c) Provide special incentives for investors to deliver broadband connectivity to hitherto disenfranchised and isolated populations in the country; d) Encourage the use of existing community access points by schools and other learning institutions as part of their curricula and facilitate the construction of such access points within, or in easy reach of, their premises; e) Build awareness that investment in and through ICT in remote areas is a potent means of reducing the cost of rural-urban transactions; and f) Facilitate the creation of grass-roots networks for wealth-creation through trade, both within the country and internationally. g) Operationalise the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund. 3.10.3 Policy Challenges i. Increasing ICT capacity in terms of bandwidth and the penetration of services. ii. Leveraging of community access points for provision of smart services. iii. Improving coverage of functional utilities that go hand in hand with ICT. iv. Developing locally relevant content that attracts users and adds value to their daily lives. v. Providing affordable access to ICT. vi. Integrating ICT within lifestyles and cultures. vii. Bringing awareness of benefits of ICT access and training to the public. viii. Developing peer-to-peer networking and knowledge sharing at grassroots level. ix. Encouraging partnerships among public, private and community sectors at all levels in support of universal access initiatives. x. Creating incentives for service providers to deploy services in rural and underserved areas as well as disadvantaged groups. 3.10.4 Policy Statements 1. The Government will strive to reduce the ICT access gap between the rural and the urban areas by activating the Rural Telecommunication Development Fund, offering special incentives to investors in rural ICT provisions, supporting the construction of rural telecentres and involving local government authorities in ICT utilization and promotion. 2. The Government will continue to look into ways of reducing taxes on ICT related goods and services to make them affordable and accessible to more citizens. 3. The Government will encourage financial institutions to give particular support to investors in rural ICT services. 4. The Government will encourage and facilitate the optimal use of existing ICT capacity and infrastructure in order to extend affordable access nationally, and especially in rural and disadvantaged communities. 5. The Government will encourage allocation of extra capacity in telecommunication infrastructure to be used efficiently and economically for the national development of ICT. Page 22