Analysis of Factors for the Uncorrelated Relationship between the Broadband Internet Initiatives against Broadband Adoption for Rural Areas in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Case of Tanzania

Abstract

As evident as the contribution of broadband internet in developed countries’ economies has been, many developing countries have taken initiatives to exploit the same. However, the efforts are not reflected in the rural areas broadband adoption as reported by global Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs’) ranking bodies. This study aims to analyze the factors towards the uncorrelated relationship between the broadband initiatives against broadband adoption in rural parts of Low Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) looking from the supply side, exemplified here by Tanzania. The initiatives considered are National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) and Universal Communication Service Access Fund (UCSAF). The study deployed a Qualitative Research Method (QRM) exploiting semi-structured interviews for data collection. 23 interviews were conducted with personnel from the aforementioned entities together with their collaborating agencies. Thematic analysis was opted where vigorous coding and data cleaning resulted in five themes characterizing poor broadband adoption; infrastructure, affordability, digital skills, contents’ relevance and services, and statistical reporting. The majority of the response (84%) agreed that the ranks reflect what is found on the ground hence more work is needed from the supply side on enforcing adoption in rural areas. Nevertheless, 16% of the coded responses maintain a view that improper statistical reporting due to statistical model mismatch and data unavailability from local statistical agencies to some extent causes the poor adoption ranks in the global ranking bodies. This article should provide insights to policymakers towards creating/improving and implementation of broadband plans/policies, and as a result, exploiting broadband contribution to countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).