monitored. Within practical limits, monitoring should provide information on all aspects of the broadband market/ecosystem. The scope of many national broadband plans is already very wide, raising questions about coordination, information sharing and the role of the regulator. This chapter reviews the issues around the monitoring of broadband plans as attention moves from initial deployment to make broadband available, through projects and programs to encourage the adoption and take-up of broadband, to integration of broadband as a core element in the digital economy. As that process of development occurs, performance monitoring helps to ensure that targets, costs, benefits and outcomes of projects are measured and programs are well managed. In the deployment stage, there is a focus of attention on basic telecommunications/broadband indicators of availability obtained from service providers. When attention moves to indicators of adoption and use, barriers to access such as the need for improved digital literacy may need to be identified and overcome by means of projects and programs that will require monitoring and assessment of costs and benefits. Some regulators have adopted innovative ways to expand and apply this information that are explored in the chapter.When high-speed broadband becomes a core element of advanced services in sectors such as health and education, the savings flowing from the use of broadband-based connectivity may outweigh the costs. Within each sector, short, medium and long-term agendas need to take account of the different challenges associated with the deployment, adoption and integration stages, weighing short-term costs against long-term gains. When broadband is fully integrated in these sectors, attention turns to outcomes measured not only in terms of costs and savings, but also in terms of overall gains in capability, efficiency, productivity, innovation and public welfare. New measures may need to be developed to monitor changes in people’s behaviour and increased dependence on broadband-based services. Chapter 8: conclusion This chapter brings together the important issues that are addressed in this edition of Trends. Those issues will have to be addressed if the full benefits of the emerging digital world are to be realized.xiv Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2015