National Broadband Agenda, Social Media Top Priorities At ITU Telecom World 2011

From Nor Baizure Basri GENEVA, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- While oil-producing countries like Oman is just beginning its journey towards drafting its national broadband agenda, Malaysia should be proud as it has started probably a quarter of the journey by implementing its national broadband initiatives. Oman, probably has no problems to fund such programmes unlike its counterparts in the African continent, is in the final stage of formulating its national broadband agenda and is looking for suitable technology partners to realise the initiative. As for some of the African countries, they are still grappling for funds and technology partners to push forward their national broadband agenda, with some of them are still quite new in their respective governments. All of these countries realised one thing -- national broadband agenda is among key drivers of growth engines -- that can cater to the country's economy and social well-being. These are among consensus reached among world leaders and industry experts at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2011 which ended here last week. For Nigeria's Technology and Communications Minister Omobola Johnson, even though she was only three-month old in her post, that does not mean the broadband agenda was not on her top-shelf. "Broadband will be the key driver for us to boost future growth in line with our vision to be the top 20 economies by 2020, by harnessing the vast opportunities of technology," she said in one of the sessions. However, the country needs at least US$20 billion to be within 30 minutes of Internet access, she added. As for Oman's Transport and Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Mohammed, his country can offer incentives to technology players who want to help the government develop broadband infrastructures. "The government can provide indirect support by lowering taxes and reducing royalty payments but operators need to fulfil certain key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined by the Omani government," he said. These countries are just the example of nations pursuing national broadband initiatives but there are still serious issues that need to be looked at in developing the broadband agenda. For countries which already have their national broadband initiatives in place, getting the service cheaper for everybody is probably the most crucial issue at hand. To address this, the Broadband Commission for Digital Development has set four "ambitious but achievable" targets. One of them is to create an environment where broadband internet is accessible for everybody. The commission, set up by the ITU and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), comprises government leaders from around the world and high-ranking representatives from industry players, international agencies and organisations related to development. These targets, expected to be achievable by 2015, are among the commission's strategies to realise the broadband agenda as the "engine of growth" for global development. The four targets are -- all countries should have a national broadband plan or strategies; making entry-level broadband services affordable in developing countries through adequate regulations and market forces; 40 per cent of households in developing nations should have Internet access; and Internet-user penetration at 60 per cent worldwide, 50 per cent in developing countries and 15 per cent in least-developed countries. ITU secretary-general Dr Hamadoun Touré said while it was important to increase broadband development, governments must step up efforts to have equitable broadband access networks and services that are affordable for everyone. "If we are not careful, we will face the risk of creating a world of broadband rich and broadband poor," he said. Toure said the ITU would undertake the responsibility for measuring each country’s progress towards the targets, produce an annual broadband report with nations' rankings worldwide in terms of broadband policy, affordability and uptake. Apart from national broadband, the use of social media for social good was also a key highlight seriously discussed at the event. Malaysia's Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim, who attended the three-day event, said social media has certainly brought about changes in civilisations. He said social media was the sea change bringer, a game changer but what has not been touched was how social media could help towards betterment of society. "Social media has a responsibility to society, after all the glory and after all the attractiveness of creating the ways of change, you still have to abide by the law and by the rights of a person," he told one of the sessions. He said if social media practitioners infringed the laws of their country, they should be prepared to face the risk and action by the authorities. The yearly meet, which entered its 40th edition this year, came up with a global "Manifesto for Change" that recognises the importance of broadband for socio-economic development. Through the manifesto, the ITU will encourage world leaders to commit themselves to carry out necessary legal and regulatory framework to help the private sector implement the change. Toure said any good development programme starts with a dream from a leader. "Once that dream is shared with the people, it becomes a vision. Then you need people who believe in that vision and can implement it. "We have dreamed this dream together and it has now become a vision and now we need to take the necessary steps so that we can move together. "In this new world, no person on the planet should miss out on opportunities due to lack of information,” he added. The next ITU Telecom World will be held in Dubai in the fourth quarter of 2012. -- BERNAMA