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ITU TELECOM ASIA
2004 Confirms Region's Position as Global ICT Leader
Busan — The seventh regional
telecommunications Exhibition and Forum for the Asia-Pacific, was held from 7
to 11 September at the Bexco (Busan Exhibition and Conference Centre),
Republic of Korea. "Asia Leading the Future"— the theme of ITU
TELECOM ASIA 2004 — was very much in evidence on the exhibition floor, in the
forum sessions and in the data released by ITU during the week. "This
very successful event has reflected the leading position that the
Asia-Pacific region holds in telecommunications," said Yoshio Utsumi,
Secretary-General of ITU, the organizers of the event. "In many ways
Asia is one step ahead of the world. Ongoing product development,
cutting-edge technology, and the widespread take up of new products and
services has combined to ensure that Asia has the competitive edge." Mr
Utsumi also noted, "that a well-educated population together with the
traditional Asian values of team spirit and a strong work ethic combined with
cooperation at all levels between government and industry have ensured the
success of Asia’s information and communication technology sector." ASIA
2004 was opened on 7 September 2004 by H.E. President Roh Moo-Hyun of the
Republic of Korea and throughout the week the event attracted an impressive
range of participants, including the leading players in the regional and
global telecommunication industry as well as top-level representatives of the
region’s governments and regulatory bodies. ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 combined policy
initiatives and discussions with a trade showcase for information and
communication technologies, which attracted a large number of visitors from
Asia and around the world. Its success will serve to reinforce the reputation
of ITU TELECOM as a unique non-profit showcase for telecommunications
technologies and as a forum for strategic policy discussions relevant to the
regional and global industry. ITU, as the United Nations specialized agency
for telecommunications, is uniquely equipped to spark change in the
telecommunication sector through regulatory reform, human resource and
technology development all of which underlies the ITU mandate to ‘help the
world communicate’.
Asian Success from an Asian Strategy
Broadband penetration in Asia is the highest in the world. IMT-2000 services
have also taken off rapidly, particularly in Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Countries such as China and India have emerged as information and
communication technology (ICT) forces to be reckoned with, as well as
important players in the field of research and development. Asia’s policy
makers have played a vital role in the evolution of telecommunication markets
in the region. Instead of launching a deluge of competition onto markets,
which arguably were not geared up for it, policy makers have taken a more
measured stance toward competition. It has been seen that, where gradual but
functioning market competition is in place, it has been visibly successful.
The Asian model was being examined this week by visiting Ministerial delegations
to ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 from Africa, Europe and South America. Mobile
operators launching IMT-2000 services in Asia have also been spared the huge
license fees, which have beset their Western counterparts. And they have not
been limited to just one type of IMT-2000 technology; they have been able to
choose their own next-generation path. Throughout the week, on the exhibition
floor as well in the Forum meeting rooms, the technologies that are shaping
the region’s and the world’s future were very much in evidence.
Focus on New Technologies is Reflected in
ITU Research Results
The ITU’s new "Portable Internet" report, produced especially for
the event, focused on the new wireless technologies that are currently in
development in the region. The report examined the set of technologies, such
as Bluetooth, Zigbee or longer-range wireless technologies such as the
much-discussed WiMax, which could be used to make the Internet truly
portable. It also examined the market opportunities that these technologies
could create, as well as the challenges they could bring. Technologies such
as these have the power not only to allow for the rollout of ever-more
sophisticated wireless broadband services onto developed markets, but also to
extend ICT services within developing countries, to areas where current
infrastructure is limited or non-existent.
Asia is Global Leader for Mobile and
Broadband Penetration
ITU also unveiled its latest Asia-Pacific telecommunication indicators report
during ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004. It reports that all ICT sectors have seen
soaring levels of growth in recent years, making Asia-Pacific a global leader
in mobile and broadband. Next-generation mobile services have been launched
across the region, with Japan and the Republic of Korea emerging as
world-leaders in this field. Broadband penetration has also grown rapidly
with four of the top broadband connected economies in the world are from the
Asia-Pacific region. Growth rates for fixed lines, mobile subscribers and
Internet users over the last few years have soared in a number of countries
across the region. Mobile subscriber numbers rocketed by 31% per year between
2000-2003 to reach 560 million — overtaking North America as the world’s
largest market. Numbers of fixed lines in the region also grew by 14% in the
same period, surpassing the single digit growth rates seen in most other
regions. Next generation IMT-2000 services have been launched across the
region and Japan and the Republic of Korea are emerging as global leaders in
this field. Indeed, Japan has the world's highest penetration of mobile
Internet users. The number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region also
experienced rapid growth — 38% year on year from 2000-2003. At the end of
that period, the number of Internet users in the region amounted to 255
million, surpassing North America, which grew by 18% to reach 227 million
users by yearend 2003.
