[kictanet] Head of U.S. Delegation to WCIT: Creating an Environment for Future Success:

[Ali Hussein]

Alice and all

Hate them or love but one thing you can't deny is that the US almost always articulates the issues succinctly and without any ambiguity.

On principle I think all reasonable people should support the good will principle articulated in the US position. What I'm disappointed about is of course the issue of ICANN and its legal status. Should it continue to be 'licensed' and 'mandated' by the Commerce Department of the US or are the current  checks and balances that form the Governance of ICANN enough to guide against American Hegemony? 

In my opinion this is the elephant in the room that is causing such furor in the Internet governance and freedom discussions today. 

Having said that Alice, is there a chance that after the IGFs in East Africa that we could see a statement articulating our position just like the US has?   

Ali Hussein

+254 773/713 601113

Sent from my iPhone®

On Aug 4, 2012, at 9:06 PM, Alice Munyua <alice at apc.org> wrote:

> Dear all, 
> 
> See below remarks made by the head of delegation to WCIT 2012. He discusses Kenya's successes. 
> 
> Best 
> 
> Alice
> ---------------
> 
> http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2012/196035.htm
> 
> Creating an Environment for Future Success
> 
> 
> Remarks
> Ambassador Terry Kramer, Head of Delegation, U.S. Delegation to the World Conference on International Telecommunications
> Information Technology Industry Council
> Washington, DC
> August 1, 2012
> 
> Share on facebookShare on google_plusone   <btn-share.png>
> As prepared for delivery
> 
> First, let me say “thank you” to ITI for your leadership and engagement in a critical and high impact area. I am honored to have been appointed to this role as Head of Delegation for the         United States at the World Conference on International Telecommunication – or, as we often call it, the “WCIT.”
> 
> I am drawn to the WCIT because it presents an important opportunity for the United States and the world:
> 
> We have all seen, over the past 25 years, incredible successes and growth in telecommunications and the Internet universe;
> Now, we face a pivotal question: How do we create an environment for the future global success of telecommunications and the internet?
> In my career in telecommunications, domestically and abroad, I have had the good fortune, as many of you have, to witness the rise and societal impact of two phenomena: the birth of mobile communications and the advent of the Internet.
> 
> When I look back at my time in the mobile communications industry, it was a "beeper" business, which then transformed into a "cell phone" business. That cell phone business then went from a high-end market, initially targeting wealthy individuals, to a mass-market, "must have" service. And finally, it went from a developed-country business into a truly global one.
> 
> Meanwhile, the Internet ecosystem has evolved, thrived and changed the very nature of human interactions and connectedness. The Internet is now flourishing with unimagined capabilities and uses, from advanced search to location services incorporating user preferences and social media—all of these focused on         providing highly personalized and relevant services and user experiences. We can literally look to the stars – and have our smartphones tell us what constellations and planets we are seeing.
> 
> The development of the Internet is truly inspiring – but that’s not why I am here. What I want to talk about today is the opportunity we have, through the WCIT, to build the environment for success for the future global telecommunications and Internet universe that everyone wants and needs.
> 
> Mobile
> 
> The foundation of that environment for success can be found, I believe, in the consumer-driven, competitive growth of the mobile service industry. That industry has pioneered an entrepreneurial spirit, engineered the rapid and cooperative development of industry standards, promoted market liberalization and driven an intense focus on satisfying customer needs.
> 
> In just 25 years, we have come from no cell phones at all to more than 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide.
> 
> Today, the world’s developed markets have achieved, on average, 116% mobile penetration, and even developing markets average about 70% mobile penetration – a figure estimated to reach 100% in the next 3-4 years.
> Or consider this: roughly 90% of the world’s population – and even 80% of its rural residents – now live in areas that have mobile network coverage.
> Around the world, 3G and 4G services are increasingly available, and millions of users now will likely obtain Internet access – for the first time – using their cellphones. How did the mobile revolution become so successful, so fast?
> 
> A wave of liberalization and competition driven by national regulators who opened their markets to multiple service providers;
> Regulators who moved proactively to make spectrum available for commercial use;
> Industry-driven standards-setting which brought technological innovation to market at accelerated speeds;
> A new, consumer-oriented outlook – adopted by industry and government alike – that drove innovative services and business models, such as pre-paid services, text messaging and handset subsidies; and
> Mobile operators, device makers, internet players and infrastructure providers who all worked together to form a healthy, vibrant ecosystem to deliver customer relevant mobile           internet services
> Innovation was unchained to meet and promote demand, and the result has been growth at hyper-speed – well beyond what any ministry or monopoly could have planned or directed.
