Suburbanization

The creation of residential areas and, to some extent, industry at the edge of the city. The term suburb usually indicates an area of houses set apart, and in open spaces. Suburbanization in Britain began with the development of mass transport systems: railways, trams and trolley buses, motorbuses, and then mass car ownership, all of which made possible the separation of work and home. It is aided by decentralizing forces within the city: higher local taxes, pressure on space, natural increase, and congestion and pollution, together with relatively cheap land and higher amenity at the edge of the city, decentralization of industry, and the freedom of footloose industries from locational constraints.

Suburbanization (or suburbanisation) a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs and commute to work via automobile or mass transit. Others have taken advantage of technological advances to work from their homes, and chose to do so in an environment they consider more pleasant than the city. These processes often occur in more economically developed countries, especially in the United States, which is believed to be the first country in which the majority of the population lives in the suburbs, rather than in the cities or in rural areas. Proponents of containing urban sprawl argue that sprawl leads to urban decay and a concentration of lower income residents in the inner city.

In America, the suburban shopping mall had replaced downtown as the major retail centre for many Americans by the 1980s; a 1981 survey showed that the 20 000 plus malls accounted for over 50% of US retail trade, and suburban growth in the USA reflects this decentralization. Certain suburbs have high-prestige zip codes; the prestige of an address in, for example, Princeton, Cambridge, Mass., and California's Silicon Valley has attracted many US corporations.

Telecommunication sector in Spain

Internet
There were 30,654,678 Internet users in Spain (representing 65.6% of the population) in December 2011, according to Internet World Stats. (Internet World Stats, April 2012)

There were over 22.7 million (22,726,000) Internet users in Spain in October/November 2011, representing 57.6% of the population, according to the 'Asociacion para la Investigacion de Medios de Comunicacion' - (AIMC).
In October/November 2011, the majority of Internet users in the country were aged between 25 and 34. Most Internet users were from the middle class (46.2%), followed by middle/high class (20.2%).
Complete details on statistics on age distribution of Internet users in Spain in October/November 2011 are available below:
- Aged 14-19: 10.7% of users
- Aged 20-24: 10.2% users
- Aged 25-34: 25.6% of users
- Aged 35-44: 24.0% of users
- Aged 45-54: 15.1% of users
- Aged over 55-64: 8.2% of users
- Aged over 65: 6.3% of users
(AIMC, December 2011)
Almost 23.2 million persons (67.1% of the population) aged 16 to 74 years old, used the Internet in the last three months, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica's Survey on Information and Communication Technologies Equipment and Use in Households Year 2011.
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Internet Usage and Population Statistics (Comparison)

Spain

Year	Users	Population	% Pop	Usage Source
2000	5.387.800	40.827.300	13.20%	ITU
2004	14.095.451	43.435.136	32.50%	Nielsen
2006	19.765.032	45.003.663	43.90%	Nielsen
2008	27.028.934	40.491.051	66.80%	Nielsen
2010	29.093.984	46.505.963	62.60%	Nielsen

Kyrgyzstan

Year	Users	Population	% Penetration	GDP p.c.*	Usage Source
2000	51,600	5.377.484	0.10%	US$ 410	ITU
2005	280,000	5.377.484	5.10%	US$ 450	ITU
2007	298,100	5.436.608	5.50%	US$ 725	ITU
2009	850,000	5.431.747	15.60%	US$ 851	ITU
2010	2.194.400	5.508.626	39.80%	US$ 941	ITU

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The number of Internet users has increased 4.5% as compared with 2010. Frequent users (those who accessed the Internet on a daily basis or at least once a week) represented 92.1% of the total for Internet users. These frequent users represented approximately 21.4 million persons and 61.8% of the population. This indicated an annual increase of 5.8%. The segment of intensive users (daily use) accounted for most of this increase, growing by 7.8% to 16.6 million persons (71.4% of Internet users). (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, October 2011)

