By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 30 2003 (IPS)

While rich nations of the world continue to reap hefty profits from the use of wireless internet, most poor countries remain shut out from this phenomenal technology, say U.N. officials, policy makers and information technology experts.

While rich nations of the world continue to reap hefty profits from the use of wireless internet, most poor countries remain shut out from this phenomenal technology, say U.N. officials, policy makers and information technology experts.

About 200 delegates from all over the world, who attended the first-ever conference on "The Wireless Internet Opportunity for Developing Nations" here yesterday, called for urgent and effective measures to help developing countries achieve easy access to wireless internet technologies.

There are an estimated 429 million people online globally, but fully 41 percent are in North America. That total number of 429 million also represents only 6 percent of the world’s entire population.

"The swift emergence of a global information society is changing the way people live, learn, work and relate," said Kofi Annan, the U.N. secretary-general, in a statement ahead of the conference. "Yet too many of the world’s people remain untouched by this revolution."

Last year, Annan, a staunch proponent of internet use in developing countries, made a fervent appeal to information technologies companies to devise cost-effective strategies to promote the World Wide Web in developing countries.

Experts agree that the wider use of wireless internet could empower people in countries where little or no infrastructure exists. How to get there is another matter.

The conference brought representatives of developing countries together with leading information technology businesses, including Microsoft, IBM and Intel Corporation, the United Nations, the World Bank and field practitioners.

Field practitioners say although it is not difficult for developing countries to set up wireless internet projects on their own, certain problems like a hot climate and lack of expertise need to be addressed.

"It is very interesting to get out of the lab. In rural areas, the hardware needs to be extremely rugged," said Amir Hasson, a field practitioner who worked at the U.S.-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before experimenting in Indian villages with Wifi networks for what he calls "first mile access."

In developing countries, "the most significant challenge is the poor access to equipment," he said. "You can get it, but often times pay 30 to 50 percent duties on import, and the delivery can take three to four months."

Experts said it was possible to promote wireless internet in developing countries by making it more cost-effective.

Hasson’s experiment with wireless internet was set up on a variety of vehicles in India. His team would drive a bus that would automatically synchronise with another computer located in the village. The hardware his team used cost about 350 dollars per village.

Industry experts say wireless internet would cost much less if governments changed their policies on licensing and regulation.

"We see many of the actions of the developing nations to be scarcity mentality, meaning, to minimise the amount of unlicensed spectrum to maximise their regulatory position for a few dollars of regulation or licensing benefits," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel Corporation’s chief technology officer. "That’s exactly what is limiting the growth of this technology in emerging nations."

Mohsin Khalil, a World Bank official, offered a somewhat different perspective.

"Our concern is trying to promote access per se rather than a specific technology," he said. "At the end whatever that technology is it is less relevant as long as we are able to provide the access."

He said World Bank data shows the advances made by wireless technology over the past decade are far more dramatic than what was achieved in the previous 50 years. "Unfortunately, the advances are mostly on the telephonic sides and less on the internet and broadband side," Khalil said.

On the question of deregulation, the debate remains open, experts say. "In the beginning it was unlicensed. But when we talked about cellular services regardless of the platform, the regulators and policymakers woke up and started regulating it. Their approach is based on simple, traditional telecommunication services."

Many experts are also looking into the issue of service costs.

"It’s a very serious issue, because the liberalisation process has not reached that stage," Khalil said, "the focus being in some ways on dealing with the basic telephone services. In many instances, the long distance and international services are still under monopolies, which are heavily regulated.. That needs to be addressed."

For others, the fundamental question is how to create a viable business model.

In November last year, when Annan spoke of the greater need for the World Wide Web in developing countries, he urged internet companies to find creative solutions to address this issue.

"We hope that this meeting will offer us not only the opportunity of macro level engagement by multinational corporations and multilateral institutions, but also the individual person on the street," said Hasson. "We want to target them to help make a difference in the developing world."

