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Dear all,<br>
I'm forwarding an e-mail thread between Michael Gurstein and me
(with Michael's permission) on the topic of policy actions at the
global level on access and digital inclusion. I'd like to see what
ideas folks on this list have.<br>
<br>
I'm pleased that the WGEC questionnaire included question # 15:<br>
<br>
<strong>15. What are the international internet-related public
policy issues that are of special relevance to developing
countries?<br>
</strong><br>
as also<br>
<strong>16. What are the key issues to be addressed to promote the
affordability of the Internet, in particular in developing
countries and least developed countries?</strong><br>
<strong><strong>12. What actions are needed to promote effective
participation of all marginalised people in the global
information society?</strong><br>
</strong> <br>
Where are the public's responses to these available? I think it
would be very useful to compile all the answers under each question,
as that will make it easy to grep.<br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
Pranesh<br>
<br>
======<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Pranesh Prakash <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org"><mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>16/12/12</b><b><br>
</b><br>
Dear Michael,<br>
You have written that we should start focussing on "digital<br>
inclusion/Internet access and use, distribution of the economic
benefits<br>
of the Internet, local languages and cultures and so on".<br>
<br>
I didn't get a chance to ask you this when we met: Would you have
ideas<br>
on what concrete measures can be pursued?<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Pranesh<br>
<br>
<b><br>
</b><b>Michael Gurstein <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com"><mailto:gurstein@gmail.com></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>16/12/12</b><br>
<br>
Hi Pranesh,<br>
<br>
I'ld be delighted but I need a bit more background/context for your<br>
question... Are you asking in the context of CS
consultation/advocacy,<br>
government policy, professional programming?<br>
<br>
M<br>
<br>
<b>Pranesh Prakash <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org"><mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>1 January</b><b><br>
</b><br>
<br>
In terms of governmental policy and in terms of what concrete
measures<br>
you believe civil society should be advocating for.<br>
<br>
As in, would it take the form of a digital solidarity fund? And/or<br>
governmental policy mandate on local language support on devices?
And/or...<br>
<br>
*Michael Gurstein <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com"><mailto:gurstein@gmail.com></a>*<br>
1 January<br>
<br>
<br>
Okay...<br>
<br>
In terms of governmental policy it really depends on the national
context...<br>
and that to a considerable degree is evolving as new technologies
emerge and<br>
as the type and cost of connectivity is also evolving... <br>
<br>
In India I think the policy has to be towards some sort of right of<br>
universal access and use... Not necessarily individual access but
some sort<br>
of access at least at the village level--which could be through
mobiles or<br>
fixed line connections. The issue with mobiles may be cost either of
the<br>
device or of the connection particularly in very poor areas--but by
making<br>
it a "right" it means that say some form of access is made available
at the<br>
Panchyat level. But I also think you need to include "use" which
means that<br>
the access is available in local languages and the various apps that
might<br>
be of most value are available in a form that is usable at the
village level<br>
(including through training someone at the village level to
facilitate the<br>
use of those applications as for example e-gov applications.<br>
<br>
At the CS level globally I think (now) that the direction should be
towards<br>
a global Internet in the public interest... Some sort of global
framework<br>
(say like the Law of the Sea) which recognizes that the Internet is
not<br>
simply a collection of wires ("pipes") but is rather a global
framework of<br>
communications that should be developed in the interests of all.
Precisely<br>
what that looks like or how it could be developed I have no idea but
having<br>
an Internet at the basic infrastructure of global communications
which is<br>
essentially owne/controlled by certain national or corporate
interests<br>
should be of concern to us all.<br>
<br>
I'm not sure that that is as "concrete" as you are asking for, but I
think<br>
the more concrete measures flow rather directly from these higher
order<br>
principles/policies.<br>
<br>
Your thoughts?<br>
<br>
M<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Pranesh Prakash <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org"><mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>1 January</b><br>
<br>
<br>
In India's NTP'11, para IV.1.2 states:<br>
<span style="white-space: pre;">><br>
> "To recognise telecom, including broadband connectivity as a
basic necessity like education and health and work towards 'Right
to Broadband'".</span><br>
<br>
<br>
Further, there's a universal service obligation fund too. The
document<br>
continues:<br>
<br>
<span style="white-space: pre;">><br>
> 1.3. To lay special emphasis on providing reliable and
affordable broadband access to rural and remote areas by
appropriate combination of optical fibre, wireless, VSAT and other
technologies. Optical fibre network will be initially laid up to
the village panchayat level by funding from the Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF). Extension of optical fibre connectivity
from village panchayats to be taken up progressively to all
villages and habitations. Access to this Optical Fibre Network
will be open, non-discriminatory and technology neutral.<br>
><br>
> 1.4. Provide appropriate incentives for rural rollout.</span><br>
<br>
<br>
I'm actually looking for less at the level of principles and
objectives<br>
(e.g., universal service) and more at the level of policy-based
action<br>
items (e.g., a universal service obligation fund that aims to create
an<br>
incentive-based mechanism to achieve universal service instead of
just<br>
leaving it to market forces).<br>
<br>
Essentially, I'm not looking for the *what should we be aiming for*
/<br>
*where should we be heading*, but *how do we get that which we are<br>