Internet users and penetration in Spain in 2008-2013:
- 2008: 21.0 million (51.9% of the population)
- 2009: 22.4 million (55.3%)
- 2010: 23.4 million (57.8%)
- 2011: 24.1 million (59.4%)
- 2012: 24.6 million (60.6%)
- 2013: 25.1 million (62.0%)
(eMarketer, June 2009)

Telecoms

Spain’s telecoms market is one of the largest in Europe, accounting for around 4% of GDP and directly employing some 71,000 people. In common with other European countries, the market has been affected by the general economic turmoil, which has hit Spain more harshly than most other regional economies. High During the next two to three years government debt is expected to be running far higher than the EU limits set under the now-defunct stability and growth pact which requires an annual budget deficit no higher than 3% of GDP and a national debt lower than 60% of GDP. Financial constraints have impacted the government’s ability to fund national telecoms infrastructure projects, and have fast-tracked the sale of a range of mobile spectrum bands.

The new Spanish government, headed by Mariano Rajoy’s Center-right People’s Party (PP) – which replaced the seven-year old Socialist government – has not dampened investor concerns about Spain’s economic recovery despite announcing a new round of measures on bank policies, labour reforms and budget austerity. Yields on three-month bonds reached above 5.1% in late 2011, while the country may need €30 billion in new cuts to reach its deficit target for 2012.

The declining value of the telecoms market, worth an estimated €38 billion in 2011 and an expected €37.6 billion in 2012, is mainly attributed to the economic crisis which has severely dampened consumer spend in all sectors. The broadband sector was the single area of positive growth until mid-2010, since when revenue from the sector has fallen by between 1.5% and 2.9% per quarter.

Telefónica controls the bulk of national and local infrastructure. Despite almost a decade since the Spanish telecoms sector was deregulated the incumbent serves 82% of direct accesses and thus dominates the fixed-line market. It also accounts for about 55% of the Internet market. Fixed-line operators trying to break Telefónica’s hegemony include ONO, Jazztel, Euskaltel and Orange. Only in mobile telephony does Telefónica face significant competition.

The trend towards market consolidation and the entry of the first MVNOs have resulted in several integrated operators providing greater infrastructure competition: two MVNOs also operate in the fixed and broadband market while several cable operators have launched mobile services following the imposition of access obligations in 2006. Alternative operators have invested in cable and LLU while mobile operators are gradually upgrading networks to provide high-speed data services. Prices have fallen as a result of competition, particularly through bundled offers, and intensive number portability.
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Key telecoms parameters – 2009; 2012 (Comparison)

Spain

Sector	2009	2012 (e)
Broadband:
Fixed broadband subscribers (million)	10.56	15.14
Fixed broadband penetration rate	22%	30%
Mobile broadband subscribers (million)	2.8	4.9
Subscribers to telecoms services:
Fixed-line telephony (million)	19.9	20.1
Mobile phone (million)	56.5	60.3
Mobile SIM penetration (population)	116%	124%

Kyrgyzstan

Category	2010	2011
Fixed-line services:
Total number of Subscribers	502,200	505,000
Annual growth	1%	1%
Fixed-line penetration (population)	9.40%	9.50%
Internet:
Total number of subscribers	68,900	87,000
Annual growth	46%	26%
Internet subscriber penetration (population)	1.30%	1.60%
Mobile services:
Total number of subscribers (million)	4.9	5.4
Annual growth	9%	10%
Mobile penetration (population)	89%	102%

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 Telephones - main lines in use
19.904 million (2010)
Telephones - mobile cellular
51.493 million (2010)

