Mudança técnica e políticas públicas: experiências internacionais na difusão da banda larga e o caso brasileiro

Abstract

This thesis examines the process of change in the policy agenda of diffusion of telecom services derived from the process of technical change that gave rise to broadband networks. Inserted in today's technoeconomic paradigm, the paradigm of ICT, the emergence of broadband networks resulted in a number of impacts on the current socioeconomic dynamics – such as the introduction of new forms of communication and information access, changes in the organizational structure of telecom sector and in macroeconomic dynamics – that led to a process of anomalies in the previous political paradigm applicable to that sector, in particular with respect to the scope and forms of diffusion of services. Therefore, the international experiences now include broadband as an item on the agendas of diffusion of telecom services in substitution for traditional fixed telephony services. It was observed that, although the international experiences did not included broadband on the framework of universalization regulatory agendas, most experiences included broadband on the agenda for regulatory competition, in particular inter-platform competition, and established public programs focusing on expanding this service nationwide, also named as “national broadband plans”. The analysis of the settlement of the agenda of broadband diffusion in Brazil showed that, despite the differences between their political paradigms, the FHC, Lula and Dilma‟s governments turned to setting an agenda for the dissemination of telecom services taking into consideration the component of dynamic technical change inherent in the telecom sector, and, at the same time, establishing constant dialogues with the private sector (even more intense during the Lula and Dilma‟s governments), although with relatively low participation of civil society. As noticed in the international experiences, despite not having changed the scope of the agenda of universal services (still based on the diffusion of fixed telephony), the term "broadband" first entered the Brazilian agenda during the Lula‟s government, which established, among other measures, the Brazilian National Broadband Plan (PNBL). In turn, the Dilma‟s government is seeking to continue the PNBL, at the same time as it has established other measures to overcome the barriers to broadband diffusion in Brazil, such as high prices, low coverage and high market concentration. Among them, it is possible to mention the signatures of terms of engagement with the private sector aimed at lowering costs of service and expanding access to regions that are not the focus of private investments, and the establishment of pro-competitive regulatory mechanisms, in particular, intra-platforms ones, more suitable to the conditions of the domestic broadband market.