53rd Meeting of the Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunications
1. Agenda
To discuss Linkages of Rural Development with Information and Communication Technologies
There is much talk about rural development. How can the rural development come about? This can only happen if rural areas are brought into the mainstream of information and communication technologies, because ICT plays a major role in the economic development of a country. How can we cope with the “digital divide”? Is the concept of an “E-village” viable in Pakistan? If so, how can this be done?
2. Chair: Brig.Yasin’s opening remarks
Pakistan’s population is estimated to be about 160 million. More than 68 percent live in villages. There are about 470 cities, 48,000 villages and 15 million households. We are an agricultural economy and the generators of this economy live in villages. For information, they are the “have-nots”, because 90 percent of telecom infrastructure is installed in urban areas. Eighty percent of it is installed in four or five big cities. The 68 percent rural population is served with perhaps just over a million fixed line phones.
Rural connectivity has it problems like lack of electric power, roads and other public services. The cost of providing a subscribers line in rural areas is five time that of an urban line. Profit margin to telecom companies is low because of limited economic activity. Severe climatic conditions make critical demands on maintenance and upkeep of equipment. There is limited technical know-how in villages.
But advantages of rural connectivity greatly offset the expenditure. Access to information promotes marketing of agricultural products, local industries and relocation of industries from urban to rural areas. It reduces migration of rural population to urban areas. It develops other sectors. It facilitates medical treatment, disaster relief and result oriented education. Above all it reduces the digital divide and gives a feeling to the 68 percent that they are equal citizens of Pakistan.
Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Emerging ICTs no longer require laying physical lines. Telecom companies pay Universal Service Fund to connect un-served and under-served areas. PTCL has been mandated to roll out 83,000 lines annually to provide rural connectivity. Cellular and WLL have found their way to villages. Mobile licencees are required to cover at least 70 percent of techsil headquarters in four years with a minimum of 10 percent tehsil coverage in all four provinces. The government plans to provide computers to village schools. Eight hundred cities/towns have access to internet.
What is required is a comprehensive strategic plan with a framework and a road map to operationalise and monitor the utilization of Universal Service Fund and laying of 83,000 lines per year by PTCL. Obligations of telecom companies to provide rural connectivity need to be put into action. Provision of computers to village school and internet connectivity by the stakeholders will bring rural areas into the mainstream of ICTs.
3. Speaker: Mr. Ammar Jaffri, Project Director Federal Investigating Agency’s Overview
Knowledge of Information and Communication Technology for Development (KICT4D)
Emerging technologies present opportunities to bring rural, under-served and un-served areas into the mainstream of ICTs. This can increase the tele-density and provide internet access to villages. Pakistani IT professionals, particularly those living abroad can significantly contribute in this venture. Extending benefits of ICTs to the doorstep of rural population would help Pakistan to uplift there social, educational, healthcare and economic infrastructure. These are opportunities which must be exploited for the benefit of 68 percent of the rural population. The government is also committed to invest in this area which is vital for overall progress.
The above opportunities pose some serious challenges. There is need to move fast and put the emerging technologies in use by creating enabling environment. It needs to develop strategies to extend economic activities to rural areas. Best practices of knowledge-based economies used in developed and developing countries should be adopted. Web contents should be developed in local languages.
There has been a paradigm shift in the development of societies.
- During world summit on the Information Society (WSIS) under UN in Tunis on 18th November 2005, role of ICTs was recognized not only as a medium of communication, but also as a development enabler and as a tool for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals and objectives such as:
- Education for all
- Equal opportunities for healthcare
- Minimize digital divide and gender divide
- Equal opportunities for all and anywhere to participate in economic growth of a country
- Intellectual property rights
- Internet governance
- E-learning
- E-commerce
- E-governance
- Our society is changing radically, because information and communication technologies (ICTs) are becoming a bigger part of our lives. They are changing in ways unimaginable only a few years ago.
- High-speed data networks are continuously increasing the possibilities for developing countries to participate in the global market for ICT-enabled services on the basis of their comparative advantage. These emerging opportunities provide a powerful commercial basis for ICT infrastructural investment.
- We missed the opportunity of industrial revolution in the 19th Century. We also missed PC-based computing revolution in the 20th Century. Let us not miss the revolution of 21st Century i.e. development of societies through the power of ICT. Only those would get the benefit who would lead the change from:
- Bullets to bytes
- Brawns to brains
- Digital divide to digital opportunity
- Gender divide to equal opportunities for all
Various initiatives are in vogue in many countries. These include internet governance, focus on localization, and smart villages in Egypt. Some work has also been done in putting Urdu content on the Internet, like Google search interface in Urdu and Punjabi, Urdu 98, Window XP start edition in Urdu which has been approved by the National Language Authority of Pakistan.
Urdu operating system is available sans Urdu content. We now need to focus on machine translation. Thus ICTs provide the means to get new opportunities for development through innovation. This calls for action through strategic and operational planning, capacity building and institutional development.
E-Village
Extension of benefits of ICTs to the doorstep of rural population would help Pakistan to uplift their social, educational, healthcare and economic infrastructure. This would enhance production, because in the present day world, “connectivity is productivity.” Rural areas with such facilities would have the following outputs and outcomes:
- Increase farmer’s productivity.
- Provide formal education to rural population along with technical education in current trades and skills.
- Provide job matching services to rural population.
- Provide latest healthcare information.
- Enhance farmer’s decision making power to sell his products on better rates.
- Facilitates collaboration between public/private organizations working to provide services to farmers and others in rural areas.
- Provide quick inbound/outbound very economical email system in every village of Pakistan.
- Minimize digital divide between urban and rural population of Pakistan.
- Less procurement cost for a buyer for high quality goods and the farmer gets better price (win-win situation).
- Online services will bring foreign investors close to buying facilities special in rural areas.
- Non-resident Pakistanis want to invest in homeland, but do not know where to go.
- Promote best practices among farmers and thus enhance their productivity.
- Crop information page.
- Local and foreign market information like demand and world production can facilitate more informed decisions well in advance and not under pressure.
- Re-engineer traditional supply chain by introducing price transparency and competition.
4. Recommendations
The Study Group submitted the following recommendations for consideration to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom:
- A comprehensive strategic plan with a framework and roadmap to operationalize and monitor the utilization of Universal Service Fund should be prepared, opened up for public debate and then finalized for implementation.
- A mechanism to monitor rolling out of 83,000 lines annually by PTCL in un-served and under-served areas should be prepared and disseminated for public information.
- Undertaking/obligation given by the mobile licencees to cover at least 70 percent of tehsil headquarters in four years with a minimum of 10 percent tehsil coverage in all four provinces should be transparently implemented.
- An E-village programme, if implemented, can reduce the digital divide and promote marketing of agricultural products and local industries. It would facilitate relocation of industries from rural to urban areas. It would reduce migration of population to urban areas. It would facilitate medical treatment, disaster relief and education. Initially, a pilot E-village project should be prepared and implemented in a specified area. An existing school or post office can be the technology/knowledge centre for the village. The centre can also handle incoming/outgoing emails of villagers.
- The E-village programme would extend the benefit of ICTs to the doorstep of rural population and would enhance production. “Connectivity is productivity.”
- Establishment of a knowledge centre in Islamabad based on modern/ emerging technologies with off-shoots in provincial and district headquarters would ensure dissemination of important information required by the farmers and other stakeholders thus promoting economic development.
- Computer labs should be established in village school.
- An appropriate task force with representatives from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, licencees of telecom services and other stakeholders should be created to provide directions for implementation of the above recommendations.
