Universal Access in Developing Countries: A Particular Focus on Bangladesh

The concept of universal access, which originated in the United States, is now part of the telecommunications policy frameworks of many developing countries. This article uses the case of Bangladesh as a vehicle for examining the transferability of the universal service concept to developing countries. The analysis suggests that liberalization and privatization of the telecommunications sector policies pushed by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and other international agencies, will not by themselves create universal access in countries with rudimentary urban-centric networks. The policymakers need to incorporate build-out obligations when licensing operators and also develop cross-subsidy mechanisms even though they are now out of fashion in the industrialized world.