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[Infrastructure]

December 11, 2003

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The world currently has little defence against cyberterrorists, an expert has warned at WSIS.

"Anybody can be a cyberterrorist and hack into your system to find out how good the defences are. It is pretty scary," said Dr Eduardo Gelbstein.

Dr Gelbstein claimed the power cuts that swept the USA, Britain, Denmark and Italy in August and September last year were caused by a domino effect, triggered by the failure of ICT equipment that controls the US power system.

It was, he said, an alarming demonstration of how easily a cyberterrorist could bring life grinding to a halt by hacking into the relevant systems.

The solution? Lots of planning and security systems, apparently.
Erin Dean @ 12:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 07, 2003

Broadband tribes. A company that has brought the internet to some of the world's most remote communities is coming to WSIS - where they'll outline the impact communications technology has had on the health, education and economic development of remote indigenous Canadian communities.

The 25,000 indigenous Keewaytinook Okimakanak people are scattered in tribal communities across a huge swathe of Northern Canada. Tribes with 400 people were sharing one phone and the inhospitable landscape meant that the area was only accessible by plane.

But K-Net say that broadband technology has bought improvements such as medical services and education without people having to undertake arduous trips to urban areas. Around 25 per cent of medical diagnosis can be made over the Internet and children who used to have to board at school during term time can learn at home.

Find them in the Canadian Pavilion at the summit.
Erin Dean @ 09:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 04, 2003

Tech giants slammed. Reporters Without Borders, pressure group currently barred from WSIS, challenges 14 major Internet and computer firms about their activity in China, raising interesting questions about the responsibilities of the gatekeepers of the information society in advance of WSIS.

Amnesty International did something similar in 2002.

Aaron Scullion @ 05:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Nice idea... Britain's top e-Minister, Stephen Timms, says he plans to make every public library in the UK a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Aaron Scullion @ 05:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Foresight needed. In the FT, the ITU attacks an article which claimed that WSIS should focus on universal connectivity, rather than broadband, for being remarkably shortsighted. We said pretty much the same thing last week...

Aaron Scullion @ 10:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 28, 2003

Any connection will do. Digital development should focus on universal connectivity, rather than high speeds. That's the "boring" (his words) conclusion of this piece by Eli Noam in the Financial Times - and while being connected is obviously better than not, surely such regressive thinking will ensure digital equality remains some way off?

Aaron Scullion @ 04:47 AM | TrackBack

November 27, 2003

A new study on Registrar Market Share & Service Offerings showed that top 10 domain name registrars based on market share are respectively: Network Solutions, Tucows, Godaddy.com, Register.com, eNom, BulkRegister, Schlund.de, DirectNic.com, Dotster

Ahmed Reda @ 03:52 PM | TrackBack

November 25, 2003

Growling Around Internet Governance. From behind-the-scenes exchanges (as well as online reports) it's not hard to predict that internet governance will be one of the most aggravated topics at WSIS. Current arrangements based on ICANN (address: 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330, Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6601, U.S.A.) are regarded by many as "a byzantine structure, geared to corporate need".

ICANN defenders say proposals to dismantle or replace it are surrogate attempts by governments or international bodies (such as the ITU, host to the WSIS summit) to gain control over a crucial communications asset. They point to ICANN's own detailed self-reform proposals contained in CEO M.Stuart Flynn's 'Heathrow Declaration'.

But for many the current arrangements are beyond reform. In the words of Hans Klein, Chair of Computer of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, "the question is not what is ICANN going to do, but what is the U.S. Government going to do". Get ready to read the lips of U.S. delegates in Geneva.

Something to watch out for at WSIS - a compromise between the ICANN and Klein positions - is the idea of a public-private partnership, "beyond the shadow of the U.S. Government", based on a multilateral, internationally representative framework and on the consent of the governed.
Andrew Taussig @ 08:40 PM | TrackBack
In the news, the India Economic Summit is receiving plenty of coverage. With 1 million people employed, the ICT sector is being touted as a model for other industries. However, there are worries about a backlash from rich countries losing jobs (some US comment here).

Meanwhile, Disney and Rupert Murdoch's Star India have plans for the sub-continent, with Star's CEO claiming that India "could become an important destination for production of entertainment software." Bollywood film makers agree, with one predicting that 70 percent of global revenue in the entertainment business will come from Asia over the next 10 years.

No summit is complete without demonstrations. In New Delhi, Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, is being compared to Hitler.



David Steven @ 08:10 AM | TrackBack
Who controls the net? The Register, beloved site of techie-types, has a great article covering the arguments over internet governance, closely analysing the "battle lines that are there for all to see" in the summit's key texts, while providing a detailed history of ICANN, the often criticised and much discussed US-based organisation currently in charge of running the Internet's infrastructure. But the author's assertion that WSIS is the "make or break moment" in the long-running "tussle between ICANN and ITU" doesn't do much to encompass the summit's many aims.

Is the internet community so focused on the mechanics of online operation that they're failing to make the important distinction between 'Internet' and 'Information Society'?

