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Desde hace una década, se ha observado un despliegue estatal de redes de próxima generación en el mercado de las telecomunicaciones. A primera vista, este giro en el papel del Estado parece incongruente en relación con la exitosa tendencia de mayor inversión y crecimiento liderada por el mercado que ha experimentado la industria durante los últimos veinte años. Una mirada más cercana revela una combinación de factores que llevaron a los gobiernos de todo el mundo a asumir un rol más activo en este mercado. Este artículo reflexiona sobre la participación del Estado en el auge de redes de infraestructura en el caso de México y de otros países de América Latina. Asimismo, se analizan comparativamente los cambios en el papel del Estado en las dos reformas de telecomunicaciones en México: 1990 y 2013. Se concluye que el cambio de rol del Estado no representa un retorno a un papel de proveedor de servicios que prevaleció durante la era de la posguerra, ya que la nueva ola coexiste con una promoción de la competencia de las empresas privadas en el mercado. El análisis destaca que ninguna de las reformas ha logrado resolver las grandes desigualdades en el acceso a las nuevas tecnologías de la información (tic) en México.

Abstract
This paper examines the process of reform in the Mexican telecommunications sector and makes comparisons with similar processes in the United States, New Zealand, and Brazil. Differences in policy responses are explained by the structure of the political institutions and the policy context in any given country. The policy lessons to be drawn from the regulatory experiences examined are that the sequence and the pace of reform influence policy outcomes. The speed with which the Mexican reform was carried out led to a lack of the institutional and legal support necessary to create a level competitive playing field. The permanence of a vertically integrated firm in the Mexican market, moreover, introduced consequential costs to the regulation of the industry. The results of this paper support the theoretical argument that privatization, in itself, does not guarantee the development of the sector and point to the need to attain a more effective regulation of competition in telecommunications.

Despite the headway the world has experienced over the last couple of years in terms of a substantial increase in digital access, there are still significant challenges to overcome in ensuring women are included in the transformation to a digital society, which in turn will enhance productivity and social development. Efforts to increase internet adoption access through broadband plans and legislative reforms have yielded improvements in use and adoption. However, there is still a stark and pervasive gender inequality in terms of access, ownership of digital devices, digital fluency as well as the capacity to make meaningful use of the access to technology. Even though affordability is a key source of exclusion, there are also significant socio-cultural norms that restrict access for women. This paper brings forward the argument that access alone is not enough, women need agency and capacity to leverage access. The authors thus highlight the need to make an assessment of the global gender gap and develop meaningful indicators that contribute to the design and implementation of effective policies that drive adoption. We need effective promotion of women's digital adoption not only from the government but also from the private sector and civil society in order to lead the digital adoption of best practices for women around the world.

This book examines the problem of inadequate access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the need to develop appropriate pro-poor ICT policies within the Latin American and Caribbean context. The authors show how market reforms have failed to ensure that the benefits of the Information Society have spread across the many social and economic divides that characterize the region. The authors explain and support the formulation of a new perspective on ICT access and develop an analytical framework with which to assess the critical variables involved in effective ICT adoption in d