Tag Archive for: universal service funds

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USF workshops in Moldova, Ukraine, a success!

Stadion, Ukraine

Under the GBI contract, Integra team members recently conducted a series of workshops in both Moldova and Ukraine, to support the governments of each country in their assessment and planning to introduce Universal Service Funds, and to promote Broadband ICT development.  These countries, like much of the former Soviet Union region, have established a strong level of telecommunications infrastructure, including nearly universal mobile phone coverage, extensive fixed telephone networks, and reasonable extension of Internet access and even Broadband.  However, significant gaps remain in access to computers, Internet, and Broadband connectivity, particularly outside of urban centers.

In Moldova, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MITC) hosted a workshop attended by about 25 government and industry officials, to address questions surrounding the current legal mandate to establish a Universal Service Fund, and the goals and options for such a Fund.  GBI experts David Townsend and Daniel Espitia presented international experience on the best approaches and priorities for creation of a USF, and the key issues that Moldova would have to address.  Given that Moldova has already made considerable progress in establishing well functioning mobile networks as well as broadband services in many parts of the country, the challenge would be to close remaining gaps in access to ICTs, with emphasis on providing all schools in the country with broadband connections as well as low-cost PCs for students.  Also, rural villages without adequate network capacity would be upgraded to broadband.  The Ministry acknowledged that new legislation would be required to authorize a USF that could fully address these objectives, and pledged to move ahead in drafting such a statute.

In Ukraine, a public workshop was held in Kiev over two days, hosted by the National Commission on State Regulation of Communication and Information (NCCIR), and attended by about 30-40 officials and private sector representatives.  There has been considerable debate in Ukraine about establishment of a USF, with strong resistance from the mobile operators, who must already pay 7.5% of their revenues into a national social security fund.  Representatives of several operators attended the workshop, along with Commissioners and other government personnel.  GBI’s David Townsend together with Parvez Iftikhar, former CEO of the Pakistan USF, presented ideas and examples of how an effective USF could work, yielding benefits both for the country and for the ICT industry itself.  A range of options were discussed for the launching of a Fund, including starting out on a pilot basis to test the concept.  Ukraine must also pass new legislation to mandate a USF, and will be working toward such a law.

Integra’s team will continue to assist both countries as they develop their USF legislation and policies.

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GBI, Compartel to Take Colombia’s USF to the Next Level

Three men on a panel discussing telecommunications in Colombia

Sebastian Mendes from UNE at the Compartel workshop in Bogota

Representatives from GBI traveled to Bogota this month to participate in a stakeholder’s workshop, held by Compartel, the Colombian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s universal service administrator. The February 15th workshop was designed as a means of gathering stakeholder input to Compartel’s strategic planning process. Compartel is planning to restructure itself to effectively address the next generation of challenges for the use of ICTs in Colombia, and it invited GBI and key personnel from Intel Corporation’s World Ahead program to participate in the workshop.

Following the workshop, Compartel and GBI went into an intensive 2 day work planning session that laid out a six month plan of cooperation to define ICT sector goals and objectives, map strategic activities of Compartel, and to provide technical assistance on strategic plan implementation. David Townsend, Daniel Espitia, and Robert Otto represented the GBI team in Bogota.

Compartel, the Colombian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s universal service administrator, has already accomplished many important milestones with its Vive Digital program to connect most of Colombia to Internet and voice services. Among their accomplishments are completion of 2,000 kilometers of terrestrial fiber optic channels, 800 kilometers of undersea fiber optic cable to its offshore island of San Andres. Projects underway include an 18,000 kilometer national fiber optic network to serve some 753 municipalities, provision of broadband to 6,700 public schools, in-home broadband connections for 115,000 low income households, and seven projects designed to provide 10,000 more broadband connections for public schools, small villages, and community telecenters.

 

 

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GBI to provide telecom training in Tanzania

CRC Africa logo

GBI is pleased to announce it will deliver a comprehensive training workshop to representatives of African Universal Service and Access Funds, and other stakeholders in African rural communications, at the CTO’s 6th Annual Connecting Rural Communities (CRC) Africa Forum, due to take place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from the 24th to 26th of August 2011.

