“Keep Internet & Computing Free of all Barriers”, Says Top Advisor to UN Chief
20 Sep 2006New Delhi, September 20, 2006. Mr. Nitin Desai, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General for World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), today advised governments to keep the business of internet and computing free of barriers to allow the spawning of innovation at the edges of the internet technology.
Addressing the International Conference ‘In Support of the Information Society’, organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) India, Mr. Desai said: “The real challenge is the way in which we make use of Internet technology. At present, India may be an IT superpower in terms of IT services, but it stands nowhere in terms of Internet use.”
Mr. Desai said it was important for businesses to comprehend the impact of business models. For instance, because of the widespread use of e-mail, while the traditional snail mail has taken a backseat, parcel tariff is up. Therefore, the business model of the post offices will have to be totally re-written.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair, ICC E-Business, IT & Telecom (EBITT) Commission and Chairman & CEO, TAGI International, said: “As a supplier of business services in the Arab region and beyond, I have witnessed at first hand the power ICT tools have to rapidly transform business and society in the developing world. And how, and when all stakeholders pull together, ‘ICT or development’ can move swiftly from concept to reality. As a key partner in this process, business has expertise and a wealth of experience it is willing to share. Stakeholders should tap business capabilities at national, regional and international levels.”
He said, for many years, business has served as a major partner in many initiatives, such as to promote ICT use for development. These initiatives need to be built upon and multiplied. “At the same time, we must foster a shared understanding, among all peoples in all countries, of what is needed to build the Information Society,” he pointed out.
Mr. Raju Vegensa, Chairman CEO & MD, Sify said, ICTs are making economies more competitive, with Internet penetration now being an index to measure the competitiveness of countries. This transformation is possible too for a country like India. Transforming India into an Information Society will have multiple benefits ranging from job creation, literacy, better health care with telemedicine, e-governance for more efficient citizen services, and business competitiveness leading to exports and global markets. “What we need is an entire ecosystem that facilitates the growth of an Information Society in India. This will range from Internet, network infrastructure, data centers, content in local languages, retail e-commerce, e-governance services, business to business commerce, financial services, travel services to e-learning, telemedicine”, he said.
This, he said, would be possible with enabling policies for the liberalization of Information Communication Technologies beyond what has already been achieved, that spans network infrastructure and access, content, privacy, data protection, security and Intellectual Property Rights on par with best practices in the world. This calls for an approach that keeps the big picture in mind, and the potential the country has, to accelerate its socio-economic development ensuring a better quality of life for all its citizens. Such enabling policies across the board will also hasten the process of familiarity and adoption of the Internet by businesses, small and large, accelerating economic growth beyond the 8% growth rate of the last few years.
Mr. Yogendra Modi, President, ICC India pointed out that we have to bear in mind the existing Digital Divide. The emergence of the Information Society risks widening the existing Digital Divide if “have-nots” cannot follow. What matters is that everyone be guaranteed to have access to information and to communicate with others rather than to control the means of communications. Central to the effort to bring ICT into the ordinary lives is the question of access. Unless the computer reaches virtually every home, it cannot become an effective weapon against underdevelopment. Moreover, to become a tool for change, the computer needs to be compatible with the mother tongue in order to be of maximum utility.
Mr. Modi said, to achieve this, it would require the participation of all stakeholders:
-Suppliers to develop innovative solutions that would bring down the cost of infrastructure and terminal equipment.
-Financiers to provide cost-effective capital in support of ICT infrastructure and applications.
-Development institutions to back governments in providing incentives to encourage the private sector to invest in areas that are less commercially attractive.
-And governments to ensure level playing fields, competitive environments, a transparency of institutions, a predictable legal system, and eliminate any unnecessary barriers for access, such as excessive taxation.
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