Flip Chart notes BM:Community

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FLIP CHART NOTES

BM Issues Develop the regional and international connectivity Policy level – incentives for rural development; force private sector to meet rural access targets; transparency on universal access fund.

  • Technology waste issue (including donating old equipment)
  • Impact of technology on human health, e.g. mobiles, wifi etc.
  • Limited access to resources, e.g. electricity, cables for the internet (Africa, etc.)

Solution

  • Production of ICT infrastructure and products with max length of their life cycle; developing procedures for decomposing and re-use/recycling of old equipment
  • Science and research on the impact and developing human friendly technologies
  • Implementation of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, e.g. solar power, water, wind, etc.
  • Implementation of wireless and satellite connection; energy efficiency of the equipment

BM Strategies

  • Clear knowledge and strategy on using Universal Access Fund
  • Watchdog on national deployment of Universal Access Fund
  • Develop national voucher system
  • Develop local content, especially e-government
  • Regulatory policies stimulating/facilitating community networks
  • Universalisation of broadband infrastructure
  • Capacity-building
  • Expansion of infrastructure plan with other infrastructure
  • Info infrastructure should sit with other infrastructures
  • Governments and donors to offer vouchers to the poor and youth
  • Subsidise use of renewable energy and electricity costs in poor communities
  • Use and develop microfinance programmes profits to co-finance telecentres
  • Influence biz on reducing technology waste
  • Do more research and devt on technology waste and policy devt
  • Strengthening research work and stimulating non-harmful technologies
  • Lobby on policy level on reducing technology waste
  • Stimulating renewable energy resources and energy efficiency biz devt

Sustainability

  • charging some traders in the community
  • getting support from the municipality
  • support from government to the municipality
  • revenue? (charges?) from private sector to support the govt to promote access to ICTs
  • use and develop microfinance programs
  • goes beyond the financial aspects—important to engage all community stakeholders, providing services targeted to their needs
  • should be seen wholistically – functional; operational and financial. All these three above will pose different sets of issues; e.g. managing the initial capital and recurring operational for financial sustainability, managing the circuit and hardware/software maintenance at the centres for operational sustainability and constant supply of content in local languages as per the local needs for functional sustainability.

Recommendation to govts / public sector

  • Ease restrictions on hardware import and wireless service provision
  • Pursue alternatives to “Microsoft trick” at all levels, not simple the visible “desktop software” part of telecentre operations (dual boot, “geek zones” in telecentres, etc.)
  • Require local service / support
  • Require local partnerships and outreach in broad multisectoral way, “e-commerce”, info services for the “long tail”, courses, etc.
  • Who will pay for the free G2C info-based services of govt? -- cost of solar cell-initial capital costs is high; satellite is very costly for two-way communication; electronic waste handling is very costly; village level BPO from govt depts.
  • Shared infrastructure with govt offices
  • Strata – for sercvies needs in villages
  • Telecentre services should go both ways – economic, upliftment of the rural citizens
  • Take broadband to villages and unleash their innovative mind for various broadband services
  • ATN – ISP licenses already taken by them. Some investment required
  • USOF – being taken now as per policy
  • Policy changes for data circuits to be included along with voice-based circuits

Recommendations to development partners

  • support local capacity-building

Recommendations to private sector

  • develop pay as you go systems
  • develop partnerships with local NGOs and communities to develop demand-based content and biz model
  • invest in local content/local language
  • invest in rural initiatives, where the market can grow
  • work on innovative models (i.e. pay as you go VSAT internet)
  • should go to the unreached areas with a long-term biz model for voice and data circuits. Alone, voice revenue did not make it attractive earlier. Now, private operators are making more mobile networks because it serves their biz model better
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