The half-day workshop is being delivered as part of the Global Broadband Innovations (GBI) programme of USAID, which aims to catalyze the increased and equitable provision of broadband and related applications.  The programme supports national governments to expand connectivity, as well as create and use development-related software applications and cloud services.  It will initially focus on strengthening Universal Service and Access Funds (USAF), advising on appropriate ICT regulations and broadband strategies, as well as developing new business models that can incorporate low-cost technologies into existing mobile networks.

In addition to examining the latest trends in USAF, including issues of strategy, fund collection, expenditure as well as project evaluation, the workshop in Dar Es Salaam will also allow stakeholders to review various USAF development and assistance strategies.

Speaking following the confirmation of GBI’s participation in the 6th CRC Forum, GBI Program Manager, Joe Duncan, said “We know that access to telecommunications has enormous benefits, both socially and economically, to rural communities. This is a great opportunity to bring what we know about universal service to the men and women who are working so hard to provide rural connectivity in their countries.”

The  6th CRC Forum, which is organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), and hosted by the Tanzanian Ministry of Communications Science and Technology and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, will serve as a platform for in-depth interactive discussions on innovative strategies, business models, financing mechanisms and technologies for improving ICT access in rural areas and realizing their socio-economic benefits with the participation of policy makers, regulators and various market players.

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How to Stop the Next Famine in Somalia? Internet Infrastructure

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about a series of ways that Somalia could get broadband Internet connectivity.  The article was reposted in several British, Somali and Kenyan online newspapers and was even criticized by a group of IT professionals in Somaliland.  Given the hunger crisis outbreak in the Horn of Africa since then, I want to revisit the issue of connectivity in Somalia.  It appears that mobile and Internet access is being recognized as a crucial need for humanitarian agencies.

Photo: AP

Information and communication technology (ICT) services during humanitarian crisis are much improved from a few years ago.  Ushahidi and Frontline SMS have demonstrated the power of text services.  Mobile money by MercyCorps in Haiti provided some organized method of food distribution and sustained economic activity.  The government of Luxembourg recently partnered with the World Food Programme to test a connectivity kit to restore voice and text communications when power systems are wiped out during natural disasters.  The list could go on.

A famine is different than other disasters, however.  It does not affect ICT infrastructure directly as a hurricane or tsunami would.  ICTs, then, can play a key role in organizing humanitarian relief efforts during a famine or crisis of any sort.  In addition, ICTs can prevent famines because of the increased communication they can provide.

Remember economist Amartya Sen’s claim that a famine has never occurred in a working democracy?  Famines are not so much a result of a lack of food, but rather a lack of effective distribution and communication.  Democracies, with all their checks and balances of power, give enough voice to the people so that food is delivered when needed.

I argue that the amount of communication inherent in a democracy is the real key to the distribution and production of food that stops a famine.  Public communication, not necessarily democracy, stops famines.  In fact, what Sen defines as a “working” democracy, is simply a democracy where people of all social classes have a voice.  A “working” democracy, then, is itself founded on the principles of the equality of communication.

It isn’t social media that will end the famine, but it is a process and steady cycle of communication between social groups.  The more communication, the less social injustice—famine included.  This type of communication can better occur with significant ICT infrastructure, which allows people in different locations to still communicate and share ideas.

One of the better ways to increase communication in a nation is mobile and Internet services along with IT infrastructure.  I spoke with Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICTs and a Director of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), this week about possible broadband cable connections with Somalia.  He was optimistic and outlined some possibilities, contingent on the Somali political environment.  Ndemo explained that Kenya has broadband cables and a microwave just 2 km from the border with Somalia in Mandera.  Both Kenyan and Somali telecoms have approached CCK, hoping to make a connection into Somalia.  However, Kenya has declined as of now, for security risks.  If they route the cable into Somalia then they risk privacy concerns and people cutting the cables.  Given the political instability in Somalia right now, Kenya has yet to route the cable.  Somalia remains unconnected to the rest of the East African Backhaul System, and still remains without any lighted fiber-optic cables, greatly limiting Internet usage and global communication.

It may seem strange for a government to invest in expensive broadband cables when its citizens are struggling to find enough food, but perhaps such an investment would end up ending its struggles with famine.  Or, instead of the Somali government investing in IT infrastructure, they could grant easier regulations to private telecoms, and let them route and light cables throughout the nation.  This would leave the government with less control over the telecommunications industry, but would save any financial costs.

Ultimately, though, the manner in which Somalia increases public communication is not as important as making sure that something is done to increase IT infrastructure throughout the nation.  At the end of the day, food security concerns are tied to communication capabilities, and mobile and Internet infrastructure can play a significant role in decreasing the probability of famine.

