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Dear all, <br>
<br>
See below remarks made by the head of delegation to WCIT 2012. He
discusses Kenya's successes. <br>
<br>
Best <br>
<br>
Alice<br>
---------------<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2012/196035.htm">http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2012/196035.htm</a><br>
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<h2 class="tier3-headline"><span>Creating an Environment for
Future Success</span></h2>
</div>
<br>
<span class="document_type_-_speaker_writer">Remarks</span>
<div id="templateFields"><span class="other_speakers_and_titles">Ambassador
Terry Kramer, Head of Delegation, U.S. Delegation to the World
Conference on International Telecommunications<br>
</span>
</div>
<div id="templateFields"><span class="audience">Information
Technology Industry Council<br>
</span>
</div>
<div id="templateFields"><span class="location-">Washington, DC<br>
</span>
</div>
<div id="date_long">August 1, 2012</div>
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<p><strong>As prepared for delivery</strong></p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>I am drawn to the WCIT because it presents an important
opportunity for the United States and the world:</p>
<ul>
<li> We have all seen, over the past 25 years, incredible
successes and growth in telecommunications and the Internet
universe;</li>
<li> Now, we face a pivotal question: How do we create an
environment for the future <i>global </i>success of
telecommunications and the internet?</li>
</ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <i>environment
for success</i> for the future global telecommunications and
Internet universe that everyone wants and needs.</p>
<p><b>Mobile</b></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In just 25 years, we have come from no cell phones <i>at all</i>
to more than 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide.</p>
<ul>
<li> 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.</li>
<li> 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.</li>
</ul>
<p>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?</p>
<ul>
<li> A wave of liberalization and competition driven by national
regulators who opened their markets to multiple service
providers;</li>
<li> Regulators who moved proactively to make spectrum available
for commercial use;</li>
<li> Industry-driven standards-setting which brought
technological innovation to market at accelerated speeds;</li>
<li> 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</li>
<li> 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</li>
</ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p><b>Internet and Broadband</b></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<ul>
<li> Broadband service is now available in 208 economies –
virtually every country in the world.</li>
<li> 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.</li>
</ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <i>billion</i> terabytes. Overall, IP
traffic is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 29 percent from 2011 to 2016.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><b>Societal Benefits</b></p>
<p>The beneficiaries of the mobile and internet industry growth
are individuals and societies all around the world. The Internet
creates:</p>
<ul>
<li> <b>Economic benefits</b> – Jobs--beginning with mobile
network expansion and jobs created through online commerce and
content delivery</li>
<li> <b>Commercial benefits</b> – illustrated by farmers can
use cellphones to link with buyers, check weather conditions
and determine commodity prices in real time;</li>
<li> <b>Social benefits</b><i> –</i> 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;</li>
<li> <b>Human benefits</b> – Groups can organize themselves
online, friends can re-establish contact after years of
separation, and everyone explores new meanings of connectivity
and <i>connectedness.</i></li>
</ul>
<p>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%.</p>
<p>With the Internet, we have benefits that are as concrete as a
labor statistic and as ephemeral as a smile on a laptop screen.</p>
<p><b>The Internet Is Global</b></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In Kenya, the government:</p>
<ul>
<li> Articulated a clear national policy for its communications
market, called Vision 2030;</li>
<li> Leveraged its geographic location to develop access to
international fiber-optic cables, reducing wholesale bandwidth
costs by 80%;</li>
<li> Used public-private partnerships to attract investment; and</li>
<li> 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.</li>
</ul>
<p>One of the so-called “BRIC” countries, Brazil, has also
initiated a national broadband plan that:</p>
<ul>
<li> Seeks to maximize competition in the mobile and broadband
markets;</li>
<li> Fosters investment in the incumbent provider Telebras as a
competitor in the wholesale broadband service market;</li>
<li> Employs technology neutrality in regulating networks, while
encouraging network buildouts, and</li>
<li> Provides tax and financial incentives.</li>
</ul>
<p>Hong Kong, meanwhile, has leveraged a private-sector,
market-oriented strategy to achieve:</p>
<ul>
<li> A successful auction of LTE and WiMAX spectrum in 2009 –
even in the midst of the global financial crisis; and</li>
<li> Sustained private investment in broadband infrastructure,
resulting in a broadband penetration rate of 83% at the
beginning of last year.</li>
</ul>
<p>Developing countries are acting now to facilitate the
development of the Internet. The key is to adopt nationally
specific policies that leverage the broad-based nature of the
Internet and mobile environments and create a “virtuous circle”
of higher demand, economies of scale and greater supply.</p>
<p><b>Sustaining an Environment for Success</b></p>
<p>Another way to describe these market developments is what I
call <i>innovation supply and demand</i> – the ability of
innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide – big and small – to
