6. Conclusions
Sustainability is most likely the most challenging issue for any rural informatization project. Guided by Kumar and Best's sustainability failure framework, our study found that Sichuan's government-carrier cooperative model was at risk of financial, institutional and cultural/social sustainability failures. Financially, because there is no formal universal service or related funding mechanism to support the rural informatization program, it primarily depends on the carrier to finance the project. Although rural informatization services could help the carrier to increase its market share in rural sector, it is a rational decision for the carrier to shift resources to a more profitable market should it emerge. Institutionally, because there are no binding political or commercial ties between the carriers and the government, the current cooperative model is of more symbolic significance. Socially, although there has been an effort to collect local information, the needs of the rural residents are largely ignored in the current design. However, those issues are not inextricable and some are China-specific. We do not intend to offer a comprehensive solution in this paper. However, the most important lesson other country or regional governments can learn from Sichuan's model is that a clear definition of responsibilities for each player in an informatization program is a vital prerequisite to its success because, essentially, involving telecommunications carriers in informatization implies adding another layer of obligation to the traditional universal service package. While this model involves minimal administrative adjustment, the regulatory contract between the government and carriers needs to be updated explicitly.
