[Pal-dc] Policy options for Connecting the Next Billion - PAL DC contributions

Sun Jul 31 16:48:04 BST 2016

Dear Stuart,

I hope is not too late to send this. First of all I would like to say that
I fully agree with Don's comments, thanks for a great contribution.

I just have a comment and is related to something that we have been
debating internally in MAKAIA and externally, and is about the importance
of connecting the un-connected regions in Colombia in preparation for, or
as a complement to the peace process that the Country us undergoing with
the FARC. Yes, there are many rural areas in Colombia that are not
connected! This has to do with SDG 16.

A couple of weeks ago I visited one of the areas that historically has been
most violent ones, and where many of the current issues of the conflict
originated. These communities do not have access to internet and in many
cases, to voice and data networks. They are totally isolated. They have
libraries but they are far from them.

We are exploring using the TV White Spaces to bring internet to them. The
idea is to use an unused part of the TV spectrum to bring connectivity. It
has already been tested in Colombia and is in the process of being
regulated.

But we all know that this is not enough, connectivity without ICT adoption
could even be counterproductive. Libraries are key in this process but
maybe thinking about libraries, outside of the library as well so they can
reach out to isolated communities wither other complementing technologies
like radio, tv, sms, even whats app.... to provide knowledge and
information so people have the criteria to make decisions, they can learn,
acquire the skills to have a legal job, improve their crops, etc etc

Best regards
Catalina

2016-07-29 11:18 GMT-05:00 Don Means <don at digitalvillage.com>:

> Thanks for this, Stuart.
>
> Here are a few comments/suggestions relating to: infrastructure economics,
> equity, gov't obligation, and "meaningful access". Not sure where any of
> this might fit in or even whether, but is offered for consideration.
>
>
> Public access to the internet in the form of a shared community access
> point, especially at a public library, requires the least infrastructure
> investment to serve the greatest number of users.
>
> In the US, under the 2009 federal Broadband Technology Opportunities
> Program(BTOP), connecting community hubs like libraries, community
> centers, schools, clinics, etc. as "intermediate end points", has proven
> effective twofold strategy by: 1) providing or increasing connectivity for
> large populations at priority end points and 2) stimulating further public
> &/or private investments by creating convenient interconnect points in
> wider wired/wireless broadband network buildout. Recent changes and fund
> increases in the USF programs continue to expand this model.
>
> What a community public access point may lack in ubiquity and mobility, it
> makes up for as being most affordable as a no fee/ low fee basic service
> and as fixed facility with potential for adding enabling support services
> and equipment.
>
> Of the various needs and benefits of access listed, access to public
> information and services or so-called e-gov, doesn't appear to be
> mentioned. It must be the obligation of the public sector at all levels to
> assure access to government forms, public info, etc. Increasingly, many
> such services will exist only online, due to limitations of paper and
> people combined with motivations to reduce costs and increase productivity.
> Yet government, unlike private companies or even NGO's, must accept
> responsibility and take necessary measures to make at least some minimal
> level of access universal.
>
> "Go to the library. They'll help you," has been government's only answer
> to this increasingly common e-gov. access gap.
>
> Understanding that many USAF programs are underfunded and/or poorly
> managed, they still provide a common structural and institutional funding
> mechanism as well as powerful rationale to connect libraries and enable
> public access. National telecom regulators as well as national finance
> ministries can be /should be encouraged to upgrade and enhance these
> programs to achieve universal access via a public access strategy.
>
> Increasing the amount of license free spectrum like Wi-Fi is a companion
> policy that supports lowest cost public access. All spectrum originates as
> public property, the public airwaves. Selling it all off or giving it away
> only to have to buy some of back as services, would be like a community
> selling all of its public land and then using the proceeds to lease some
> back to create public parks. In perpetuity. (This point pertains to the
> economics of various infrastructure models / technologies, and should get
> attention.)
>
> Thought the request to interpret "meaningful access" very interesting.
> It's almost like the starting point. One may have meaningful access if they
> can send/receive txt messages from a feature phone. But that capability
> should not be considered "meaningful" enough. To more fully participate in
> a digital world, one needs not only the capability to consume various
> common media types from a wide array of sources, but also the tools and
> skills to produce content. Even as online companies invest heavily in phone
> friendly formats, try creating a 2 page document with a simple graphic
> element on your smart phone. Online forms are notoriously ill-suited for
> phones and many tablets. The world needs more producers, not only more
> consumers.
>
>
> Hope any of this helps.
>
> Regards,
> Don
> GigLibraries.Net
>
> On Jul 29, 2016, at 1:35 AM, Stuart Hamilton wrote:
>
> Dear Colleagues
>
> First of all, an apology for a very late email to you all. We have been
> asked to provide input from PAL-DC to the next stage of the IGF’s ‘Policy
> Options for the Next Billion’ 2017 Intersessional Programme. I attach the
> call for input – you can see it has quite detailed instructions on what the
> organisers are looking for.
>
> *The deadline for submissions is July 31* – which is why I began this
> email with an apology. However, we have drafted the attached which we would
> like comments on, if you have time, before we submit it on Sunday. Please
> send comments to the list and we’ll take them into account in the final
> submission. If you feel like submitting individual comments please also do
> so, as I am sure these will be received with gratitude.
>
> For us at IFLA right now we are hugely busy with preparations for our
> annual conference, which takes place in Columbus in the US next month:
> http://2016.ifla.org/ Once we are the other side of this event we will be
> stepping up preparations for the main IGF in December, including picking up
> work on our*Principles *document. Right now we have library
> representatives at the Asia-Pacific IGF, where we are co-organising a
> workshop on the Right to be Forgotten, and we will also have colleagues at
> the forthcoming LAC IGF.
>
> Finally, recently I participated in the IGF Retreat in New York (
> http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/igf-retreat) where improvements to the IGF
> were discussed. I brought the library and public access viewpoint to the
> discussions as best I could! You can find the outcome document from these
> discussions here, and can comment paragraph by paragraph:
> https://www.intgovforum.org/review/igf-retreat-proceedings-ideas-and-suggestions/
>
> I hope you are all well!
>
> Stuart
>
> Dr. Stuart Hamilton
> Deputy Secretary General
> International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
> P.O. Box 95312
> 2509 CH The Hague
> Netherlands
>
> 00 31 70 314 0884
>
> Twitter: @ifladpa
>
> <Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion - DC-PAL.docx><2016 CENB
> Call for Contributions_20 July 2016.pdf>
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