Brunei  Darussalam  National  Broadband  Policy                             Foreword  by  His  Excellency  the     Minister  of  Communications     First  of  all,  I  would  like  to  thank  the  International  Telecommunication  Union  (ITU)  for  collaborating  with   Brunei  Darussalam  in  the  formulation  of  the  National  Broadband  Policy.       Back   in   2008,   the   Ministry   of   Communications   issued   the   National   Broadband   Blueprint.   Among   the   objectives   of   the   National   Broadband   Blueprint   is   to   bridge   the   digital   divide   in   Brunei   Darussalam   by   ensuring   the   whole   population   of   Brunei   Darussalam   will   be   provided   with   broadband   connection   at   competitive   prices   and   according   to   industry   standards.   The   National   Broadband   Blueprint   also   stated   for   the  deployment  of  a  mix  of  technologies,  including  fibre-­‐to-­‐the-­‐home  to  provide  the  broadband  capacity   to  satisfy  demand  for  current  and  most  emerging  applications  and  uses.   The   National   Broadband   Policy   is   a   step   further   from   the   Blueprint.   To   formulate   the   National   Broadband   Policy,  the  Ministry  of  Communications  (MOC),  Authority  for  Info-­‐communications  Technology  of  Brunei   Darussalam   (AITI)   and   ITU   worked   in   partnership   on   a   fact-­‐finding   mission   involving   interviews   with   various   stakeholders   in   Brunei   Darussalam.   This   was   immediately   followed   by   the   National   Broadband   Workshop  on  31st  October  2013  where  early  findings  from  the  interviews  as  well  as  regional  development   on  broadband  were  shared.       The   Ministry   of   Communications   welcomes   the   formulation   of   the   National   Broadband   Policy.   Key   enablers   of   both   the   smart   society   and   the   goals   of   Wawasan   Brunei   2035   are   ubiquitous   access   to   broadband   connectivity   and   widespread   use   of   broadband-­‐enabled   services.   To   that   end,   this   National   Broadband  Policy  sets  out  the  Government’s  overarching  policy  initiatives  and  goals  for  the  development   of  the  broadband  sector  over  the  next  four  years  (2014–2017).       With  the  National  Broadband  Policy,  we  wish  to  address  key  issues  such  as  access,  affordability,  quality   and   usage.   Closely   related   to   these   issues   are   content   development   and   positive   use   of   the   Internet.       Hence,  with  broadband  development  and  emergence  of  broadband-­‐powered  services,  it  is  hoped  to  open   up  more  business  opportunities  for  our  local  industry  players  and  spur  more  employment  opportunities.     Broadband  development  will  also  provide  further  avenues  for  enhancement  of  skills  and  expertise.   Hence,  the  National  Broadband  Blueprint  has  identified  implementation  plan  with  targets  and  indicators   to   be   achieved   towards   a   more   sustainable   broadband-­‐oriented   environment.   I   would   like   to   thank   those   who  have  contributed  to  the  development  of  this  National  Broadband  Policy,  both  from  the  Government   and  private  sector.  I  also  like  to  express  our  appreciation  to  the  International  Telecommunication  Union   and  the  Ministry  of  Science,  ICT  and  Future  Planning,  Republic  of  Korea  for  the  assistance  they  provided  to   the  Ministry  of  Communications  during  the  development  of  this  policy.     Yang  Berhormat  Pehin  Orang  Kaya  Hamzah    Pahlawan  Dato  Seri  Setia  Awang  Haji  Abdullah   bin  Begawan  Mudim  Dato  Paduka  Haji  Bakar   Minister  of  Communications   Brunei  Darussalam       iii