Telecommunication sector in Kyrgyzstan

 The telecommunications sector in Kyrgyzstan is characterised by an open market that has welcomed both foreign and domestic investors. This has been effectively done in accordance with the requirements set down by the WTO. Under the terms of the country's accession to the WTO (which took place in 1998), full liberalisation of the telecoms market had been expected to be achieved by end-2006. According to the ITU, Kyrgyzstan had implemented full competition across all segments of its telecoms sector by 2007.
The telecom sector has been part of the final phase of a large scale privatisation program that has been steadily progressing in the country since 1992. The start of market reforms in 1991 saw the state telecommunications agency, Kyrgyztelecom, begin to expand and upgrade its legacy telecom network, which at the time was outdated and poorly distributed. With the expansion of the telecoms sector, upgraded standards have been adopted. At the same time, a new regulatory authority - the National Communications Agency which later became known as the National Agency for Information Resources, Technologies and Communication - was set up to oversee the sector. At an early stage, Kyrgyztelecom was restructured as a public corporation and the government moved towards a partial sale of the operator to the private sector. Around 10% of the company quickly passed into private hands. By mid-2010, after a series of failed attempts to sell off the government shareholding, the government was still holding almost 78% of Kyrgyztelecom.

Private operators, which actively operate in the mobile market and in the provision of internet services, have been investing heavily in the relevant infrastructure. Whilst there are four mobile networks in operation, the two big GSM operators – Sky Mobile (Beeline) and MegaCom – havecontinued to dominate the market, claiming around 85% of the total mobile subscriber base between them. Since the first GSM network was launched in 1998, the number of mobile subscribers has grown rapidly from a few thousand in 1999 to around 4.9 million in early 2011 and an estimated 5.4 million coming into 2012. By this stage it was around 100% mobile penetration. Growth in the country’s mobile market was continuing to moderate compared with the general growth in recent years. It was likely that the year would see an expansion of around 10%. Nonetheless, there were positive indications that the market would continue to steadily expand for some time yet.

Category	2010	2011
Fixed-line services:
Total number of Subscribers	502,200	505,000
Annual growth	1%	1%
Fixed-line penetration (population)	9.40%	9.50%
Internet:
Total number of subscribers	68,900	87,000
Annual growth	46%	26%
Internet subscriber penetration (population)	1.30%	1.60%
Mobile services:
Total number of subscribers (million)	4.9	5.4
Annual growth	9%	10%
Mobile penetration (population)	89%	102%

Market highlights:

• By end 2011 mobile penetration in Kyrgyzstan was around 100%;
• After very strong growth in the three years to 2008, the expansion of the country’s mobile subscriber base had eased with the annual growth rate around 10% in 2010/2011;
• Fixed-line penetration in Kyrgyzstan stood at just under 10% by 2011; however, the annual growth rate for fixed lines was not much above zero;
• The conversion of the country’s fixed network from analogue was moving slowly, with an estimated 80% digital by 2011, but well up from just 37% in 2004;
• Kyrgyzstan’s internet usage has undergone a healthy expansion over the last few years, with user penetration reported at about 21% by 2011;
• On the other hand, actual internet subscriptions remained relatively low in Kyrgyzstan (less than 2% penetration), with the local population making extensive use of public internet access (cybercafés, etc). (Note: On the basis of ITU figures, the ratio of internet users to subscribers was running at about 20 to 1 which is an unusually high ratio compared with other similar markets and may suggest some inconsistency in the figures.)
• The fixed broadband internet market was relatively small with subscriptions running at around 0.3% of the population;
• According to the ITU, Kyrgyzstan has implemented full competition across all segments of its telecoms sector.
• The long-running dispute over the ownership of Sky Mobile continued into 2012, with MTS taking further action in international courts.

Internet Usage and Population Statistics:
 

Year	Users	Population	% Penetration	GDP p.c.*	Usage Source
2000	51,600	5.377.484	0.10%	US$ 410	ITU
2005	280,000	5.377.484	5.10%	US$ 450	ITU
2007	298,100	5.436.608	5.50%	US$ 725	ITU
2009	850,000	5.431.747	15.60%	US$ 851	ITU
2010	2.194.400	5.508.626	39.80%	US$ 941	ITU

 Note: Per Capita GDP in US dollars, source: International Monetary Fund.

