka, Wi-Fi deployment in Indonesia, and universal service obligations