<html><head></head><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Alice and all</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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? </div><div><br></div><div>In my opinion this is the elephant in the room that is causing such furor in the Internet governance and freedom discussions today. </div><div><br></div><div>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? </div><div><br><div>Ali Hussein</div><div><br></div><div>+254 773/713 601113</div><div><br></div><div>Sent from my iPhone®</div></div><div><br>On Aug 4, 2012, at 9:06 PM, Alice Munyua <<a href="mailto:alice@apc.org">alice@apc.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div><span></span></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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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>
<br>
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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 pro</li></ul></div></div><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>kictanet mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a></span><br><span><a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>Unsubscribe or change your options at <a href="https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com">https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.</span><br><span></span><br><span>KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.</span></div></blockquote></body></html>