> 
> Internet and Broadband
> 
> Meanwhile, as the mobility revolution was gathering steam, the Internet also was becoming a global phenomenon, on both mobile and fixed platforms. The adoption of the World Wide Web – as we called it then – gave the Internet a user-friendly interface, while the open and decentralized architecture invited content and easy, cost-effective access. And look at the results: There are now about 2.4 billion Internet users worldwide -- a number predicted to rise to 3.5 billion by 2016. At least 1.2 billion of those Internet users today are in developing countries.
> 
> Moreover, demand for Internet access and other IP-based applications have fueled the growth of broadband networks. Fixed broadband technologies, including DSL and cable modem services, make it possible to download rich video and internet content, as well as voice calling through VoIP services.
> 
> This content can be created, cached and transmitted anywhere in the world – and increasingly, that includes developing countries that are linked regionally through new undersea cables and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). As a result:
> 
> Broadband service is now available in 208 economies – virtually every country in the world.
> Fixed broadband subscriptions have more than doubled in five years, from 284 million in 2006 to an estimated 591 million at the end of last year.
> Of course, the growth of broadband capability is not confined just to fixed services. The marriage of the Internet and mobility – embodied in 3G and now 4G networks – is a growing reality. The number of mobile broadband subscriptions is believed to have surpassed 1 billion worldwide in 2011, and 3G service is available in more than 143 countries around the globe.
> 
> Not surprisingly, we are seeing an explosion in the amount of data – much of it in the form of VoIP and video – circling the globe. Roughly 369 exabytes (an Exabyte is 1 million terabytes) of IP data were exchanged around the world last year – a number         that Cisco predicts will rise by 2016 to 1.3 zettabytes annually – a figure equal to 1.3 billion terabytes. Overall, IP traffic is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29 percent from 2011 to 2016.
> 
> Operators, meanwhile, have abandoned the old ‘walled gardens” that restricted non-proprietary content – and they have done so with the customer in mind. Like the mobile industry – and perhaps even more so – the Internet is created, maintained and driven, in an organic, bottom-up way, by the people who need it and use it.
> 
> Again, we have to ask ourselves: Who created this phenomenon? And the answer is both “nobody” and “everybody.” The Internet is truly a decentralized ecosystem, pulling in network operators, applications designers and content creators from all over the world.
> 
> Societal Benefits
> 
> The beneficiaries of the mobile and internet industry growth are individuals and societies all around the world. The Internet creates:
> 
> Economic benefits – Jobs--beginning with mobile network expansion and jobs created through online commerce and content delivery
> Commercial benefits – illustrated by farmers can use cellphones to link with buyers, check weather conditions and determine commodity prices in real time;
> Social benefits – Health care providers can use mobile technology to do remote diagnostics and treatments as well as training of health professionals. Governments can           now make services available online, and people can inform themselves about political events and proposals;
> Human benefits – Groups can organize themselves online, friends can re-establish contact after years of separation, and everyone explores new meanings of connectivity and connectedness.
> In a global marketplace battling for growth, telecommunications and Internet industries have acted as multipliers of productivity, translating into greater employment and social benefits. In the OECD countries, the Internet now accounts for an average of 4.1% of GDP – and up to 7-8% in the most “wired” countries, such as South Korea or the UK. Moreover, a University of Munich study, reported by the ITU, found that a 10% increase         in broadband penetration yields an increase in GDP of .9% to 1.5%.
> 
> With the Internet, we have benefits that are as concrete as a labor statistic and as ephemeral as a smile on a laptop screen.
> 
> The Internet Is Global
> 
> One thing also is clear: this phenomenon belongs to the entire world. Internet business ventures, social media companies, and enterprise applications are sprouting up all over the globe.
> 
> Meanwhile, national broadband plans and policies which lower market-entry barriers, allow competition, encourage         infrastructure-sharing, reallocate and re-farm spectrum, and provide tax incentives for investment are being implemented in both developed and developing countries alike.
> 
> In Kenya, the government:
> 
> Articulated a clear national policy for its communications market, called Vision 2030;
> Leveraged its geographic location to develop access to international fiber-optic cables, reducing wholesale bandwidth costs by 80%;
> Used public-private partnerships to attract investment; and
> Pioneered online banking services, such as the M-Pesa service, which is used by more than 80% of subscribers (13.5 million people) of Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile operator.
> One of the so-called “BRIC” countries, Brazil, has also initiated a national broadband plan that:
> 
> Seeks to maximize competition in the mobile and broadband markets;
> Fosters investment in the incumbent pro
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