[WSIS CS-Plenary] no short cuts to progress

[Loe Schout]

Dear Anriette,

Very good, your letter. I fully agree with it.. This whole Economist and 
other scepticial thinking comes from a rather simplistic view on 
development. As if development is as simple as a matter of choosing 
between housing, health, education OR pc's/internet/mobile phones. But 
there are no short cuts to progress. Anyone involved for some time in 
development work/activities knows that  development is a complicated, 
multi-layer and  political & cultural  process with many different 
actors. In this process access to information and communication is 
playing a crucial role. It is there where appropriate (old and new) 
technology can make the difference.

Loe Schout
head of ICT & knowledge sharing desk
Hivos


Anriette Esterhuysen wrote:

>Below is a letter sent to the Economist in response to the 'digital divide' 
>article. 
>
>To the Editor, Economist
>
>In response to:  The Real Digital Divide. March 10th 2005 
>
>"The Real Digital Divide" correctly asserts that this divide is merely a 
>symptom of deeper, more important divides. However, the article has 
>two serious flaws.  
>
>Firstly, it falls into the 'generalisation' trap. It assumes that solutions 
>that worked well in one context will necessarily work well everywhere.   
>
>Mobile phones are NOT always the cheapest or best way to provide 
>telephony, especially to poor and rural populations. Newer and 
>cheaper technologies such as WiFi, WiMax, CorDECT and VOIP 
>(voice over internet protocol) could prove far more cost effective, and 
>they have the added advantage of providing data services such as 
>internet.    Furthermore, sparsely populated rural regions are proving 
>less attractive to mobile providers, and the growth rate in network 
>coverage (as distinct from subscribers) is slowing down, long before it 
>reaches many of the poorest people.  
>
>Secondly, why does the author conclude from the undisputed value of 
>mobile telephony that other new technologies are superfluous in 
>addressing development challenges?  
>
>People living in the developed world's lives have been transformed by 
>the power of the internet in multiple dimensions: work, social 
>connectivity, banking, entertainment, political debate.  They live in a 
>context of increasing access and efficiency.  Why deny these benefits 
>to developing countries and the poor?  Avoiding the infrastructure and 
>capacity development challenges of introducing these technologies to 
>developing countries is NOT an effective response to growing 
>inequities.  
>
>Digital inclusion is not simply about access to computers or the 
>internet, it is about not being left behind when such far-reaching 
>institutional changes are revolutionizing every aspect of social and 
>economic life.  
>
>Regarding regulatory approaches, it is now widely acknowledged, 
>including by the World Bank that the market alone is not sufficient, 
>especially in remote and rural areas and poorer populations.   There is 
>a major role for investment and regulation in the public interest, in an 
>environment that is increasingly horizontally segmented between local 
>access networks, backbone providers, and service providers.  
>
>The need for universal service access funds is widely accepted. But 
>current thinking is now considering ways of providing wholesale 
>bandwidth, where a single provider, publicly-owned or in consortium, 
>sells backbone bandwidth cheaply and transparently to all. At local 
>level, community-owned networks already exist from Poland to 
>Argentina - following the lead of the USA where over 500 local rural 
>telephony cooperatives have flourished for decades and now provide 
>broadband.   The point here is not to say that competition does not 
>play a key role. Rather, it is essential to pursue continuous and 
>ongoing regulatory innovation, and to remain open to all suitable 
>solutions.  
>
>Exclusive solutions, be they technical or regulatory, are simply too 
>restrictive for the diversity of needs and environments.  
>
>Association for Progressive Communications, Johannnesburg 
>Digital Divide Data, San Francisco 
>IT For Change, Bangalore
>Bread For All, Lausanne 
>NEXUS Research, Dublin  
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------
>Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director
>Association for Progressive Communications
>anriette at apc.org
>http://www.apc.org
>PO Box 29755, Melville, South Africa. 2109
>Tel. 27 11 726 1692
>Fax 27 11 726 1692
>
>
>
>  
>


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