Universal access: the profit motive

Virtually every household and business in rural areas throughout southern Africa want, and can afford basic telephone services provided by a commercial operator at a potential profit to the latter. Through constructive and well-thought-out policies and regulations guided by sound business practice, governments and regulators can ensure that private telephone companies provide rural communities with the telephone services needed for socio-economic development to take place. In so doing, governments can begin to meet their universal access goals both quickly and at relatively little expense.