ABSTRACT
Making telecommunications services universally available is a long-term project in any nation, involving practically all socio-political stakeholders. Universal access is thus a prime example of a long-term, large-group decision process. This chapter examines the contrasting experiences with universal service policies in China and India and traces out their similarities and differences.
China and India, two vast and diverse countries, are confronting a tide of rising popular aspirations. Amid economic growth and increasing living standards, citizens demand access to more and better-quality material goods and services. Access to telecommunications, information appliances, media, and broadband, increasingly recognized as basic necessities of modern life, is one of these demands. How policymakers can fulfill these aspirations and make the fruits of economic growth available to all people is very much one of the top priorities of both governments.