Information and Communication Technologies for Development in the Kyrgyz Republic

All social relationships have been fundamentally changed by modern information and communication technologies (ICT) that have established a new information society. New technologies alter not only how goods and services are produced, but also create new opportunities in the spheres of civic rights, personal development, knowledge gathering, and education for the younger generation and leisure time activities. In an information society the importance of geographical distance is diminished, globalization occurs, and there are unprecedented opportunities for regional development.

 During recent years the Kyrgyz Republic has made considerable progress in the development of an information infrastructure, and in the informatisation of state organizations and private companies. This has required the development of relevant legislative and the improvement of education levels. The first telecommunications project and TAE Projects have been completed; the State Computer Network (SCN hereinafter) has been established; information projects are being carried out in various economic sectors; and Internet pages of state and non-governmental organizations and commercial structures are being created. Alluding to this, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, declared in the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) in 1998: ‘Kyrgyzstan chooses the informational society’.

Problems with ICT development in the Kyrgyz Republic have demonstrated the need to move away from a one-sided policy of just developing communications and information technologies, to the formulation of a nation-wide strategy for integration with the world information society. Given the technological opportunities already available, main policy directions could include the formation of an interconnecting information space in the country; and the development of information resources, data bases, knowledge and information infrastructures, which could be used by both state structures and the general public on the parity basis. These directions will involve the development of informational law, technological facilities, and organizations.

The National Strategy ‘Information and Communication Technologies for Development in the Kyrgyz Republic’ (National Strategy) sets out the main priorities, objectives and tasks, principles, provisions and directions of the national ICT policy. The National Strategy is viewed as an important area for development for implementation of the Complex Development Framework up to 2010 (CDF hereinafter). ICT provides opportunities to achieve CDF objectives accelerate economic development and reduce poverty. ICT has the potential to become a catalyst and a driving force in the development of Kyrgyzstan.

Potential benefits from ICT development include: achievement of effective management; increased labour productivity; availability of new export opportunities, in particular in the area of software exporting and delivery of ICT services; provision of information to farmers on agricultural markets and weather conditions; creation of primary consultative medical assistance; expansion of distance learning capabilities; improved cooperation between the state, local communities and private sector in regions; and an improved quality of state services rendered to the general population. ICT sector share in GDP needs to increase to 5% by 2010.

The National Strategy also describes the organizational, economic and financial mechanisms necessary for its implementation. The mechanisms are based on a targeted programme which respects and is subject to regular monitoring and transparency execution. These mechanisms reflect the speech made by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr A. Akaev, during the First National ICT Summit held on 27-28 April, 2001 in Bishkek. During the summit, the President proposed the following:

-           the creation of a permanent agency in charge of the implementation of the National Strategy;

-          the need to identify a person responsible for ICT development in each ministry and agency;

-          the creation of an ICT Development Fund;

-          the establishment of an ongoing monitoring scheme in this area.

The National Strategy determines the basics of funding for ICT development, stipulating; a rational use of funds for the development and modernization of projects and mass media in various sectors and regions; an increasingly transparent and targeted use of funds.

The National ICT Strategy is designed to solve the problem of growing ‘digital inequality’ between industrially advanced and developing countries, as well as internally - between the centre of the Kyrgyz Republic and its regions. In eradicating ‘digital inequality’ and promoting regional cooperation in Central Asia, an important role will be played by international projects intended for the creation or use of satellite telecommunication systems (Silk Sat, Virtual Silk Road).

Representatives of different ministries and agencies, international organizations, civil society and the private sector have participated in the ICT Strategy development. Free Internet discussion has taken place in addition to a round table with the participation of representatives from the public sector, civil society, private businesses, and international organizations. It is noteworthy that the development of the National ICT Strategy was done with the active support and direct involvement of the UNDP Resident Office in Kyrgyzstan, Internews, GIPI, and other international and non-governmental organizations.