Forum Examines Avenues for ICT Growth
Asia-Pacific’s fast-growing broadband and mobile markets were just some of
the areas explored at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 Forum. A total of 727 Forum
delegates from 43 countries came together to discuss and debate the kinds of
strategies, technologies and policies that are driving growth on
Asia-Pacific’s dynamic ICT markets. Sessions such as "Turning market
demand into profit," or " Building on broadband" looked at how
to capitalize and build upon existing revenue schemes and harness the
opportunities offered by new services. Sessions such as "Making 3G
global," or "Internet governance" brought together
representatives from a number of different bodies, representing governments
as well as industry, to tackle core issues such as the future scenarios for
next-generation mobile technologies or how the Internet should be governed.
ICT Leaders of the Future Convene for Youth
Forum
60 young people from 34 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, who are
widely acknowledged as the region’s ICT leaders of the future, came together
at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 for the Youth Forum. The Youth Fellows took part in
a programme of talks, debates and interactive panel discussions with those in
attendance at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 Exhibition and Forum. They were able to
meet with 224 exhibitors from across Asia and around the globe and to take
part in the main Forum sessions of their choice. Debates focused on 3
distinct areas; technology and applications, policy and regulation and
finance and business opportunities. The Youth Fellows worked together during
ASIA 2004 to produce a declaration and action plan, which they released to
industry leaders at the event. The declaration outlined their vision of a
society where everyone has equal opportunities and is able to "realise
their full potential through the use of ICTs." To this end, the
declaration calls for action on three levels; broader education and awareness
of ICTs, further government accountability and increased cooperation at all
levels-governments, companies, industries and civil society- to help bridge
the digital divide.
Countdown to ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 Begins
ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 also saw the launch of ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006, the
ITU’s flagship event for the global telecommunications industry. The next
WORLD event will be taking place in Hong Kong, China from 4-8 December 2006.
It will be the first ITU TELECOM WORLD event to be held outside of Europe.
From
http://www.itu.int/ 09/11/2004
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e-Security Among Central Issues for
APEC Telecommunications & Information Technologies Experts Meeting in
Singapore
e-Security is one of the key issues on the
agenda for government and private sector telecommunications and information
technologies experts currently meeting in Singapore. The 30th APEC
Telecommunications and Information Technologies Working Group (APEC TEL)
Meeting is taking place at the Suntec Singapore International Convention
& Exhibition Centre this week until September 24. APEC TEL Chair, Ms.
Salma Jalife, said the meeting is an opportunity for delegates from around
the region to enhance cross-border cooperation on international
telecommunications and information technology issues. "Protecting
networks, safeguarding online transactions and strengthening wireless
security are major issues for business and government as we work towards
achieving a regional Information Society," Ms. Jalife said at the
meeting. "The only way we can ensure a secure environment is if APEC
Member Economies work together to develop common standards and solutions. In
this respect, it is essential to engage in capacity building efforts
providing practical tools to address users concerns including those of the
small and medium enterprises." Ms. Jalife said the ongoing interaction
between business, academic and government representatives at the meeting is
bringing about greater clarity of joint cooperation required for a fully
liberalized telecommunications sector in the region. "The agenda for
APEC TEL 30 includes several steering group meetings and workshops," Ms.
Jalife said. "One of the main aims at the meeting is to promote the
deployment of advanced, secure and reliable telecommunications and
information infrastructure. This includes looking at options to improving
access to broadband services for rural and underserved urban areas."
"There is also a high level of interest in expanding efforts to develop
principles for the application of standards and regulatory
arrangements." The APEC TEL has been meeting since 1990 to develop and
implement common action plans and initiatives to strengthen regional
information and communications infrastructures. APEC TEL gives special
attention to sharing telecommunications and information technology related
skills so as to increase employment opportunities in the digital economy. The
activities of the APEC TEL contribute to the central APEC goals of
liberalizing trade and in investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for
industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.