create new products and services on the foundation of a healthy
telecom and Internet industry. This creates a supply of
thousands of new products and services for a "demanding" set of
customers who are anxious and willing to consume these new
services in a world of greater mobility and connectedness.</p>
<p>Governments work best when they implement an environment
conducive to innovation supply and demand – then step back and
avoid counter-productive interventions.</p>
<p>We should be clear about the specific ingredients for a
successful Internet ecosystem:</p>
<ul>
<li> The presence of a consuming public that is keen to learn,
to be mobile, to achieve and to be connected;</li>
<li> Markets that foster innovation and competition, forcing
providers to improve and become more efficient to attract and
keep customers;</li>
<li> Notable economies of scale in all aspects of new products
and services – whether it be infrastructure, consumer devices
or services – driving down costs and permitting widespread
adoption;</li>
<li> Intuitive service offerings that make simplicity and
ease-of-use the top priority in driving market uptake;</li>
<li> Standards that permit interoperability between a burgeoning
set of devices and services within an increasingly global
marketplace;</li>
<li> Availability of spectrum for an increasingly mobile world;</li>
<li> And perhaps most importantly: <i>freedom</i>. This
includes the freedom of ideas, the freedom of information and
the freedom to take entrepreneurial risks in an increasingly
vibrant and decentralized environment.</li>
</ul>
<p>We should recognize that the innovation we have seen in the
mobile and Internet environments was not implemented in a
top-down fashion by policy-makers. It was driven by multiple
players and stakeholders around the world. There are thousands
of social media companies, Web designers, retailers that market
their own e-commerce offerings, analytics companies that break
down complex data patterns to drive customer relevant offerings,
mobile phone distributors, Internet cafes and community centers
– all of them with a role in shaping products and demand.</p>
<p>The Internet has grown precisely because it has NOT been
micro-managed, regulated or “owned” by any government or
intergovernmental organization. Let’s be clear about this: the
Internet continues to demonstrate the effectiveness and success
of the current multi-stakeholder structure – and its own
independence. No government or single organization can or should
attempt to “control” the Internet.</p>
<p>Sustaining this environment, I believe, offers the best chance
to continue achieving our mutual goal of making an
innovation-driven Information Society a reality all over the
world.</p>
<p><b>WCIT</b></p>
<p>This brings us to the WCIT, which is the International
Telecommunication Union’s first conference to review the
International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) since 1988.
As we look back on what the delegates accomplished that year, we
should appreciate the environment for success that they created.
The genius of that work can be found not just in what the
delegates chose to do back in 1988 – but what they refrained
from doing.</p>
<p>The true “magnetic north” of their compass was to create a
framework for interoperability and connectivity. But they did so
without over-burdening the ITRs with rigid “fixes” for specific
issues or perceived inequities. Within the scope of the ITRs,
the 1988 delegates created an architecture for innovation,
flexibility and broad-based consultation.</p>
<p>The world has changed and, as with any successful organization,
it is wise to consider how that change should be reflected in
the ITRs. But it is critical to acknowledge the flexibility and
guidance that the ITRs have provided, in light of our new
environment.</p>
<p>It is also vital to see the differences between the Internet
and the structure of international telecommunications backbones,
circuits and gateways that have been addressed in the ITRs. The
Internet is a new and different phenomenon, entirely. It is not
the legacy of common carriage and “bent-pipe” transmission; it
is an ecosystem of content providers, application developers,
social media companies, and data and video transmission
providers – and ultimately, ideas and knowledge. There is no
Internet “central office” or headquarters. Its openness and
de-centralization are its ultimate strengths.</p>
<p>Now that the Internet is here and established, we need to
nurture it as an environment that is:</p>
<ul>
<li> Highly data driven;</li>
<li> Characterized by a free flow of information and commerce,
happening at light speed,</li>
<li> Where innovation is organic and distributed worldwide, and</li>
<li> Where consumer interests continue to be met even where they
differ from country to country and within countries.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Opposing Content Restrictions or Censorship</b></p>
<p>Several proposals have been made for the upcoming WCIT that,
although seemingly well-intentioned, fail to acknowledge this
"new world" we live in and what is required for future success.</p>
<p>In particular, proposals to control content transmitted over
networks run counter to the foundation of a free and vibrant
telecommunications and Internet society.</p>
<p>The ITRs serve to set an international framework for linking
international telecom facilities. They should not be
inappropriately stretched to cover any aspect of content routed
over those facilities.</p>
<p>Throughout the WCIT process, the United States has, and will
continue to, express opposition to proposals that would place
governments in a position of greater power to censor the
Internet, track content or target end users – even under the
guise of combating spam, controlling traffic routing or
identifying calling number information as a way to defeat
alleged fraud and “misuse” of networks.</p>
<p>There is an overriding issue of freedom of information that the
United States recognizes as a core tenet of human rights. This
is embedded not only in US constitutional law and tradition, but
