Commonwealth ICT Officials to Meet in India to Surmount Challenges to Rural ICT Connectivity

Monday, 17 January 2011 16:52  |  James Barton

Some one hundred Ministers, regulators, Universal Service Fund Administrators, telecom operator CEOs, and other senior stakeholders in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) sector from across Asia and the Commonwealth will meet in Jaipur, India, from 17-19 January 2011.

They will work together to devise faster, effective and more robust strategies for providing ICT connectivity in unserved and underserved rural areas. The meeting will be the 4th annual Connecting Rural Communities Asia Forum 2011 organised by the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

The conference will be addressed by African and Asian ICT ministers, including:

• Hon. Ignace Gatare, Minister in Charge of ICTs, Office of the President, Rwanda;
• Hon. Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa, Minister of Communications and Transport, Zambia; Hon. Abdourahim Agne, Minister of Telecommunications, ICT and Transport, Senegal;
• Dr Edmund Katiti, CEO of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission;
• Mr. Shankar Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Government of India; and
• Mr. Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information and Innovation, Government of India.

Placing emphasis on the need to connect rural communities, the CEO of CTO, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, said, “Providing network access to rural communities is one of the recommendations of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and supports the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) defined by the UN. Self-sustaining growth in broadband access and other more basic connectivity channels must be achieved in underserved and unconnected regions. However, this can only be accomplished through continuous and fruitful collaborations between a variety of public and private sector partners. It also involves sharing best practices among ICT stakeholders across continents to ensure successful and speedy implementation of ICT strategies. This CTO conference will enable Governments, policy makers, ICT regulators, operators, equipment manufacturers, software vendors, call center operatives, financiers, academics and consultants, and infrastructure developing companies to meet to discuss and evaluate the achievements, challenges and opportunities in connecting rural communities.”

Dr Spio-Garbrah stated that, amongst other challenges, ICT roll-out in rural areas can entail considerable investment. “However, in the developing countries, these challenges can be even more daunting. There are many constraints of unreliable power, poor road networks, low broadband capacity, illiteracy, lower incomes, and diverse socio-political dynamics. As a result, some have questioned the financial merits of investing in rural ICTs, and whether rural communities provide the necessary return on investment. The conference will help to highlight the latest technological solutions, innovative business models, and the Public-Private-Peoples’ Partnerships needed for improved rural connectivity. In particular, participants will examine the growing use of mobile phones as platforms to deliver a growing range of mobile applications, content and services to rural dwellers,” he said.

The conference will cover topics on key issues concerning the strategies for improving governance and public services delivery through ICTs,  the disparities in rural and urban access, a review of recent developments in Asia and globally, and Rural ICT Policy 2.0.

Other issues to be discussed include developing national goals and strategies for providing connectivity, applications and content in rural areas, operators’ strategies in improving rural dwellers’ access to services, the development of effective distribution networks for rural areas and its challenges,  tried and tested approaches to pricing and profitability, and the business case and strategies for rural broadband access.

Other subjects to be debated by participants are the benefits of 3G and broadband wireless availability in the rural communities, the importance of WiMax, m-Content developments, the impact of  cultural gaps and capacity-building challenges for both voice and non-voice operations, and the benefits and perceived risks of running rural Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs).

More info:

• www.cto.int

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