PRESS CONFERENCE ON WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, a range of speakers discussed how wireless Internet technology could benefit developing countries, as well as information and communication technologies (ICT) companies.

The event was held in parallel with “The Wireless Internet Opportunity for Developing Nations” conference, taking place at Headquarters and organized by the Wireless Internet Institute and the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force.

The “WIFI Conference”, stated Sarbuland Khan, Director for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, was in response to Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s challenge to help bring wireless technology to developing countries.  The purpose was not only to help bridge the digital divide, but also to create new opportunities for those countries to leapfrog into the global economy.

Also participating at the press conference were Pat Gelsinger, Chief Technology Officer, Intel Corporation; Amir Hassan, First Miles Solutions (India); Mohsen Khalil, Director of ICT, World Bank; Amir Dossal, Executive Director, United Nations Fund for International Partnerships; and Daniel Aghion, Executive Director, Wireless Internet Institute.

Mr. Gelsinger, who was the keynote speaker at the Conference this morning, highlighted the appropriateness of wireless technology for developing nations due to the cost-effectiveness of “wifi” solutions.  The compelling growth of such solutions was not an accident and was attributable to several features associated with the technology –- it was unlicensed; it was unregulated; it was industry and worldwide standard; and it was delivering broadband Internet access. 

Those four attributes, he continued, resulted in a very cost-effective technology that made it uniquely valuable worldwide.  He encouraged nations, particularly developing ones, to take aggressive policy stances that enabled that in their own countries.

Mr. Hassan’s experiences in India, he noted, had shown that the hardware requirements for rural access infrastructure needed to be extremely rugged and able to withstand factors such as high levels of heat.  It had also indicated a lack of required expertise and talent needed to implement such “wifi” networks, as well as the need to build capacity.  The most significant challenge in implementing the networks in developing countries was access to required equipment.  While it was possible to obtain such equipment, it often took many months and high import duties.  He highlighted the need to reduce barriers on trade in the area of wireless Internet technologies, that could really make a difference in developing countries.

Wireless technology was of interest, said Mr. Khalil, because it was very promising.  Data showed that the advances achieved by wireless technology in recent years had been more than in those in the previous 50 years.  Unfortunately, that had mostly been on the telephony side rather than the broadband side.  Among

the remaining challenges were regulation, the costs of equipment and services, and capacity-building.

Mr. Dossal noted that in putting out the call to action, the Secretary-General had challenged the private sector to come up with creative solutions for the private and public sectors to work together in partnership.  He felt that wireless technology should be kept as unrequlated and unlicensed as possible.  He hoped the Conference would offer opportunities for macro-level engagement by institutions, as well as the individual wifi user on the street more.

Mr. Aghion said that the private sector had stepped up and shown strong commitment to foster debate at the Conference, which involved some 150 to 200 participants from all over the world, including delegates, “field practitioners”, industry professionals and policy-makers.  Over three dozen case studies had been submitted over recent weeks, which had now been documented and provided useful lessons for the future.  He was surprised at the participation of three major United States cities, which were also confronted with a significant digital divide within their inner cities.

Noting the practice of pharmaceutical companies to price their drugs differently overseas, a correspondent asked if Intel worried about political pressure to price their products differently for markets abroad.  Mr. Gelsinger replied that much of the drug-pricing problem was due to regulatory infrastructure that created different pricing around the world.  When there was a move towards worldwide standards on regulated products, most of the causes for the irregularities in worldwide pricing would be eliminated, and there was a more efficient distribution of products that was cost-effective.

Mr. Khalil added that there was a fundamental difference in the industry structure between the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries.  The pharmaceutical industry was, to a large extent, supply-driven, with the suppliers totally controlling the output with very high research and development costs.  The telecommunications industry was largely demand-driven.  Those countries that had implemented the proper regulatory policies and opened their markets to competition had seen suppliers at their door competing to lower prices and provide the equipment.

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