also within the founding documents of the United Nations. Both
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights contain provisions
(Article 19 and Article 19.2, respectively) that recognize
freedom of expression, as well as the right to receive and
impart ideas, in any medium and across borders</p>
<p>Proposals to control content and routing, or to expand the
definitions of international telecommunications to cover the
Internet, ultimately will not work. Such proposals will only:</p>
<ul>
<li> Stifle innovation, promote customer cynicism, and breed
"work-around" solutions to undermine flawed policies;</li>
<li> Undercut the free flow of information and ideas, defeating
the entire purpose of the ITRs themselves.</li>
</ul>
<p>Similarly, proposals that seek to artificially mandate pricing
terms – such as "transfer payments" between content providers
and network operators – will only result in failure. With regard
to transfer-payments on data traffic, the U.S. would raise the
following questions:</p>
<ul>
<li> How would transfer payments be implemented in the current
environment?</li>
<li> Who would determine the transfer prices and how to apply
them?</li>
<li> Is the originator of an Internet search a sending or
receiving party?</li>
<li> Finally, what happens if network operators refuse to
transmit downloaded content because the “termination rate” to
a certain country or ISP is excessive or uneconomic?</li>
<li> And probably most importantly, would such pricing lead to
increased freedom or flow of information – or less?</li>
</ul>
<p>To be clear, the United States will oppose changes to the ITRs
that (1) restrict the free flow of content, (2) broaden the
scope of the ITRs, however subtly, to impinge on the Internet’s
natural growth and evolution, or (3) impose uneconomic pricing
or transfer-payment obligations on Internet content providers or
backbone operators.</p>
<p>In its initial tranche of contributions, the United States will
make the following proposals, which are consistent with this
approach. We will:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px">1) Consider only minimal changes to
the preamble of the ITRs;</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px">2) Seek alignment of the definitions
in the ITRs with those in the ITU Constitution and Convention,
including no changes to the definitions of <i>telecommunications</i>
and<i> international telecommunications service;</i></p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px">3) Approve ITR’s which maintain the
voluntary nature of compliance with ITU-T Recommendations;</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px">4) Continue to apply the ITRs only to
<i>recognized operating agencies</i> or RoAs; i.e., the ITRs’
scope should not be expanded to address other <i>operating
agencies</i> that are not involved in the provision of
international telecommunications services to the public; and</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px">5) Promote revisions of Article 6 to
reflect the variety of flexible and innovative interconnection
and termination arrangements found in competitive markets.</p>
<p>There will be subsequent opportunities for the U.S. to make
additional proposals, and meanwhile, I am engaging in bilateral
discussions with other governments to hear their views and how
they believe their own proposals will drive continued success of
the telecommunications and internet industries</p>
<p>For the United States, our approach is based on recognition
that the existing environment today works amazingly well, and it
is empowering telecommunications – and human – development by
quantum leaps. In cases where imbalances occur, they can be
addressed through market forces and consumer-focused <i>national
</i>policies that empower local content development and
stimulate local and regional traffic and demand.</p>
<p>So what should be the focus of our unique opportunity to drive
a new set of ITRs at the WCIT?</p>
<ul>
<li> To reaffirm our belief in what will drive future market
success;</li>
<li> To recommit ourselves to the goal of maintaining and
promoting global telecommunications connectivity in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century;</li>
<li> To create an unfettered, free flow of ideas, information
and commerce;</li>
<li> To establish high-level principles that foster an open and
secure Internet and network operating environment; and</li>
<li> To be pragmatic in understanding that telecom and Internet
economies are too large, too distributed and too diverse for
any one organization to control.</li>
</ul>
<p>In more practical terms, this means preserving the principles
of the ITRs’ preamble – including the value of connectivity –
maintaining the stability of the ITRs, as well as the voluntary
nature of compliance with the ITU’s standards recommendations,
and preserving the definitions in the current treaty that have
served the world well. It means avoiding changes to those
definitions – and to the overall ITRs – that would broaden their
scope, dilute their meaning and amount to “mission creep” for an
international treaty that has been so effective in establishing
a platform for growth and innovation.</p>
<p>So, in summary, we should congratulate ourselves on the 25-plus
years of success in building a vibrant telecom and Internet
economy, driving economic growth, and empowering individuals
with information, connectedness and commercial opportunities.</p>
<p>Our challenge now – more than any other – is to maintain an
environment for continued success, and to continue creating that
environment around the globe, in all countries. We need to
acknowledge how innovation is best created, through consumer
demand, and realize that the Internet is beyond the scope of any
one nation or regulatory authority to control or manage.</p>
<p>By following these principles we will enable the
telecommunications and Internet phenomenon to become our lasting
legacy and platform of success for future generations. Thank
you.</p>
</div>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
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