Excerpt:

By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 27 2003 (IPS)

While rich nations of the world continue to reap hefty profits from the use of wireless internet, most poor countries remain shut out from this phenomenal technology, say U.N. officials, policy makers and information technology experts.

About 200 delegates from all over the world, who attended the first-ever conference on "The Wireless Internet Opportunity for Developing Nations" here yesterday, called for urgent and effective measures to help developing countries achieve easy access to wireless internet technologies.

There are an estimated 429 million people online globally, but fully 41 percent are in North America. That total number of 429 million also represents only 6 percent of the world’s entire population.

"The swift emergence of a global information society is changing the way people live, learn, work and relate," said Kofi Annan, the U.N. secretary-general, in a statement ahead of the conference. "Yet too many of the world’s people remain untouched by this revolution."

Last year, Annan, a staunch proponent of internet use in developing countries, made a fervent appeal to information technologies companies to devise cost-effective strategies to promote the World Wide Web in developing countries.

"Wireless technologies have a key role to play everywhere, but especially in developing countries," he said. "With considerable speed and without enormous investments, Wifi can facilitate access to knowledge and information by making use of unlicensed radio spectrum to deliver cheap and fast internet."

The conference brought representatives of developing countries together with leading information technology businesses, including Microsoft, IBM and Intel Corporation, the United Nations, the World Bank and field practitioners.

Field practitioners say although it is not difficult for developing countries to set up wireless internet projects on their own, certain problems like a hot climate and lack of expertise need to be addressed.

"It is very interesting to get out of the lab. In rural areas, the hardware needs to be extremely rugged," said Amir Hasson, a field practitioner who worked at the U.S.-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before experimenting in Indian villages with Wifi networks for what he calls "first mile access."

In developing countries, "the most significant challenge is the poor access to equipment," he said. "You can get it, but often times pay 30 to 50 percent duties on import, and the delivery can take three to four months."

Experts said it was possible to promote wireless internet in developing countries by making it more cost-effective.

Hasson’s experiment with wireless internet was set up on a variety of vehicles in India. His team would drive a bus that would automatically synchronise with another computer located in the village. The hardware his team used cost about 350 dollars per village.

Industry experts say wireless internet would cost much less if governments changed their policies on licensing and regulation.

"We see many of the actions of the developing nations to be scarcity mentality, meaning, to minimise the amount of unlicensed spectrum to maximise their regulatory position for a few dollars of regulation or licensing benefits," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel Corporation’s chief technology officer. "That’s exactly what is limiting the growth of this technology in emerging nations."

Mohsin Khalil, a World Bank official, offered a somewhat different perspective.

"Our concern is trying to promote access per se rather than a specific technology," he said. "At the end whatever that technology is it is less relevant as long as we are able to provide the access."

He said World Bank data shows the advances made by wireless technology over the past decade are far more dramatic than what was achieved in the previous 50 years. "Unfortunately, the advances are mostly on the telephonic sides and less on the internet and broadband side," Khalil said.

On the question of deregulation, the debate remains open, experts say. "In the beginning it was unlicensed. But when we talked about cellular services regardless of the platform, the regulators and policymakers woke up and started regulating it. Their approach is based on simple, traditional telecommunication services."

Many experts are also looking into the issue of service costs.

"It’s a very serious issue, because the liberalisation process has not reached that stage," Khalil said, "the focus being in some ways on dealing with the basic telephone services. In many instances, the long distance and international services are still under monopolies, which are heavily regulated.. That needs to be addressed."

For others, the fundamental question is how to create a viable business model.

In November last year, when Annan spoke of the greater need for the World Wide Web in developing countries, he urged internet companies to find creative solutions to address this issue.

"We hope that this meeting will offer us not only the opportunity of macro level engagement by multinational corporations and multilateral institutions, but also the individual person on the street," said Hasson. "We want to target them to help make a difference in the developing world."

Excerpt: