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Larger Access and New Services to the Rural Areas in Canada and India

This paper looks into the new opportunities to achieve a higher growth rate in telecom and greater access to the rural areas. The potential for the new opportunities is assessed, both for rural and urban areas, but with accent on rural areas. Many issues in Universal Service Obligation (USO) which need to be taken into account are described, particularly as to how USO needs to be defined and implemented, how should it be enforced and so on. The new opportunities are expected to be integrated with the world telecom in a much greater way than before, and in this context, the stand taken by India with respect to commitments to WTO is looked at. Experience gained by some other countries, like Malaysia and Canada, is used for comparison. Some particular instances of actual usage of information and communications technologies are discussed and the lessons drawn described. The experience of Canada in providing traditional and new services in rural areas is studied and lessons for India drawn. The legal framework required in putting the potential to full use is explored.