The broadband frontier

In the last couple of years, the Guyana government has unveiled and begun implementing its plans for information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). From the beginning, there has been a steady chorus of criticism from some quarters, especially on the fibre-optic cable, the One Lap Top Per Family (OLPF) initiative and the Education Television programmes. While it is our view that all governmental initiatives should be subjected to scrutiny, we believe that much of the negativity is grounded in a misapprehension of the transformative potential of the new technology.

In September last year, the high-level UN “Broadband Commission for Digital Development” issued a “Declaration of Broadband Inclusion for All” that summarised the potential for development inherent in the broadband connectivity, undergirding ICT4D. Significantly, the presentation was made at the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit at UN Headquarters. We present excerpts that we believe should inform the local debate:

“By forging a common vision and understanding of the needs and requirements for ubiquitous and higher capacity access to the Internet, governments have, today, an unprecedented opportunity to unleash the creativity and inventiveness of their citizens and industries, to innovate and invest in health and education. Although broadband is a means to an end, and not an end in itself, ICTs and broadband can help generate jobs, growth, productivity and, ultimately, long- term economic competitiveness. Timing is everything. In September 2000, when the historic Millennium Declaration was agreed by 189 UN member states, there were some 740 million mobile cellular subscriptions and nearly 400 million Internet users worldwide. In 2010, there are more than five billion mobile cellular subscriptions and more than 1.8 billion Internet users, according to ITU’s most recent data, with the majority located in the developing world. It is now high time to take the next great digital leap forward towards our broadband future.

The implications are enormous. International estimates suggest that for every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration, we can expect an average of 1.3 per cent additional growth in national gross domestic product (GDP). We believe that broadband inclusion for all will represent a momentous economic and social change commensurate with the very problems that the MDGs aim to solve, and that it will be a game- changer in addressing rising healthcare costs, delivering digital education for all, and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Already, we see the transformational progress which digital inclusion offers to youth, women, the elderly and people with mental and physical disabilities in rich and poor countries alike. We strongly believe that getting the broadband policy and investment mix right requires coherent and concerted political will and leadership from the top, as well as grassroots support. Critically, this will require a newly proactive and progressive approach to creating an enabling environment for broadband inclusion for all via the convergent and interdependent forces of policy, infrastructure, technology, innovation, content and applications, people and government. While broadband infrastructure is crucial, we urge world leaders to recognise that connectivity and content go hand in hand. Therefore, it is essential that we examine ways to develop local content and applications in order to serve the MDGs and other key development priorities. Promoting access to education, health services, agricultural and environmental information should thus become an integral part of the strategic deployment of broadband infrastructure.

Let us not just criticise for criticism’s sake.