mediaharsha

Introduction This research brief summarizes the findings of a review of policies related to Universal Connectivity (UC) in Nepal. Here UC means connectivity of the internet using different devices such as mobile, computer, and other internet-based technologies (IBTs). The brief shows that Nepal’s UC-related policies envisage both general and specific roles for the technologies related to IBTs in realizing the country as a well-connected, knowledge-based society. The policy phraseology has enabled both the state and the private sector to mobilize huge resources to create new institutions, burgeoning market spaces, and influential discourses in the last two decades. The review undertaken, however, suggests interventions are needed and there are opportunities for much more grounded policies to ensure that existing inequalities are not reproduced in both providing access and the use of digital technologies. This brief introduces, in the first section, the UC policy landscap...