aiming for* + *what concrete steps can we take to get where we are<br>
heading*. So I'm looking less for "local languages should be
promoted",<br>
and more for "these are the concrete steps the government can take
to<br>
promote local languages".<br>
<br>
I don't see many, if any at all, useful policy-based action items
coming<br>
out from civil society.<br>
<br>
~ Pranesh<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Michael Gurstein <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com"><mailto:gurstein@gmail.com></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>2 January</b><br>
<br>
<br>
Hi Pranesh,<br>
<br>
I'm not sure that you are asking the right question... The specific<br>
activities re: connectivity etc. will be quite specific to
individual<br>
locations/regions etc. and will depend on local resources,
capabilities and<br>
so on. This local knowledge/program identification is almost
certainly best<br>
left to local NGO's to develop, what can be done at a policy level
is to<br>
enable the local NGO's to do their work -- with appropriate funding,
back up<br>
, support, policy enablement and so on. (BTW, that isn't "civil
societies"<br>
usual role--they are generally acting as advocates while NGO's do
the<br>
implementation...<br>
<br>
If you are looking to ideas on how to proceed locally there are
lists of<br>
case studies/best practices in various places (I think a big one is
being<br>
compiled by UN ECOSOC for WSIS, but unless those are filtered
through local<br>
experience my feeling is that they are rather useless.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
M<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Pranesh Prakash <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org"><mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>2 January</b><br>
<br>
<br>
Then you wouldn't say there is anything we can advocate for at the
global level to tackle access issues other than at the level of
normative but unenforceable rights or principles?<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Michael Gurstein <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com"><mailto:gurstein@gmail.com></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>2 January</b><br>
<br>
<br>
Hi Pranesh,<br>
<br>
I work a lot with indigenous peoples in various parts of the world
and have tried to get them involved in global level initiatives...
They have basically no interest as there is nothing at the global
level that will have an immediate impact on their local
circumstances.<br>
<br>
What does have an impact, but is rather more indirect are what you
call "unenforceable rights or principles"... things like global
norms around broadband deployment, recognition of indigenous rights,
inclusion of indigenous peoples into broad initiatives like the
Broadband Task Force that sort of thing... Recognition of them in
those forums means that they then have more leverage in their
national contexts and can make direct programme/policy
recommendations/advocacy initiatives with some sort of global
backing--they can call their national governments to account for
commitments made, even " unenforceable rights or principles" (the
only kind of commitments that national governments are likely to
make at the global level...<br>
<br>
The programs/policies that are linked to these are dramatically
different from country to country--from Indigenous people in Canada
linking their national treaties to global agreements, to tribal
peoples in India or Bangladesh looking to the UNDHR as their
leverage point for gaining access to services, to countries in Latin
America taking leadership in global environmental initiatives on
behalf of Pachen Mama...<br>
<br>
But maybe I'm misunderstanding your point, give me some examples of
the kind of initiatives you think might be worthwhile presenting at
the global level?<br>
<br>
M<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Pranesh Prakash <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org"><mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org></a></b><b><br>
</b><b>Tuesday</b><br>
<br>
A mail that was stuck in my 'Drafts' folder since January 3! I
think it<br>
might be useful to throw open this question to the Best Bits list.<br>
Would you mind if I forward this thread there?<br>
<br>
====<br>
Dear Michael,<br>
If *I* knew what we should be doing, I wouldn't be quizzing you like<br>
this. :)<br>
<br>
It's not like there haven't been global policy efforts to improve<br>
access. There's the Digital Solidarity Fund created as part of
WSIS.<br>
From what I've been given to understand, it was mired in corruption,
and<br>
that ultimately led to its failure. Universal Service Obligation
Funds<br>
are one of those best practices things that various countries have<br>
adopted, but which — according to people who know much more about
this<br>
than I do — are having precious little effect in most countries.
(There<br>
might of course be counter-examples.)<br>
<br>
I think pushing for shared spectrum through the ITU is one part of
the<br>
solution. If in the future we manage to get Internet to people,<br>
wireless (whether over phone or WiFi or WiMax or anything else) has
got<br>
to be the way to go, since wired connections can't possibly provide<br>
sufficient coverage. This means that spectrum allocation rules,
etc.,<br>
are among the more important policy changes we could be targetting.<br>
<br>
But apart from that, my current thinking is that most
access-enabling<br>
policies have to be passed at the national level. There doesn't
seem to<br>
be too much (apart from the examples I've cited above) that can be
done<br>
at the global level save for what-might-be-perceived-as
platitudinous<br>
statements of our desire for universal access.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Pranesh<br>
<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Pranesh Prakash<br>
Policy Director<br>
Centre for Internet and Society<br>
T: +91 80 40926283 | W: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://cis-india.org">http://cis-india.org</a><br>
PGP ID: 0x1D5C5F07 | Twitter: @pranesh_prakash<br>
-------------------+<br>
Postgraduate Associate & Access to Knowledge Fellow<br>
Information Society Project, Yale Law School<br>
T: +1 520 314 7147 | W: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://yaleisp.org">http://yaleisp.org</a><br>
<br>
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