1 IS/PAL0005 TADAO TAKAHASHI ISOC/BRAZIL INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE LANDSCAPE IN LATIN AMERICA

2 FOCUS OF THIS CONTRIBUTION REFLECTIONS ON THE AD HOC WORKING GROUP PROPOSAL (AS CONVEYED IN MS. SCOTT’S REVISED DRAFT) FROM THE STANDPOINT OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY (IN LATIN AMERICA)

3 GLOBAL INFOSTRUCTURE PROGRAMME (GIP) OBJECTIVES: - Facing the ethical, legal and socio-cultural challenges of the Information Society - Encouraging access to public domain information through digitization, organization and preservation - Supporting training, continuing education and life-long learning - Promoting the use of standards and best practices - Promoting International Networking

4 I. TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE I. TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION III. COMMENTS ON THE AD-HOC WG PROPOSAL IV. FINAL REMARKS IV. FINAL REMARKS APPENDIX APPENDIX I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution II. Governance Issues CONTENTS

5 I. TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE COMMON TECHNOLOGICAL BASE THREE-LEVEL FRAMEWORK

6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE IT HAS EVOLVED IN SUCH A WAY THAT - Computing, - Communications, and - Contents SHARE THE SAME TECHNOLOGICAL BASE. Information Technology Convergence

7 Information Technology Convergence (cont.) Information Technology Convergence

8 COMMON TECHNOLOGICAL BASE DIGITAL MEDIA For storage, processing, transmission BASIC PROTOCOLS TCP/IP (Networking HTTP (Navigation) ADRESSING/IDENTIFICATION OF OBJECTS E-Address: URL: MEDIA FORMATS: JPEG/MPEG, MP3, etc. Information Technology Convergence

9 THREE-LEVEL FRAMEWORK FOR NETWORK-BASED SYSTEMS

10 THREE-LEVEL FRAMEWORK APPLICATIONS LEVEL - Myriad of Initiatives - Dependent upon area of application GENERIC SERVICES - Integrated set of several tools/standards - Easy and widely available CONNECTIVITY - Integration of wholesale facilities - Usually deployed as national initiatives - High cost of operation Information Technology Convergence

11 THREE-LEVEL FRAMEWORK (cont.) A FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSION OF IT POLICIES The three-level framework suggests a general framework for the discussion of IT policies, programs, projects, etc., conveniently separating issues, actors, facets, etc. Information Technology Convergence

12 Information Technology Convergence

13 II. The Latin American Situation II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION THE INTERNET TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFORMATION GOVERNMENT

14 II. The Latin American Situation II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION (cont.) Best Approximation to IS-like Initiatives; Origins: ACADEMIC - though not from R&D; - strong role even today; Main thrust today is for COMMERCIAL purposes; Diffusion still restricted to METROPOLITAN AREAS. THE INTERNET

15 II. The Latin American Situation II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION (cont.) Buenos Aires Declaration (Gore, ITU Conference, 1994) on GII principles; Largely privatized; Strong impact on Voice Services; Little concern for National IS Strategies. TELECOMMUNICATIONS

16 II. The Latin American Situation II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION (cont.) Libraries, archives, etc. little affected by IS Initiatives or even Internet; Education of Information professionals mostly obsolete with respect to new technologies; Services in Science & Technology such as STN virtually unknown. INFORMATION

17 II. The Latin American Situation II. THE LATIN AMERICAN SITUATION (cont.) Only recently paying attention to Internet (and mainly for legal perspective); Strategic Vision towards IS exception more than rule; Absent from global governance fora. GOVERNMENT

18 APPENDIX I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution II. Governance Issues

19 I. INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE EVOLUTION 1. The Natural Evolution: I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution

20 I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution I. INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE EVOLUTION (cont.) US :Strong Infrastructure initiative pulling Applications. EUROPEAN :Pilot Applications initiative pulling UNION Infrastructure. DEVELOPING :Mix of strategies with less than clear WORLD goals. 2. How it has happened

21 I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution US :R&D INDUSTRY SERVICES EUROPEAN :SERVICES INDUSTRY R&D UNION DEVELOPING :Little (if any) role for R&D. WORLD 3. The Role of R&D I. INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE EVOLUTION (cont.)

22 I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution US :No explicit concern (as Internet is US-Centric). EUROPEAN :Explicit concern and policy. UNION DEVELOPING :Concern but short of Policies. WORLD 4. The Impact on Culture I. INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE EVOLUTION (cont.)

23 I. Information Society Initiatives: the Evolution 5. Current Issues (for All) Legislation - Contents; - Privacy; - Security; E-Commerce - Payment; - Taxing; - Supply Chains; I. INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES: THE EVOLUTION (cont.)

24 II. Governance Issues II. GOVERNANCE ISSUES NEW ORGANIZATION (ICANN) CREATED IN OCT’98 TO MANAGE CRITICAL ASPECTS: CHANGES IN INTERNET GOVERNANCE IP addresses; Domain names; Protocols;

25 II. Governance Issues ICANN IS TOTALLY NEW ANIMAL International in Scope; Private (though managing Public Resources); Governments in Advisory Position only; Regional Representation; Direct Voting for Directors (of At-large Membership). II. GOVERNANCE ISSUES CHANGES IN INTERNET GOVERNANCE (cont.)

26 THE FUTURE OF ICANN ICANN still an EXPERIMENT; Developing countries will have to learn to operate in new PARADIGM; International organizations will have to find ways to interact with ICANN. CHANGES IN INTERNET GOVERNANCE (cont.) II. Governance Issues II. GOVERNANCE ISSUES

27 Connectivity Aspects: - National Telecom Authority - ITU Generic Services: - IETF- W3C - ISO Applications: - Case-by-case, Envolving: - Legislation (Government) - Self-regulation (Private Sector) REGULATORY ACTIONS II. Governance Issues II. GOVERNANCE ISSUES