Summary of Main Report v.9 Regulatel/World Bank (PPIAF)/ECLAC Project on Universal Access for Telecommunications in Latin America New Models for Universal Access in Latin America

This paper is an abbreviated version of a comprehensive report resulting from a major study of universal access policies and programs including universal access funds in the 19 member countries of the Forum of Latin American Telecommunications Regulators (Regulatel). (The table of contents of the comprehensive report is annexed to this abbreviated report.) The study is a result of an agreement among Regulatel, World Bank (PPIAF), the Forum of Latin American Telecommunications Regulators (Regulatel) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)1 and was undertaken in 2005 and the early part of 2006 by an extensive team of local consultants and collaborators from the Regulatel member organizations2, lead by Peter A. Stern, Lead Consultant with the collaboration of David N. Townsend, Specialist Consultant Economic Analysis,3. Several other consultants were actively involved during various stages of the project including José Monedero who helped with the analysis of the telecommunications sector and the universal access programs in the 19 countries, Caio Bonhilo, with technical matters in the study, Sonia Jorge with the coordination of certain local consultants an