 

 

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Mozambique Socially Invests in ICTs for Rural Development

While recent studies in the developed world show that the Internet actual reinforces economic disparity and even social classes, Mozambique is taking a unique approach to utilize information and communication technologies (ICTs) to break down economic and social disparity.

The government signed a memorandum of understanding with a domestic service provider, MCEL, to roll out Internet and mobile services specifically in rural areas.  The two allocated $255 to this effort.

Current Internet penetration in Mozambique is only at 2.7% (2010 data), and mobile penetration is at 26% (2009 data), slightly lower than its neighbors.  As can be seen on the following map, coverage is limited in Mozambique.

It is surprising, then, that the government is taking specific action to bring Internet and mobile access to rural populations, since penetration in urban areas is still quite low.  People in urban areas arguably have greater need for the Internet and mobile services for their jobs, while rural people tend to communicate less with others and focus on agricultural production.

Photo: Mark.W.E

The expansion of ICT services to rural Mozambique can stimulate human development in rural areas, however, when used correctly.  There are plenty of applications that apply particularly to rural peoples, like mHealth and mAgriculture such as Esoko and Medic Mobile.  The Mozambique government is hoping that an increase in ICT access in rural areas will stimulate human development there, which will in turn raise the economy and eliminate disparity.

In other words, Mozambique’s ICT policy displays the fact that it has different development priorities than many other developing countries.  If they were totally focused on economic growth, they would use their funds to increase connectivity and ICT services in urban areas, which would increase the use of ICTs by those who are most likely to use ICTs for business endeavors.  However, Mozambique is instead utilizing their ICT funds for social goals, like helping the poorest of the poor.  Many countries talk about bringing access to the poor through their Universal Access Funds, but Mozambique is actually funding socially-justifiable ICT programs over economically-justifiable ones.  They deserve a round of applause.

 

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Who’s Who in South Sudan’s New ICT Industry?

The interim Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has requested that telecoms companies operating in the region suspend work until the administration publishes new regulations for the sector, with no specific target date for the regulations to be published.  Some early regulation methodologies were discussed in February of this year, when leaders in the ICT industry affiliated with South Sudan met with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and discussed a possible three-year strategic plan for the new nation.

Photo: CIO East Africa

In October 2010, CTO helped GoSS organize a conference, entitled ICT4D: Southern Sudan.  From the conference and a previous ICT strategy report created by Pricewatershouse Coopers LLC in 2008, GoSS and CTO drafted an inception report during the consultation visit in February 2011, but they did not create any official policies.  The strategic plan includes involving ICTs in all sectors of Sudan’s infrastructure and economy.  CEO Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah of the CTO exclaimed his excitement: “This new nation will have the opportunity to not merely leap-frog, but to cheetah pole-vault over other nations, if it is methodical about its approach in the ICT and other sectors.”

Currently, though, telecommunication companies in South Sudan are in limbo.  CEO of Zain telecoms, Hisham Mustafa Allam, said he could not be ‘100 per cent’ sure that the company’s mobile license would be valid in South Sudan after July. ‘There’s potential for South Sudan, but there are big challenges,’ he said, adding: ‘One of the problems we have right now is it costs lots of money to build sites and do a rollout (of fiber) in the south.’  South Sudan will have to rely on fiber from Kenya and Uganda, making the costs potentially quite high.  Zain has reportedly invested 20% of its total expenditures in the south of Sudan, including around 150 base stations.

South Sudan carried out a national survey in 2009, but did not include questions regarding Internet access.  However, only 15% of households own a phone, including 8% in rural areas and 59% in urban areas (primarily in the capital city, Juba).  The lack of households with phones indicates a lack of electricity and connectivity possibilities in general.

