Infrastructure sharing has been viewed as a plausible route to affordable ICT access in the wake of duplication of ICT infrastructure in developing countries. In spite of this belief in its effectiveness, getting ICT operators to share infrastructure can be inhibited by several challenges relating to regulatory approach, competition between players, and lack of consensus between regulators and business. This chapter uses evidence from Zimbabwe to assess how infrastructure sharing can be implemented in developing countries where coverage competition is yet to give way to service provision-based competition in the wake of disproportionate investment by network operators. It suggests that instead of push factors alone, infrastructure can best be shared when business' commercial interests and regulators' quest for affordable universal services coincide to form a win-win situation built on both push and pull factors.
The people living in remote parts of the underdeveloped world usually do not have access to affordable internet, either because it is too expensive to lay fibre to these areas or mobile data is just too expensive to use every day. There has always been a need to find a way to bring fast, cheap, and reliable internet access to these people. This is where the TV white spaces (TVWS) or unused TV band spectrum comes in. TVWS refers to the gaps found between TV channels. It can be used to provide cheaper and reliable broadband to remote areas. Wi-Fi typically covers short distances and has trouble passing through obstacles. TVWS, on the other hand, can travel long distances and can penetrate obstacles. This makes TVWS suitable for long distance internet provision in remote areas. This chapter explores the possibilities and advantages of delivering broadband to remote areas of underdeveloped nations using TVWS with the intention of poverty reduction. The concept of TV channels digitalization also frees the whole analogue TV spectrum and allows it to be used in TVWS technology.
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