The European Lisbon strategy considers that the generalised availability of broadband accesses is one of the European Union’s greatest challenges. In this context, the EU member states have launched information society development programmes which dedicate major sections to fighting against the digital exclusion and plan the geographical extension of broadband accesses. In all of them, it is acknowledged the role of public policies in complementing the effective operation of the market, addressing both the supply and demand sides. The aim of this chapter is to review how the objective of generalised broadband deployment can be achieved, and what instruments the public administrations are using to pursue it. The chapter includes, in particular, a comparison of practical implementations of broadband development policies, their relationships with universal service obligations, and, finally, the implications of using this segmented approach.
