[bestbits] Global Policy Initiatives on Access and Digital Inclusion

[Pranesh Prakash]

Dear all,
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.

I'm pleased that the WGEC questionnaire included question # 15:

*15. What are the international internet-related public policy issues
that are of special relevance to developing countries?
*
as also
*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?*
**12. What actions are needed to promote effective participation of all
marginalised people in the global information society?*
* 
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.

Cheers,
Pranesh

======


*Pranesh Prakash <mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org>**
**16/12/12**
*
Dear Michael,
You have written that we should start focussing on "digital
inclusion/Internet access and use, distribution of the economic benefits
of the Internet, local languages and cultures and so on".

I didn't get a chance to ask you this when we met: Would you have ideas
on what concrete measures can be pursued?

Regards,
Pranesh

*
**Michael Gurstein <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com>**
**16/12/12*

Hi Pranesh,

I'ld be delighted but I need a bit more background/context for your
question... Are you asking in the context of CS consultation/advocacy,
government policy, professional programming?

M

*Pranesh Prakash <mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org>**
**1 January**
*

In terms of governmental policy and in terms of what concrete measures
you believe civil society should be advocating for.

As in, would it take the form of a digital solidarity fund? And/or
governmental policy mandate on local language support on devices? And/or...

*Michael Gurstein <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com>*
1 January


Okay...

In terms of governmental policy it really depends on the national context...
and that to a considerable degree is evolving as new technologies emerge and
as the type and cost of connectivity is also evolving...

In India I think the policy has to be towards some sort of right of
universal access and use... Not necessarily individual access but some sort
of access at least at the village level--which could be through mobiles or
fixed line connections. The issue with mobiles may be cost either of the
device or of the connection particularly in very poor areas--but by making
it a "right" it means that say some form of access is made available at the
Panchyat level.  But I also think you need to include "use" which means that
the access is available in local languages and the various apps that might
be of most value are available in a form that is usable at the village level
(including through training someone at the village level to facilitate the
use of those applications as  for example e-gov applications.

At the CS level globally I think (now) that the direction should be towards
a global Internet in the public interest... Some sort of global framework
(say like the Law of the Sea) which recognizes that the Internet is not
simply a collection of wires ("pipes") but is rather a global framework of
communications that should be developed in the interests of all.  Precisely
what that looks like or how it could be developed I have no idea but having
an Internet at the basic infrastructure of global communications which is
essentially owne/controlled by certain national or corporate interests
should be of concern to us all.

I'm not sure that that is as "concrete" as you are asking for, but I think
the more concrete measures flow rather directly from these higher order
principles/policies.

Your thoughts?

M

 
*Pranesh Prakash <mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org>**
**1 January*


In India's NTP'11, para IV.1.2 states:
>
> "To recognise telecom, including broadband connectivity as a basic
necessity like education and health and work towards 'Right to Broadband'".


Further, there's a universal service obligation fund too.  The document
continues:

>
> 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.
>
> 1.4. Provide appropriate incentives for rural rollout.


I'm actually looking for less at the level of principles and objectives
(e.g., universal service) and more at the level of policy-based action
items (e.g., a universal service obligation fund that aims to create an
incentive-based mechanism to achieve universal service instead of just
leaving it to market forces).

Essentially, I'm not looking for the *what should we be aiming for* /
*where should we be heading*, but *how do we get that which we are
aiming for* + *what concrete steps can we take to get where we are
heading*.  So I'm looking less for "local languages should be promoted",
and more for "these are the concrete steps the government can take to
promote local languages".

I don't see many, if any at all, useful policy-based action items coming
out from civil society.

~ Pranesh

 
*Michael Gurstein <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com>**
**2 January*


Hi Pranesh,

I'm not sure that you are asking the right question...  The specific
activities re: connectivity etc. will be quite specific to individual
locations/regions etc. and will depend on local resources, capabilities and
so on.  This local knowledge/program identification is almost certainly best
left to local NGO's to develop, what can be done at a policy level is to
enable the local NGO's to do their work -- with appropriate funding, back up
, support, policy enablement and so on.  (BTW, that isn't "civil societies"
usual role--they are generally acting as advocates while NGO's do the
implementation...

If you are looking to ideas on how to proceed locally there are lists of
case studies/best practices in various places (I think a big one is being
compiled by UN ECOSOC for WSIS, but unless those are filtered through local
experience my feeling is that they are rather useless.

 Best,

M

 
*Pranesh Prakash <mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org>**
**2 January*


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?

 
*Michael Gurstein <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com>**
**2 January*


Hi Pranesh,

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.

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...

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...

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?

M

 
*Pranesh Prakash <mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org>**
**Tuesday*

A mail that was stuck in my 'Drafts' folder since January 3!  I think it
might be useful to throw open this question to the Best Bits list.
Would you mind if I forward this thread there?

====
Dear Michael,
If *I* knew what we should be doing, I wouldn't be quizzing you like
this. :)

It's not like there haven't been global policy efforts to improve
access.  There's the Digital Solidarity Fund created as part of WSIS.
From what I've been given to understand, it was mired in corruption, and
that ultimately led to its failure.  Universal Service Obligation Funds
are one of those best practices things that various countries have
adopted, but which — according to people who know much more about this
than I do — are having precious little effect in most countries.  (There
might of course be counter-examples.)

I think pushing for shared spectrum through the ITU is one part of the
solution.  If in the future we manage to get Internet to people,
wireless (whether over phone or WiFi or WiMax or anything else) has got
to be the way to go, since wired connections can't possibly provide
sufficient coverage.  This means that spectrum allocation rules, etc.,
are among the more important policy changes we could be targetting.

But apart from that, my current thinking is that most access-enabling
policies have to be passed at the national level.  There doesn't seem to
be too much (apart from the examples I've cited above) that can be done
at the global level save for what-might-be-perceived-as platitudinous
statements of our desire for universal access.

Regards,
Pranesh


-- 
Pranesh Prakash
Policy Director
Centre for Internet and Society
T: +91 80 40926283 | W: http://cis-india.org
PGP ID: 0x1D5C5F07 | Twitter: @pranesh_prakash
-------------------+
Postgraduate Associate & Access to Knowledge Fellow
Information Society Project, Yale Law School
T: +1 520 314 7147 | W: http://yaleisp.org

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