Best Practices and Strategies for Broadband Deployment - Adoption, Usage, and Global Impact of Broadband Technologies - page 133

The information and communications technol-
ogy (ICT) industry contributes to 2 per cent of
total global CO2 emissions (EU, 2008) but ICT
industry can significantly contribute to control
and reduce the 98% of CO2 emissions caused by
other activities and industries.

insurers and doctors would be many: fewer
scans, faster delivery of images where they
are needed and lower costs associated with
this process.

• Telecommuting expansion: Another ben-

efit of better broadband would be the abil-
ity for people to telecommute. This has far-
reaching benefits, from fewer cars on the
roads to increasing a family's resilience in
the face of economic uncertainty.

Importance of Government
Intervention in the Development
of Broadband

Nowadays it is very urgent the involvement of
government in the development of broadband
infrastructure. This involvement can take place
either directly with the finance of broadband devel-
opment projects or indirectly with the creation of
an attractive investing and regulatory environment.
The creation of an attractive environment aims at
private investments for broadband development.
The main reasons concerning the importance
of broadband development are summarized in the
following paragraphs.
First of all, broadband could be regarded as the
new public utility. In other words Broadband is our
generation's infrastructure challenge. Broadband
is as important as electricity and highways were
for past generations. Broadband can facilitate:

The above are some examples about the neces-
sity to boost broadband access through govern-
mental policies. Broadband can help promote an
educated citizenry, could help lower the costs of
providing health care and could increase work-
force flexibility and decrease traffic.During the
last years it is common the opinion that broadband
can contribute to overcome the latest economy
crisis (EC, 2009). According to OECD studies
(OECD, 2009), broadband networks increasingly
contribute to the development of the economy and
the society. Broadband networks are increasingly
recognised as fundamental for economic and social
development. They serve as a communication
and transaction platform for the entire economy
and can improve productivity across all sectors.
Advanced communication networks are a key
component of innovative ecosystems and support
economic growth.

• Flexibility on education and training:

Distance learning could not substitute the
entire educational experience, but it can be
used in conjunction with online meetings
or weekly face-to-face meetings to create a
rich flexible and collaborative educational
environment. Broadband services make
that possible today, and faster Internet ac-
cess will enrich these online environments
supporting a more flexible and accessible
learning environment.

Broadband Policies

The following paragraphs provide information
about some representative broadband policies.
More specifically we provide brief description
of EC broadband policies, OECD broadband
policies as well as national broadband policies of
leader broadband countries such as Japan, Korea
and Singapore. • Medical care improvements: Broadband

also can save medical costs and improve
access to health care. Delivering radiologi-
cal scans via broadband requires fat pipes
and rapid speeds, but the benefit to patients,