[governance] FYI - ITU

[Jean-Louis FULLSACK]

Sorry for second posting - the first was not related to relevant message


Dear Wolfgang and members of the list

IMHO this iinitiative is arguable in at least two aspects :
- Basically : broadband will need huge investments and its impact in developing countries with poor industrial, commercial and value-adding structures is still to be proven. The WorldBank claim of "+10% in BB deployment results in +1,2 in GDP" is a buzz for those who believe it. For BB to become effective as an economy driver you need a suitable environment (as it is proven in all industrialized countries).
- Timely : The UN-GA is just taking stock of the achievements in MDGs and both informations and discussions show that there is still a lot to be done on the very basics of these goals such as access to clean water and sanitation, to suitable and affordable housing and energy, to health and care. These are real basic needs and therefore necessitate highest priority. Please read the CS perception of these issues, e.g here : http://ipsnews.net/newsTVE.asp?idnews=52888

That's why I find this ITU_SG statement rather out of place. Pushing always more towards new investments is to be stopped (just to give you an example : there are a dozen submarine cables in place or ready for that along the African West coast, each one costing some hundreds millions dollars). Instead, the ITU would be better advised in limiting such over-redundant investments, and to coordinate the very necessary telecom infrastructure such as the national and subbregional bacbbones with, and integrate them in, the other infrastructure and netwok projects to be implemented in the same areas. 
ITU has a great responsibility in the fact that more than 30 years after "The Missing Link" (a fore-runner of the WSIS' "digital divide" !) there isn't any valuable subregional telecoms network in Africa, not to speak about a continental network ! Here are the priorities for the ITU, and only once these networks are in place, there will be the time for building African BB networks, exchanging African content : cultural, economical, educational, gouvernemental, and people to people ! Acting in that way, i.e. applying cross-network synergy rules and methodology to infrastructure and network coordination and implementation, will not only save millions of dollars, but will also contribute effectively to the regional integration which in turn will drive the economies in these countries and subregions, as ascertained by multiple research reports and studies. Regional integration is also priority in pan African policy, as the recent AU Summit has well documented and demonstrated. 


Best
Jean-Louis   





> Message du 20/09/10 10:28
> De : ""Kleinwächter, Wolfgang"" 
> A : governance at lists.cpsr.org
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> Objet : [governance] FYI - ITU
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> http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/33.aspx
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> Wolfgang
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