Advanced economic evaluation techniques for rural telecommunications projects

Following some general observations on the role of economic evaluation in rural telecommunications planning, the paper illustrates the application of computer-based modelling to some examples, both real (case studies) and hypothetical. The authors begin with a hypothetical example-the introduction of telephone service into villages clustered around an urban centre. They then consider some examples taken from the work of the REVOLVE Project within the CEC's RACE Programme, where case study models have been used to investigate the economics of introducing broadband technologies into the rural and peripheral areas of Europe; issues considered include technology choice, provision strategy, and economic constraints on demand.<
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