To increase access to information infrastructure and to establish a minimum level of connectivity, PPIAF provided assistance to several countries to design and develop universal access programs. Below are several examples of PPIAF-supported activities to increase universal access to ICT services, with final reports and related materials included when available.

• In 2001 PPIAF provided support to the government of Tanzania to assess the requirements to increase private sector investment in improving telecommunication access in rural areas. The objective of this activity was to facilitate the government’s target of connecting 6% of the households in these areas by 2020. The results of the study emphasized the need for a clear regulatory and institutional framework to provide sufficient incentives for private participation and the set-up of a Universal Access Fund. The government subsequently enacted the Tanzania Universal Communications Service Access Act in 2006, which established objectives for the communications sector and, following the recommendations of the PPIAF activity, created a Universal Communications Access Fund. Under the Act, telecommunications service providers contribute 1.5% of their gross revenues to the fund. The funds are used to subsidize investment costs of companies that wish to provide communication services in marginalized rural areas.
   
• In 2007 the government of Mongolia requested PPIAF to support a program to improve telecommunications access in rural areas. The PPIAF-funded work involved the development of a framework for universal access specifically to set up of a universal access fund (funded from 2% levy on operators’ taxable income) and the design of two pilots: public access telephone network for herders and soum (district) center wireless network. The work complemented the World Bank-led activity which later tapped the Global Program for Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) to pilot the subsidy framework before operators start to contribute to the universal access fund. The two pilots—a herder network (national) and wireless-based telephony and internet service (in Tariat soum)—were competitively tendered and awarded based on technical and operating capacity and lowest subsidy requirement. This resulted in increased telecom access to over 22,300 people in remote rural areas.
   
• In 2006 the government of Armenia requested PPIAF assistance in support of universal accessibility of basic telecommunication services throughout the country with the involvement of the private sector. The Law on Electronic Communications of 2005 had authorized the regulatory commission to establish the Universal Services Obligation (USO) to meet this objective of universal access. PPIAF support was requested to review Armenia’s USO policy for the telecommunications sector, to review the proposed design for its Universal Services Fund (USF), to draft the founding documents for the Public Services Regulatory Commission to implement the USO policy and USF, and to identify a pilot project to test the USO and USF. The PPIAF-funded study made recommendations for the services that could be provided under the universal access policy (i.e., voice telephony and internet), the minimum level of services, etc. As of mid-2011 the government decided to postpone the decision to establish the USF because underserved populations are expected to benefit from a proposed new nationwide high-speed broadband backbone network, which is expected to significantly improve the coverage of telephony and Internet services. Rural populations are also expected to benefit from market-led mobile expansion due to investments in mobile telecommunication infrastructure from the three mobile operators in the country, including from the mobile operator Orange France Telecom, which recently started operations in Armenia.
   
• In 2011 PPIAF funded a study to develop a rural broadband development strategy for Thailand that involved 1) taking stock of the deployment of broadband networks in rural areas, including access by priority groups such as medical clinics and schools; 2) identifying relevant examples of  approaches to rural broadband deployment and access from international experience, including successful innovative approaches to promote efficient private sector participation in the effective promotion of rural broadband development; and 3) developing concepts for programming and/or policy initiatives for Thailand. The strategy was discussed with the government in a workshop in mid-2011.