[WSIS CS-Plenary] declaration regarding the wireless access in WSIS from the Civil Society Bureau

[Veni Markovski]

Pls, see below the text we've sent yesterday to the organizers. I hope to 
be able to reach to the Swiss government today and deliver it personally. 
In the meantime, I personally will switch from using Swisscom to using 
Orange as mobile service.

regards,
veni


The Civil Society Bureau to the WSIS strongly protests that there is a 
change in the established practices for ensruing wireless Internet access 
have been chaned for the actual WSIS. Until now participants in the WSIS 
were connected online during the PrepCom meetings at no price, while - to 
our astonishment - we noted that for the WSIS itself the wireless access 
will be paid, and at the very high business rate of CHF 0.90 / minute.
Many of our members are coming from developing countries where one hour of 
such usage is equal to more than a monthly salary! That's a bad example of 
what the digital divide may be described as.

While we are thankful for the existence of an Free and Open Source Software 
(FOSS) cybercafe, we must state that many of the participants in the WSIS 
bring their own notebooks, equipped with wireless Internet access cards, 
and they rely on the accessible communications in order to fulfil their 
duties.

Wireless access was not available during the resumed PrepCom (Dec. 5-6), 
but it is of vital importance to have it at acceptable conditions during 
the whole WSIS, as part of the effort to facilitate in the best possible 
way the work of the Civil Society, the private sector and the governments.

Lack of wireless Internet access means that a huge portion of 
representatives of the CS is being driven away from the process, because it 
will radically diminish their capacity to interact with each other and 
contribute with their knowledge to the whole WSIS process.

We urge the local hosts to find a way to ensure that there will be free of 
charge wireless Internet access during the whole WSIS in Geneva, 
re-establishing the practices respected throughout the whole process of 
PrepCom meetings - in Geneva, as well as Paris.

We use the opportunity to thank the government of Geneve and Switzerland 
for their efforts to perform in the best possible way in the WSIS, and we 
hope that this detail will be fixed as soon as possible in a way sutiable 
for all parties.