Despite these difficulties, broadband connectivity is within reach.  There are three current submarine cables that run to Port Sudan, in the north.  From Port Sudan, there is a terrestrial backbone network that extends to major urban areas in the north of Sudan.  However, no cables have been laid in South Sudan and there are no plans to connect the backhaul cables in the north with the south, as seen in the map pictured.  These cables are:

  • EASSy – (an East Africa Submarine Cable System with endpoints in South Africa and the Sudan)
  • FLAG FALCON – (FLAG Alcatel-Lucent Optical Network) – (Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, India, Maldives)
  • SAS-1 – (Saudi Arabia-Sudan)

Map: Mohamed El Bashir Hiraika

However, there are a series of cable networks near South Sudan that could potentially be expanded into the country:

  • KDN – Terrestrial cables have been laid and are under-construction in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.  Discussions are underway to route the cables north to Juba.
  • Seacom – Involved in the undersea EASSy cables along the coast of East Africa.  They announced in June 2011 that they were going to move inland, working with governments of Burundi, Southern Sudan, and Somalia to make a terrestrial cable link in the Somali Cluster (also known as the East African Community – EAC).  Most likely, Seacom will partner with KDN and Altech, among other partners.
  • WIOCC – The largest investor at 29% in the EASSy cable system, the West Indian Ocean Cable Company is comprised of the main telecommunications firms in twelve African countries (listed below).  They are constructing East African terrestrial backhaul cables, including a cable line from Kampala, Uganda to Khartoum, Northern Sudan.  This line appears to run directly through Southern Sudan, with no plans to land the cable until Khartoum.
  • INTELSAT – Their satellite New Dawn has alleged potential to cover most of Africa, with the highest bandwidth in West Africa.  No private companies in Sudan, nor the Sudanese government, has partnered with them to construct a point of contact.
  • Umojanet – The African Union program “Nepad” wants to create a terrestrial cable system throughout the African continent, which they call Umojanet.  Nepad first expressed this dream in 2000.

In addition to private sector investments in broadband infrastructure, national governments near in East Africa are also investing in fiber optic cables.  Their willingness to politically and financially support national broadband networks makes the possible of public-private partnerships more possible.  As reported by Seacom in June 2011:

  • The governments of the East African Community (EAC) are investing over US$400 million in their respective national backbone infrastructure.  The cables cover more than 20,600 km.
  • Rwanda completed a 2300km cable costing more than $60 million.
  • Tanzania continues to lay its $170 million, 10,000km plus cable.
  • Burundi is also laying out the cable of 1300 km with the help of $10.5 million grant from the World Bank.
  • Uganda, acquired a Chinese loan of about $102 million to implement the 2,000km plus cable.
  • Kenya is also investing $60 million in the National Optic Fiber Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI).  Some 5,000km of the cable had been laid down by June 2010.

Given these investments, South Sudan will feel pressure to compete with its neighbors in the ICT industry, potentially leading the government to support their own national networks and backhaul system.  Yet, given the tremendous financial burdens that the government will have in all of its sectors of development, much of the success regarding the ICT and telecommunications industries will depend on public-private partnerships.

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ICT Access: a Human Right in Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani held a press conference on Tuesday, declaring that ICT access and use is vital to the development of Pakistan.  Given recent modifications in the allocation and use of USF funds in Pakistan, Gilani’s strong support for ICT investment is particularly noteworthy.

At the 24th Board Meeting for USF Pakistani, presiding Gilani stated that ICTs potential could not be overemphasized in terms of socio-economic development and job opportunities.  He went on to explain that the ability to communicate in the information driven era was a basic human right.  These are strong words, especially in light of current debates about the Internet as a human right at the UN and amongst practitioners.

Gilani’s support comes just weeks after Pakistan’s USF announced an agreement with national telecommunications consultant Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) to “promote development of telecom services in underserved areas.”  In the partnership, PTCL will help USF to meet its targeted goals, advancing Gilani’s agenda of providing IT access as a human right.

Gilani

Photo Credit: The Express Tribune News Network

 

The USF-PTCL partnership to focus on the underserved is important to the success of Pakistan’s efforts to provide ICT access to all its citizens.  According to other reports, however, previous USF funds in Pakistan were not utilized due to the Prime Minister’s failure to attend meetings with the board and approve spending for the entire last year.

The ICT industry in Pakistan has major changes as of late.  USF Pakistan terminated a contract with telecommunications giant Telenor, citing security concerns that limited project completion.  Another project, to provide fiber optic cables to the Balochistan region, was approved this week.  And Telenor and Boston Consulting Group also completed a study finding that mobile financial services could increase the GDP by 3%.

USF funds disbursement is not a problem unique to Pakistan.  In fact, just last month, reports circulated about the U.S. FCC’s failure to disburse USF funds.  Despite this, however, public-private partnerships (PPP) offer hope for more effective USF fund usage.

