The remainder of the chapter will unfold as follows:• Section 1.2 provides an overview of telecommunication and ICT infrastructure investment trends worldwide. • Sections 1.3 and 1.4 examine investment and implementation approaches for PPP projects.• Section 1.5 investigates alternative funding approaches that can be used to facilitate the roll-out of broadband infrastructure.• Section 1.6 provides an overview of financial innovations for funding investments, mostly in higher-layer services and applications.• Section 1.7 summarizes some conclusions regarding the investment trends explored in the chapter.• Sub-section 1.7.2 provides a summary of best-practice regulatory considerations.1.2 Global investment trends The global telecommunication marketplace is vast, and each market varies depending on its own unique set of macro-environmental characteristics. Fixed and wireless telecommunication operators and higher-layer service providers – whether in developed or developing markets – have had to adapt to local conditions. Consequently, they have developed a range of different strategies to remain competitive and to invest in broadband infrastructure. This section provides a summary of the investment trends being exhibited by operators investing in fixed and wireless broadband networks and higher-layer services.1.2.1 Investment: driving telecommunication revenue growth Operator investment in fixed and wireless networks is driving revenue growth in both developing and developed markets. The global telecommunication services market1 will be worth an estimated USD 1.79 trillion in 2019, up from an estimated USD 1.68 trillion in 2014 (Figure 1.2).In developing markets, current service availability and penetration rates for mobile broadband remain low: for example, there is a 19 per cent penetration rate in in Africa and 23 per cent in the Asia and Pacific region. Penetration rates are even lower for fixed broadband services, with a 0.4 per cent rate in Africa, 3 per cent in the Arab States and 7.7 per cent in the Asia and Pacific region2. But an increase in investment in 3G and (in time) LTE mobile infrastructure is expected to drive growth and increase service penetration, leading to the higher revenues depicted in Figure 2.2. Aided by increasing gross domestic produce (GDP) per capita, economies such as China, Brazil and India are expected to see increased revenue growth – driven mainly by investment in mobile infrastructure and mobile broadband services. In developed markets, current service availability and penetration rates remain high for mobile data – 64 per cent in Europe, for example. In addition, nearly 79 per cent of all fixed broadband connections globally are in Europe and in the developed markets in Asia. Mobile operators have been making significant investments in LTE networks and offering attractive mobile data services and applications. As a result, revenue growth will come from higher consumer spending. Growth will be particularly high in Japan, Korea (Rep. of) and the United States (which are the world leaders in terms of LTE take-up and data usage), but also in some European markets (as LTE gains traction). Incumbent and alternative fixed operators in developed markets also have been investing in fibre networks to create ultra-fast broadband networks capable of speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s).The sections below discuss the fixed and wireless investment trends in further detail.1.2.2 Fixed network investment trends Operators’ investment choices will vary in terms of different fibre technologies. Capital expenditures on fibre infrastructure (expressed as \"fibre to the x\" or \"FTTx,\" with x standing for \"home\" or \"premises\") are expected to total USD 144.2 billion between 2014 and 2019. USD 52.5 billion of that will be in Western Europe and USD 55.1 billion will be in developing markets (see Figure 1.3)3 4.2 Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2016