Role of Universal Service Obligation Fund in Rural Telecom Services: Lessons from the Indian Experience

dc.contributor.author	Jain, Rekha
dc.contributor.author	Raghuram, G.
dc.date.accessioned	2011-05-26T09:38:05Z
dc.date.available	2011-05-26T09:38:05Z
dc.date.copyright	2009-06-15
dc.date.issued	2011-05-26T09:38:05Z
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11718/10829
dc.description.abstract	This paper outlines India’s experience of increasing rural teledensity, including its recent policy initiative to increase penetration through creation of a Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) that supports a variety of innovative initiatives. USOF’s most ambitious programme to date had been the design and deployment of mobile services in rural areas. This paper analyses the outcomes of various programmes, especially those of the mobile service provision component of USOF. This paper also provides a framework for assessment of USOF and relates it to the experience in other countries. USOF must be treated as one among many instruments for increasing rural teledensities and efforts should be made to facilitate policy outcomes on a variety of dimensions.	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.relation.ispartofseries	W.P.No. 2009-06-03;
dc.title	Role of Universal Service Obligation Fund in Rural Telecom Services: Lessons from the Indian Experience	en
dc.type	Working Paper	en