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Sustainability of rural informatization programs in developing countries: A case study of China׳s Sichuan province

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  • Liu, Chun

Abstract

Traditionally, the role of telecommunications carriers is often limited to providing connections in rural informatization programs. This paper illustrates the case of Sichuan׳s government-carrier cooperative rural informatization model, where the carriers serve as both the information aggregator and distributor. A close historical analysis reveals that this seemingly unprofitable rural informatization service was originally conceived by competing carriers as a marketing strategy to gain a competitive advantage in less lucrative markets. However, when the government decided to promulgate such an informatization program nationwide, the business practice turned into one of the carrier׳s de facto obligations. Thus, Sichuan׳s model is a mixture of the passive fulfillment of political duty and the proactive pursuit of business interests. A sustainability failure analytical framework is applied to test the sustainability of Sichuan׳s model, which is found to be at risk of financial, social and institutional sustainability failures.

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  • Liu, Chun, 2016. "Sustainability of rural informatization programs in developing countries: A case study of China׳s Sichuan province," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 714-724.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:40:y:2016:i:7:p:714-724
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2015.08.007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Thai, Do Manh & Duong, Dang & Falch, Morten & Xuan, Chung Bui & Thu, Tran Thi Anh, 2022. "Factors affecting the sustainability of telecentres in developing countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    3. Liu, Chun & Wang, Lian, 2021. "Who is left behind? Exploring the characteristics of China's broadband non-adopting families," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    4. Xiaoqian Zhang & Feng Yang, 2019. "Rural informatization policy evolution in China: a bibliometric study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(1), pages 129-153, July.
    5. Zhang, Bin & Jin, Zhiye & Peng, Zhidao, 2018. "Bridging the Digital Divide: Making the Digital Economy Benefit to the Entire Society," 22nd ITS Biennial Conference, Seoul 2018. Beyond the boundaries: Challenges for business, policy and society 190412, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    6. Xia, Jun, 2022. "Juggling ecumenical wisdoms and xenophobic institutions: Framing and modelling China's telecommunications universal service and rural digitalization initiatives and policies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    7. Xuehao Bi & Bo Wen & Wei Zou, 2022. "The Role of Internet Development in China’s Grain Production: Specific Path and Dialectical Perspective," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, March.

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    Keywords

    Informatization; China; Sustainability; ICT4D;
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