Details view: 2. Ensuring Universal Access

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2. Ensuring Universal Access

How can we ensure Universal Access?

The second breakout group explored ideas related to a large-scale RFP process. Greg Wyler outlined his suggestion for a “solution-scale model bid,” which would create “buying groups” of multiple countries that would aggregate their rural broadband demand to increase the scale of purchasing. The intention of these “mega bids” is to generate business opportunities large enough to attract the attention of larger vendors, while attempting to ensure comprehensive programs to include all rural areas.

One possible initial mega bid could focus on schools; another on all rural households. Mega bids would include requirements for visibly-published metrics, baselines for connectivity quality, etc. As suggested by Greg, mega bids would be “all or nothing” proposals, requiring a country to commit to, say, connecting every single school.

There was healthy discussion about the historical challenges of involving large telecommunications and equipment suppliers in such initiatives, and the high costs often associated with the solutions they offer. Several participants wanted to ensure that there would be a range of providers, rather than just the typical “beltway bandit” approach, which essentially encourages one or more mega-contractors to manage massive bidding processes, virtually guaranteeing that money will be spent inefficiently.

Vint offered an idea for an earlier step: Rather than jumping to an RFP, begin with an RFI process that would allow countries to make their needs known, and to hear from a variety of solutions providers how they would envision a solution to meet those needs. This could still allow countries to pool their requirements, but give them the opportunity for a back-and-forth dialog with solutions providers to tailor their requirements to specific in-country needs. This process could also serve as a spur for innovative technology to provide widespread but low-cost access.

The other insight that Vint offered is that a mega-RFI/RFP process should be focused on the requirement to deliver connectivity as a service - that is, not simply as an infrastructure build out, but as a set of delivered services over a period of years. In that way, providers would need to commit to an ongoing set of deliverables for connectivity and related capabilities to ensure ongoing delivery.

The conversation ended on a question: How can we test this approach out in an actionable manner, so we can determine its potential?