ITU advocates infrastructure sharing to counter investment drought

The International Telecommunication Union has published its annual report detailing a set of regulatory strategies designed to lower the costs of network rollout. Sharing strategies, examined in the new ITU report, are seen as conducive for infrastructure development in the telecommunications/ICT sector, particularly in light of the deepening global financial crisis. Sharing strategies include the sharing of civil engineering costs in deploying networks, promoting open access to network support infrastructure (poles, ducts, conduits), essential facilities (submarine cable landing stations and international gateways) as well as access to radio-frequency spectrum and end-user devices.