Internet speed is emerging as a top issue for Internet users the world over as consumers, businesses, schools and governments clamor for faster, broadband speeds and better, more reliable Internet service.
Broadband Matters
It sometimes hard to believe that less than three decades ago, the World Wide Web did not exist; few people had even seen a mobile phone, and access to broadband networks was limited to only a few businesses and research institutions.
Today, Internet-enabled innovations and near ubiquitous mobile access are driving a technology revolution that is altering economies and touching every facet of life.
Business and consumer oriented services, such as Voice over IP, social networking, video-sharing, media streaming, secure transmissions, digital downloading, e-learning and cloud-backups, all require more bandwidth and a more robust network infrastructure.
In addition to consumer and business impact, broadband helps promote national economic development. It enables efficiencies in the delivery of government services, and enhances quality of life factors through improvements to educational opportunities, public health and public safety for citizens.
Access to broadband also makes a significant contribution to the economy. A World Bank Development Report pinpoints broadband as a key driver of economic growth, providing a boost of 1.38 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) in developing countries for every ten per cent increase in penetration.
Another study from Brazil reveals that broadband contributed 1.4 per cent of the employment growth rate annually and in China it has been noted that every ten per cent increase in broadband penetration contributes an additional 2.5 per cent to GDP growth. The European Union estimates that broadband can create more than two million jobs in Europe by 2015 and an increase in GDP of at least EUR$636 billion.
This recognition, and the connection to economic growth, prompted the US to inject millions into broadband infrastructure during the global economic meltdown. The European Union also pumped over EUR$5 billion toward investment in energy and Internet infrastructure. Several other countries, including Canada, France, Japan and South Korea, also invested from a low of US$200 million to a high of US$24.6 billion into upgrading broadband access to more households.
Sadly, despite compelling international evidence, the Caribbean lags behind with its investments in ICTs generally and broadband specifically. According to Caricom's Trade and Economic Integration (TEI) desk, there is a continuous play of "catch-up," in the Caribbean. Regionally, Internet penetration stands at a meagre 28.2 per cent with just a little over 11 million Internet users.
Further, only one or two countries can boast a national broadband plan. There isn't even official agreement on what should be considered as a minimum base-line speed for broadband access. In 2011, a Caricom ICT steering committee proposed 2.0Mg/bits per second, but is yet to be ratified by governments.
The urgent need to expedite a regional broadband policy cannot be over-emphasized; nor can the need for individual states to develop national broadband plans be overstated.
A recently released joint report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and networking equipment giant, Cisco Systems, found that countries with a clearly defined national vision for broadband implementation are significantly out-performing those taking a more laissez-faire approach to broadband development.
Mind the gap: Affordable access
Communications services and technological innovations should be accessible and affordable to all because of the implications they have for sustained economic development. The goal of broadband access is to allow people to take advantage of its potential, whether it's for business development, improved healthcare, access to government services, recreation or education. However, one of the biggest challenges with broadband access is that it is still not universally available, nationally or regionally.
"Digital divide" is the term often used to describe the gap between those with technology access and those without, with socioeconomic conditions often being key driver. The term also applies to gap in availability of broadband infrastructure, typically between densely-populated urban centres and sparsely-populated rural areas.
Given the relatively small size of most Caribbean markets, the private sector does not always have the business incentive to effectively address closing the gap. Investments in expanding and improving their service offerings and network coverage are usually made on the basis of tangible economic return, not social benefit.
Let to the private sector along, broadband access will remain uneven and unreliable and digital opportunities can exclude the lower socio-economic segments of society.
Where private telecommunications providers are not able or not willing to address demands for access, it is the regulator, the government, civil society, or the affected communities themselves? Or is it all of the above?
National plans, competitive markets
This is why there is perhaps no issue more central to the debate about broadband policy than the state of and role of competition. Why? Competition leads to lower prices, broader deployment, greater innovation, higher speeds, and better customer service.
In every market where a low cost, high-speed, broadband option has been introduced, new segments of the population take the opportunity to gain access to the Internet and to new opportunities.
In non-monopoly markets, competitors are often compelled to respond with new products, lower prices or improved service. Service provider margins may take a short term hit, but consumers benefit and businesses benefit. When executed well, in medium to long term, the market grows and the economy benefits.
It would be great (and preferred) if Internet and mobile service providers players, had the foresight to increase the speed and lower the cost of their basic entry-level Internet broadband offerings, without government or regulatory intervention. But where this is not happening, it would be great for regulators to accelerate the process. This is just too important to leave to chance.
Understanding how to influence competitive forces to spark these positive outcomes can help countries to access the broadband services needed to seize the technology opportunities of tomorrow by acting wisely today.
Bevil Wooding is the chief knowledge office of Congress WBN (www.congresswbn.org), a values-based international non-profit. He is also executive director of BrightPath Foundation, an education-technology non-profit (www.brightpathfoundation.org). Reach him on Twitter @bevilwooding or on facebook.com/bevilwooding or contact via e-mail at technologymatters@brightpathfoundation.org.
