This Chapter provides a high-level overview demonstrating that connection to the Internet (particularly on an open access basis) is a worldwide phenomenon being driven by economic and social imperatives.  As the use of the Internet has become more sophisticated with increased applications requiring greater bandwidth, this has resulted in the need for greater transmission capacity.  In OECD countries, which have lead on initial Internet adoption, there has been a progression in objectives from ensuring near universality in basic dial–up Internet access, through to the current state where the major policy objective in many OECD countries is to encourage near universality in the availability of high-speed Internet services using legacy telephone and cable systems.  As there is no universally accepted definition of broadband, it is often applied to any high-speed Internet service that delivers greater bandwidth than a dial-up modem.

 A variety of Government policy and financial incentives have been used to encourage greater deployment of high-speed Internet services. This is proving more difficult in a number of countries, as there has been reluctance on the part of the vertically integrated telecommunications and cable industry to service areas, which are considered uneconomic. The result has been a pent-up demand for Internet services, particularly in rural and disadvantaged areas in cities in many OECD countries.  This has led to local governments and others becoming involved in municipal and local voluntary initiatives designed to provide access to infrastructure that opens the door to the services themselves.  This has become more feasible with low cost wireless technology and the provision of licence exempt spectrum in many countries.

 
While many OECD countries are still attempting to encourage the rollout of legacy platforms to provide current generation broadband services, a few countries at a national policy level, like Japan, Korea, Sweden and the Netherlands are actively encouraging the development of new generation broadband services by ensuring the deployment of fibre to the home.  This is also occurring at a local level in other OECD countries, where local governments have decided to deploy FTTH (fibre to the home) using their own resources.  This has involved a number of models, but there is an increasing trend towards the provision of the infrastructure on an open access basis.

 
Although a number of OECD countries may be at the forefront of broadband deployment, measures to secure more widespread access to the Internet at increasingly greater bandwidth is truly a worldwide phenomenon with initiatives underway in many countries.  As an example, the recent introduction of new wireless standards and technological developments has resulted in wireless being increasingly deployed to provide broadband services to underserved populations. Wireless broadband local access networks are being increasingly deployed around the world in both developed and developing economies, which provides increased opportunities to share and gain experience on a reciprocal basis.  A North American municipality that is considering a wireless system may benefit from the experiences of Knysna in South Africa that has already deployed one.  The operation of the Djursland voluntary wireless broadband network in Denmark[i] could, for example, have as much applicability to rural America, as it could have to rural areas in Latin America. 

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