[kictanet] May be of interest: Commonwealth ICT Officials to Meet in Jaipur, India, to Surmount Challenges to Rural ICT Connectivity

[Victor Gathara]

Kenya not mention in the Press Release though.
 
Victor 




Commonwealth ICT Officials to Meet in Jaipur, India, to Surmount
Challenges to Rural ICT Connectivity 

Providing an enabling environment for increased provision of access,
applications, content and services in rural areas.

January 13, 2010 LONDON - Some one hundred Ministers, regulators,
Universal Service Fund Administrators, telecom operator CEOs, and other
senior stakeholders in the information and communication technologies
(ICTs) sector from across Asia and the Commonwealth will meet in Jaipur,
India, from 17-19 January 2011.  They will work together to devise
faster, effective and more robust strategies for providing ICT
connectivity in unserved and underserved rural areas. The meeting will
be the 4th annual Connecting Rural Communities Asia Forum 2011 organised
by the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).
The conference will be addressed by African and Asian ICT ministers,
including Hon. Ignace Gatare, Minister in Charge of ICTs, Office of the
President, Rwanda; Hon. Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa, Minister of
Communications and Transport, Zambia; Hon. Abdourahim Agne, Minister of
Telecommunications, ICT and Transport, Senegal; Dr Edmund Katiti, CEO of
the NEPAD e-Africa Commission; Mr. Shankar Aggarwal, Joint Secretary,
Department of Information Technology, Government of India; and Mr. Sam
Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information
and Innovation, Government of India.

 

Stressing on the need to connect rural communities, the CEO of CTO, Dr.
Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, said, "Providing network access to rural communities
is one of the recommendations of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), and supports the attainment of Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) defined by the UN. Self-sustaining growth in broadband
access and other more basic connectivity channels must be achieved in
underserved and unconnected regions. However, this can only be
accomplished through continuous and fruitful collaborations between a
variety of public and private sector partners. It also involves sharing
best practices among ICT stakeholders across continents to ensure
successful and speedy implementation of ICT strategies. This CTO
conference will enable Governments, policy makers, ICT regulators,
operators, equipment manufacturers, software vendors, call center
operatives, financiers, academics and consultants, and infrastructure
developing companies to meet to discuss and evaluate the achievements,
challenges and opportunities in connecting rural communities." 

Dr Spio-Garbrah stated that, amongst other challenges, ICT roll-out in
rural areas can entail considerable investment. "However, in the
developing countries, these challenges can be even more daunting. There
are many constraints of unreliable power, poor road networks, low
broadband capacity, illiteracy, lower incomes, and diverse
socio-political dynamics. As a result, some have questioned the
financial merits of investing in rural ICTs, and whether rural
communities provide the necessary return on investment. The conference
will help to highlight the latest technological solutions, innovative
business models, and the Public-Private-Peoples' Partnerships needed for
improved rural connectivity. In particular, participants will examine
the growing use of mobile phones as platforms to deliver a growing range
of mobile applications, content and services to rural dwellers," he
said.

The conference will cover topics on key issues concerning the strategies
for improving governance and public services delivery through ICTs,  the
disparities in rural and urban access, a review of recent developments
in Asia and globally, and Rural ICT Policy 2.0. Other issues to be
discussed include developing national goals and strategies for providing
connectivity, applications and content in rural areas, operators'
strategies in improving rural dwellers' access to services, the
development of effective distribution networks for rural areas and its
challenges,  tried and tested approaches to pricing and profitability,
and the business case and strategies for rural broadband access. Other
subjects to be debated by participants are the benefits of 3G and
broadband wireless availability in the rural communities, the importance
of WiMax, m-Content developments, the impact of  cultural gaps and
capacity-building challenges for both voice and non-voice operations,
and the benefits and perceived risks of running rural Business Process
Outsourcing (BPOs).

Speakers and panelists include high-profile representation from public
and private sector organizations, such as the NEPAD e-Africa Commission,
the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd., the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI), the Zambia Information Communication
Technology Authority (ZICTA), the Tanzania Communications Regulatory
Authority (TCRA), the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana,
the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), the Nigerian
Communications Commission, the National Communications Commission
(NATCOM) of Sierra Leone, and the  Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic
Communication (GIFEC). India's ICT sector will be heavily represented
through participation by executives of the Telecom Export Promotion
Council (TEPC), the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI),
BSNL, Idea Cellular Ltd., Reliance Communications, City Cell Bangladesh,
the GSMA, the Communications & Manufacturing Association of India (CMAI)
and Coral Telecom. Other major global and Asian private sector
executives attending are from Tejas Networks, Research in Motion, WiMAX
Forum, Microsoft, Alvarion BWA Wireless Solutions Pvt Ltd, the Asia
Pacific Telecentre Network (APTN) Secretariat, ICT Agency of Sri Lanka,
C-DOT, GTL, VIOM, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC),
Google India, Luna Ergonomics, elLoka Techsolutions Pvt Ltd, and the
Centre for Development Finance. Other delegates will represent Hungama
Mobile, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Government of
Rajasthan, SourcePilani, eGram IT, Source for Change, B2R Technologies
Pvt. Ltd, NASSCOM Foundation,  the Universal Service Obligation Fund,
Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, the Commonwealth
Centre for e-Governance, Reuters Market Light, Thomson Reuters, Reliance
Foundation, UDAAN, EKO Financial Services, EkGaon, NComputing India,
Phoenix Software and the Drishtee Foundation.

About The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)

The CTO is an inter-governmental organisation which provides technical
assistance services to its member countries through research and
studies, consultancies and advisory services, capacity building and
training workshops, and through knowledge-sharing events. With a history
dating back to 1901, the CTO is a partnership between the Commonwealth
and non-Commonwealth governments, regulators, businesses, civil society
organizations and other ICT stakeholders. The CTO's mission is to reduce
global poverty through the more efficient utilization of ICTs, and its
development agenda reflects the priorities set in the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

For further information visit www.cto.int <http://www.cto.int> .

 

CONTACTS

For media enquiries, please contact:

 

Rumana B.

Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist

T: + 44 (0) 208 600 3800, E: rumana at cto.int <mailto:rumana at cto.int>   

 

For CTO Services, please contact:

 

Bashir Patel

Director of Programmes and Business Development

T: + 44 208 600 3802, E: b.patel at cto.int <mailto:b.patel at cto.int>   

-###-

 


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