Executive Summary The financial crisis that erupted a year ago has shaken the global financial sector to its foundations and sent the economies of many industrialized countries spinning into recession, while slowing the growth of major emerging markets. The size and scale of the global economic slowdown have proved staggering (Insight 1). Stock markets have recently recovered ground off recent lows and economists are finding cause for optimism, but economic analysts at leading institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and OECD are virtually united in their agreement that the recovery will be weak, slow and uneven. Global unemployment is rising fast and promises to persist, well after economic recovery finally starts. uncertain future revenues and returns have led to calls for governments to get more involved in the financing and roll-out of NGNs. As public and private service delivery increasingly shifts online, access to broadband is increasingly becoming a public policy problem, if balanced development is to be achieved (Insight 5). This Report examines the scope for public financing and the role that the ICT sector and economic stimulus plans can play in regenerating economic growth and promoting economic recovery. More than fifty countries have launched economic stimulus plans in an effort to boost aggregate demand (Insight 4) – the OECD records as many as 25 OECD countries as having announced stimulus plans, while major emerging and transition countries including Brazil, Chile, China and the Russian Federation have also launched similar initiatives to stimulate their economies. The financial crisis and credit crunch have cut directly across many operators’ investment plans to upgrade existing networks (Table 3) and roll out various Next-Generation Networks (NGNs). Not only do operators face more expensive and more limited financing, they also face great uncertainty over the regulatory future and revenue streams associated with NGNs. The massive investments required, changing business models and only Investments in ICT can play a strong role in generating long-term economic growth, as they offer strong multiplier effects in returns Confronting the Crisis: ICT Stimulus Plans for Economic Growth 9