Almost 3bn of the world’s population still lacked access to and use of digital technologies in 2021. We review a recent study that explores whether investing in shared telecom infrastructure – particularly where independent companies own towers and lease them to network operators – could improve digital connectivity in some developing nations.

LITERATURE

This report summarises a 2023 paper “The Impact of Shared Telecom Infrastructure on Digital Connectivity and Inclusion” by Georges V. Houngbonon, Marc Ivaldi, Emil Palikot and Davide Strusani. The paper was published by the Toulouse School of Economics.