 

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Rural Connectivity Challenge: Extending Access to the Rural Edge

Long range wi-fi box mounted to pole

Photo source: PCFastlane

Over the past several years a tremendous amount of progress has been made in narrowing the urban-rural “Digital Divide.”  This has primarily been accomplished through market liberalization and subsequent build out of mobile networks–some of which reach into rural localities.

While this urban-rural gap is being narrowed, this is not universal.  Further, it is primarily a voice phenomenon.  With regards to Internet and specifically broadband, this divide remains, and in relative terms it continues to grow even wider in most rural locations.

A May 2008 report from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) report entitled, “Measuring Information and Communication Technology Available in Villages and Rural Areas,” defines this challenge in the following manner:

  1. At the time of the report, the total population of developing countries stood at 5.1 billion;
  2. Of this total, approximately 56 percent, or 2.85 billion lived in rural areas;
  3. This rural population lived in 2.96 million discrete rural localities, with an average population of 1,826.

More recent data estimates while there are approximately 5.0 billion mobile subscribers world wide–out of a world population of 6.7-6.8 billion, somewhere between a population of 1.0 and 1.5 billion live in rural localities where they are without any mobile coverage.  A likely near-equal number are without “affordable” coverage.

The Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) Program places a priority on addressing this urban-rural gap, with a focus on two key areas;

  1. Enhancing Universal Service Funds (USFs), and
  2. Promoting deployment of low cost connectivity solutions.

Universal Service Funds–A growing number of countries have established USFs, however, often these are not well designed to reach optimal benefit, nor are they managed such as to provide maximum value.  The GBI has been designed to provide targeted technical assistance (TA) to help countries with better design and operations of their USFs.  Current efforts are underway in partnership with Intel in carrying out a series of regional USF Workshops to move this agenda forward.  Another project is underway in Africa through support of the Africa Bureau, to provide TA to a number of countries where TA will make a near-term impact.

The focus of USFs is no longer simply placing a phone or two into a rural community, but rather seeking to leverage both broadband and voice connectivity for expanding socioeconomic opportunities into these rural communities.

Nor is the focus such as to create an approach for subsidizing on-going operations of carriers operating in rural localities.  There is also a focus on leveraging USFs to fund needed CapEx, where–where by working with the carriers and high tech firms producing low-cost solutions, financially sustainable approach can be deployed for connecting the lower-income, lower-density rural communities.

Low Cost Broadband and Voice Solutions–This parallel effort is also being undertaken by the GBI Program.  Here the GBI is engaged in research and dialog to identify low-cost rural connectivity solutions.  This focus is on providing wireless community-wide convergent networks that provide both broadband and voice services.

Preliminary research has uncovered a small but growing number of innovative solutions now being commercialized.  A potential new set of technologies, Femtocells, hold significant promise in lowering the capital and operating costs for reaching into lower-income, lower-density rural communities.  Several of these are solar powered solutions such they they can provide affordable coverage in areas where there is not access to a national power grid.

The GBI program has informally partnered with Femto Forum—a global Femtocell industry group and the Global VSAT Forum, a global satellite industry group, to further explore the technical and financial viability of these technologies.  Discussions are underway to build off of their respective strengths towards delivering scalable, replicable, and sustainable solutions that reach even further into remote rural locations.  And with this expanded connectivity, delivering access to a wide range of socioeconomic services.

Other lower-cost solution sets are being explored with regard to meeting this low-cost requirement.  This exploration has included proof-of-concept trial configurations here in the U.S., as well as working with satellite and femtocell firms on broader scale international deployments.

The combination of USFs and the emerging lower-cost solutions more suitable for rural settings, hold the promise of ultimately eliminating the urban-rural “digital divide.”  The GBI is working towards accelerating this where  possible.

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Universal Service Funds – Africa

Group of attendees from Intel's Africa USF Conference

Photo credit: Eric White, Integra LLC

Universal Service Funds (USF) hold the promise of extended rural connectivity for millions throughout Africa, but governments often lack the technical capacity and know how to utilize these private enterprise models. Through GBI, USAID will work with private sector partners to further the use of USFs in sub-Saharan Africa, determining both the best practices and the barriers that inhibit successful performance. This project will build the host country’s capacity to deploy USFs, evaluate potential solutions and create a value chain of local ICT, ISP, and telecommunications partners who can harness the power of USFs to close the digital divide and fulfill the promise of rural connectivity.

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