> UNESCO Report on ICT Infrastructure and e-Governance in Pacific Islands Countries March 21, 2002 - Pacific Islands countries have a widespread interest in enhancing Internet infrastructure. This is one of the findings of a report entitled "Internet Infrastructure and e-Governance in Pacific Islands Countries. A Survey on the Development and Use of the Internet", which was commissioned by the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States in Apia, Samoa. The Report that is now available on WebWorld provides an up-to-date picture of the development and use of Internet infrastructure in Pacific Member States of UNESCO. Whereas a similar study commissioned by UNESCO in April 1999 focused on the use of computers, e-mail and the Internet in education, culture and communications, the new report, prepared by Zwimpfer Communications Ltd (Wellington, New Zealand), covers Internet infrastructure issues as well as the use of Internet for e-Governance. Special attention is paid to barriers preventing access to the Internet as we
ll as to national development plans for the use of the Internet. A survey, on which the study is based, was carried out in 2000 by UNESCO and COMNET-IT. However, it drew little response from the Pacific Islands countries. Excluding Australia and New Zealand, only two of the fifteen other UNESCO Member States participated in the survey. The authors of the Report suggest that while the data collected from the developed countries could be construed as a road map for the less-developed countries, it was vital to examine the contextual issues in developing countries in order to achieve a truly participative society - not simply one of leaders and followers. The Report addresses the contextual issues for Internet development and e-governance for the fifteen UNESCO Pacific Islands Member States. An interesting finding is the widespread interest in seeking to enhance Internet infrastructure within and between the Pacific Islands countries. All Pacific regional intergovernmental organisations and several internationa
l
considering ways to enhance Internet infrastructure. The heart of the issue for most Pacific Islands countries in 1999 was access. Two years on, the issue remains the same. With less than 25% of the population of most Pacific Islands having access to the Internet, e-governance is not high on these countries' agendas. One country reported a "lack of knowledge on this e-governance service" as a key inhibitor. Underlying these issues of limited Internet access and limited understanding of e- governance, are even more basic issues relating to telecommunications infrastructure, quality of service and costs. However, despite these constraints, organisations in the Pacific Islands are finding ways to establish websites. Just over half of the organisations responding to the survey, have a website. Eight of the 15 countries were also able to quote their website URL, suggesting a growing interest within Governments in attempting to make better use of ICT tools. Issues of bandwidth and cost (equipment and telecommunica
tions) continue to be perceived as major barriers preventing more widespread use of the Internet. However, this does not appear to be constraining Pacific Island organisations from planning. Most have a clear idea about how they could expand the use of ICT in their organisation. Many countries could not identify any e-governance applications. Those who could, placed lists of government officials as well as national and regional statistics at the top of the list. They also indicated they were addressing content issues. Computerised da> tabases and digitised Government documents appear to be receiving the most attention. Training of public decision-makers and government officials, and reinforcing ICT training in schools and training institutes were also identified in one third of the countries. The biggest inhibitor of e-governance was felt to be the cost of computers and other equipment, but this was closely followed by Internet cost issues, slow Internet connections, lack of digitised > government informatio
n,
telecommunication services, availability of training for Government officials and the lack of political awareness of the opportunities. All countries now have some form of Internet access, although pricing in many countries is clearly inhibiting growth. Prices for 10 hours of Internet connectivity varied from US$9-10 to US$30-50. This compares with US$4.30, being a typical cost of 10 hours of Internet connectivity in New Zealand. Other barriers restricting Internet development are the high cost of international bandwidth and the cost of user equipment. Many countries reported continuing investment in telecommunications infrastructure, but there was little indication how quickly these developments would flow through to improved Internet infrastructure. Few countries appear to have national plans for Internet and telecommunications development; none gave any indication what levels of budget were being committed. The report is intended to contribute towards a foundation for moving towards a 'connected Pacific',
where the UNESCO goal of "promoting empowerment and participation in the emerging knowledge society through equitable access, capacity-building and sharing of knowledge" can be achieved. Related Links * Internet Infrastructure and e-Governance in Pacific Islands Countries. A Survey on the Development and Use of the Internet Report prepared by Zwimpfer Communications Ltd, Wellington New Zealand, March 2002 <http://www.unesco.org/webworld/publications/2002_internet_survey_> report.rtf * Electronic Connectedness in Pacific Islands Countries, report prepared by Zwimpfer Communications Ltd, Wellington New Zealand, April 1999 <http://www.unesco.org/webworld/publications/99_internet_survey_re> port.rtf * Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (COMNET-IT): <http://www.comnet.mt/> * UNESCO's Programme for environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands (CSI) <http://www.unesco.org/csi/index.htm> Contact for this news: Tarja Virtanen (tarja@unesco.org.ws), <mailto:(tarja@un
es
Office for the Pacific States in Apia, Samoa
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Dec 12 2002 - 08:00:41