Aaron Scullion @ 12:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Who controls the net? The Register, beloved site of techie-types, has a great article covering the arguments over internet governance, closely analysing the "battle lines that are there for all to see" in the summit's key texts, while providing a detailed history of ICANN, the often criticised and much discussed US-based organisation currently in charge of running the Internet's infrastructure. But the author's assertion that WSIS is the "make or break moment" in the long-running "tussle between ICANN and ITU" doesn't do much to encompass the summit's many aims.

Is the internet community so focused on the mechanics of online operation that they're failing to make the important distinction between 'Internet' and 'Information Society'?

Aaron Scullion @ 12:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 20, 2003

In the news, among plenty of reaction to the ITU's new ICT index (see below), the Koreans are planning to jump further up the table, Bahrainis are pleased, but Kiwis, Aussies and Brits are depressed.

David Steven @ 03:51 PM | TrackBack
Technology League Table. Summit organisers, the ITU are trumpeting their new Digital Access Index as the "World's First Global ICT Ranking".

And it's a Scandinavian one-two-three - with Sweden in pole position, and Denmark and Iceland just behind them on the grid. Norway (5th) and Finland (8th) are only just behind. The US only comes in 11th (apparently because of its weak mobile phone network), just behind Canada, while Italy (22nd) and France (23rd) only just edge out Slovenia.

Niger rolls in last, just behind Mali, Chad, Guinea-Bissau and Ethiopia. Africa's performance is predictably depressing - with only two countries (the Seychelles and Mauritius) squeezing into the index's second division and most languishing in its fourth (and bottom) one.

The performance of Asian countries is improving rapidly - with Korea (4th), Hong Kong (7th), Taiwan (9th), and Singapore (14th) all ahead of tech-obsessed Japan (15th). UAE (34th) heads up the Arab League Table, followed by Bahrain (42nd), Qatar (48th), Kuwait (60th) and Lebanon (67th).

The report's author, Michael Minges, claims lack of infrastructure is not the main, or even the most important, barrier blocking ICT take-up. Affordability and education are equally important factors, he claims.

Contrary to perceived wisdom, he claims English is no longer an advantage. "Over the past four years there's been a big shift," he says. "It's really moving toward Asia and away from the English-speaking nations."

Using data from 1998 on the top 40 countries as a comparator, Minges argues that non-Anglophone countries are on the way up, while English-speakers are plummeting down the rankings.

"This is completely contrary to everything that we've heard, that English is an advantage, if you don't speak English you're behind," he says.

The index aggregates eight (weighted) variables: fixed telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants; mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants; internet access price as percentage of gross national income per capita; adult literacy; combined primary, secondary and tertiary school enrolment level; international internet bandwidth (bits) per capita; broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants; and internet users per 100 inhabitants.
David Steven @ 03:35 PM | TrackBack
Technology League Table. Summit organisers, the ITU are trumpeting their new Digital Access Index as the "World's First Global ICT Ranking".

And it's a Scandinavian one-two-three - with Sweden in pole position, and Denmark and Iceland just behind them on the grid. Norway (5th) and Finland (8th) are only just behind. The US only comes in 11th (apparently because of its weak mobile phone network), just behind Canada, while Italy (22nd) and France (23rd) only just edge out Slovenia.

Niger rolls in last, just behind Mali, Chad, Guinea-Bissau and Ethiopia. Africa's performance is predictably depressing - with only two countries (the Seychelles and Mauritius) squeezing into the index's second division and most languishing in its fourth (and bottom) one.

The performance of Asian countries is improving rapidly - with Korea (4th), Hong Kong (7th), Taiwan (9th), and Singapore (14th) all ahead of tech-obsessed Japan (15th). UAE (34th) heads up the Arab League Table, followed by Bahrain (42nd), Qatar (48th), Kuwait (60th) and Lebanon (67th).

The report's author, Michael Minges, claims lack of infrastructure is not the main, or even the most important, barrier blocking ICT take-up. Affordability and education are equally important factors, he claims.

Contrary to perceived wisdom, he claims English is no longer an advantage. "Over the past four years there's been a big shift," he says. "It's really moving toward Asia and away from the English-speaking nations."

Using data from 1998 on the top 40 countries as a comparator, Minges argues that non-Anglophone countries are on the way up, while English-speakers are plummeting down the rankings.

"This is completely contrary to everything that we've heard, that English is an advantage, if you don't speak English you're behind," he says.

The index aggregates eight (weighted) variables: fixed telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants; mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants; internet access price as percentage of gross national income per capita; adult literacy; combined primary, secondary and tertiary school enrolment level; international internet bandwidth (bits) per capita; broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants; and internet users per 100 inhabitants.
David Steven @ 03:35 PM | TrackBack

November 06, 2003

"Citizen to citizen connections?" Nitin Desai, the UN man putting this summit in place, tells Fortune magazine why WSIS will be more than just "window dressing" for the telecoms industry.

Aaron Scullion @ 11:12 AM | TrackBack
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