for service to Honiara, Malaita and New Georgia could be released and made available for other locations not directly served by the proposed cable. Domestic connectivity 26. Considered at the network level, constraints to widespread availability of ICT currently exist in relation to international connectivity, domestic backbone and switching, and customer access networks. Various policy options have been used to encourage increased network investment, as summarized in the table below:15 27. Possible policy options include demand-side strategies, which may also serve to stimulate and attract infrastructure investment. Where customer demand for services exists, profit-seeking service providers will endeavour to supply services. For this reason, the Telecommunications Commission has so far considered it inadvisable to impose levies and redistribute funds raised in the form of “universal access subsidies” to operators. (Among other concerns, such redistributions would inevitably bias competition among operators, contrary to the steadfast policy of the Government.) Operators have continued to construct network to provide services to previously unserved areas, without universal service payments being made to any operator. 15 Williams, MDJ “Advancing the Development of Backbone Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa” in Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact (World Bank, 2009). Page | 16 Solomon Islands National ICT Policy