The International Development Research Centre's (IDRC's) “Information and Communications Technologies for Development” (ICT4D) program realized in the early days of its programming that a key part of catalyzing access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) involved attention to policy and regulatory environments. This was needed to understand the policy bottlenecks that hindered access to and use of ICTs. On its own, catalyzing access through demonstrating social and technical innovations is not enough to build an inclusive knowledge society and economy in the developing world. ICT policy and regulation play a key role in determining market and pricing conditions that influence the extent to which people can access ICTs. A key element of IDRC's ICT4D program was funding research on policy and regulatory frameworks, their effectiveness or lack thereof and policy interventions that would lead to increased access.

Two IDRC-funded projects show how social and technical innovations depend heavily on appropriate policies and regulation for increased access. Beginning in 2003, IDRC funded a project that explored the potential of low-cost WiFi technology to overcome the high cost of Internet connectivity in Africa. However, the project soon found that existing regulatory frameworks hindered the deployment of community wireless networks on the continent (Morris and Makan 2008, 3). In some countries, regulatory frameworks slowed the implementation of wireless technology. In others, like South Africa, community wireless networks were actually illegal. So, to use wireless technology as an effective and low-cost method to extend connectivity to underserved populations, changes to the telecommunications regulatory framework were needed in many countries.