WORLD TELECOM DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE SET TO WEIGH DIGITAL DIVIDE

Among dozens of proposals submitted for consideration at WTDC, contribution from group of Asian-Pacific nations seeks implementation of policy on charging principles for international Internet connections. Two years ago, World Telecom Standardization Assembly approved recommendation that administrations involved in international Internet connections negotiate bilateral commercial arrangements for cost-sharing. Recommendation, made despite strenuous U.S. objections, was that administrations involved in international Internet connections negotiate bilateral arrangements for cost-sharing. U.S. took exception to proposal, citing issues such as extent that it signaled role for ITU in Internet regulation and extent that such transactions should be sole domain of commercial providers, not govt. agencies. WTSA wasn’t treaty conference, although recommendation was closely watched at time as likely to emerge at upcoming ITU meetings. Recommendation filed earlier this month for consideration at WTDC urges national administrations to: (1) Support work of ITU-Telecom sector in implementing recommendation, and (2) continue to monitor progress of issue at ITU “and its impact on their international Internet connectivity.” Proposal is backed by Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. Proposal also said “international Internet connections remain subject to commercial agreements between the parties concerned.” ITU would be instructed to promote information- sharing among regulators “on the correlation between international Internet connection charging arrangements and affordability of international Internet infrastructure development in developing countries.”

ITU summary of studies that will be released in final form at conference in Istanbul said that in 1991, total penetration of fixed line and wireless phones stood at 49 phones per 100 residents in developed nations, 3.3 in emerging nations, 0.3 in least-developed nations. Now those penetration levels have reached 121.1 phones per 100 inhabitants in developed countries, 18.7 in emerging nations and 1.1 in least-developed countries. Africa had 20 million wireless phone users by year-end 2001 and 28 countries on that continent had more wireless than wireline subscribers, ITU said. “Most encouraging is the fact that the nations with the fastest recent growth rates have been the least developed countries,” ITU said. “They have surpassed the psychological threshold of one telephone user per 100 inhabitants during 2001. This is an unmistakable sign that the digital divide is being reduced, albeit at too slow a pace.” For first time in 20 years, telecom growth rates last year dropped internationally, ITU said: “Share prices dropped and profits turned to losses for many.” The ITU said there was a “new digital divide” and while there were signs that gap in Internet access between developed and developing countries was narrowing, “the nature of the divide is shifting from basic to advanced communications and from quantity to quality.”

For “least-developed nations,” growth in wireless phone use, increased telecom competition and prepaid cards have been key factors to increasing phone access, ITU said, because: (1) Wireless sector has “higher levels of competition and private sector participation.” (2) Mobile penetration “doesn’t appear to be heavily dependent upon income in the early stages of development.” (3) Wireless shifts the investment burden “from the operator to the consumer.”

Proposal by 13 Asian-Pacific countries asked ITU to “consider setting appropriate benchmark indicators of digital divide.” It urged ITU to compile statistics so “radar charts” could be developed that would be used to “illustrate the current situation of the digital divide in each country and region.” Proposal is backed by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and India. Paper urged ITU to develop “universal low cost ICT terminal that can be directly connected to the legacy and other networks supporting Internet and Internet applications so that economies of scale can be achieved on account of their acceptability at the global level.” Those countries also recommended that ITU suggest “workable and enforceable” universal service funding mechanism. It recognized “that the telecommunications environment has undergone drastic changes” and that there was a need to show what the digital divide was, where it occurred and “who suffers from it.”

At least one contribution touches on Internet content issues. Proposal from Australia, India, Iran and 8 other countries said Internet was “open media” that was susceptible to misuse and urged ITU to encourage its member countries to “enact cyberlaws.” It said it was “necessary to mitigate the misuse of the Internet at early stages” and “ethical use of Internet can best be promoted through awareness and enactment of cyberlaws.” Proposal, backed by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, said there had been “a rise in unsuitable Web sites dedicated to harmful and undesirable content.” Proposal didn’t define “harmful” or “undesirable.”

U.S. contribution cited “widespread commitment” to deregulation, privatization, competition, universal access and service. It stressed need to move to “the next phase of development” by concentrating on implementing telecom policies and increasing telecom structure in both developed and developing countries. U.S. document also raised need for ITU Development (ITU-D) sector to increase involvement of private sector in telecom development issues such as services and infrastructure. It said regulation “can be seen as a tool to achieve the ultimate objectives of providing optimal ICT services to end users. The need for regulators has grown more acute as countries open their markets to competition.”

Among close to 50 contributions submitted to WTDC for consideration are proposals: (1) By Alcatel that ITU Development (ITU-D) sector spur “useful encouragement to new investment policies by facilitating the creation of investment funds for new technologies.” Proposal also calls for ITU-D to promote increase in public development assistance to further investment and assist regulatory authorities and govts. in establishment of financing mechanisms for universal access. (2) By Europeans that “when identical service is transmitted over different networks, it may be subject to different regulatory regimes.” While development of new services mustn’t be “jeopardized” by regulatory overlaps, regulators have important role to play “in applying rules of competition that best ensure the harmonious development of the market that is in the process of being structured.” (3) By Mexico that covers telecom development plans for indigenous peoples.