From http://www.apecsec.org.sg/ 09/22/2004
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Senior Officials from the Asia Pacific
Meet in Beijing on E-Government
The State Council Informatization Office
(SCITO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China, UNDP-Asia Pacific
Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) and Cisco Systems organised a
high-level e-Government meeting entitled the APAC Public Services Summit in
Beijing on 15 and 16 July 2004. The summit featured presentations on the
theme “Connectivity and Competitiveness: New Models for E-Government in
China, Asia-Pacific, and the World.” More than 160 attendees, including
several vice ministers, senior government officials and representatives of
regional intergovernmental bodies, participated in the gathering. The summit
addressed the following critical issues facing government leaders: (1) How to
enable cooperation across multiple ministries for delivery of enhanced public
services. (2) How to ensure that the benefits of e-Government are made
universal, to government, business, and to all citizens in urban and rural
regions. (3) Exploring relevant evaluation methodologies and benchmarks for
e-Government and how to track programme implementation. The speakers touched
on critical issues facing government leaders and shared lessons learnt and
best practices from across Asia Pacific and around the world that can be
adapted and applied to situations in participating countries. Topics
presented ranged from Public Sector Reform and Cross Agency Collaboration,
Citizen Service Network, Connected Cities and Communities, to Public-Private
Partnerships and more for E-government. The summit also focused on challenges
faced by governments, reform processes, the need for service-level standards
that can be used to benchmark improvements, and how to evaluate overall
effectiveness of reforms. The presentations are available at APDIP website.
Mr. Chen Dawei, Vice Minister of the SCITO in summing up the summit said:
“Through communications with the international counterparts, we expect to
achieve more interactive and higher efficient functions of e-governance,
providing the citizens with timely and convenient public services. The public
service is an essential element of e-government and promoting it in China has
been the top priority for the government. The summit contributes tremendously
to bridging the digital divide and economic development in the Asia Pacific
region. It is supportive for the long term and future development of the
e-government and public services in each country.” Mr. Macleod Nyirongo,
Senior Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP China, added that “The UNDP
places high priority on the issue of how best ICTs can further the Millennium
Development Goals, balance political, economic, and social interests, and
bridge the digital divide between rich and poor. By joining with the SCITO
and Cisco, UNDP hopes to focus attention on how information and communication
technologies within and across nations and organizations can generate
productivity gains and offer competitive advantages to citizen and corporate
constituents for all the participating nations.” (by James George Chacko)
From http://www.digital-review.org/ 08/01/2004
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E-Government Rankings 2004: Asia Comes
First, Second
The E-Government Rankings have been compiled by Darrell West of the Center
for Public Policy at Brown University annually for the last four years. Whereas
each previous survey represented a snapshot of e-government progress at a
fixed point in time, now it begins to be possible to gauge the pace of change
and to speculate on the underlying drivers for e-government adoption in
specific countries and regions. Of interest to readers of Public Sector
Technology & Management is the fact that for the first time, not only do
Asian economies occupy the top two positions, but in addition half of the top
ten e-governments come from the wider Asia Pacific region. Judging from this
survey at least, Asian e-governance has arrived.
What the survey surveys
The E-Government Rankings is not intended to be a qualitative assessment of
the effectiveness of service delivery, or the accessibility of government. It
is a quantitative gauge of the volume of agencies deploying information
online. For example it is highly unlikely that the e-government service
levels in Iraq are comparable to those of the United Kingdom, though in this
survey Iraq is ranked four places higher. Likewise this survey does not
quantify the degree of citizen participation in the services offered. However
the sheer breadth of the study makes it a valuable indicator. Raw data, in
aggregate, generally correlates with e-government activity on the ground. The
report draws upon a detailed analysis of 1935 government websites in 198
different economies, and this research sample is recent - it took place this
summer (June-August).
E-government consolidation?
This year's research has found that the pace of progress has slowed to an
'incremental pace'. But far from taking this as a negative indicator, a more
likely interpretation is that governments in the region and globally have now
established e-government deployment models. What remains is a period of
incremental improvement and consolidation - ensuring that the end-user
citizens make use of what enlightened e-governments have provided. Another
reason for the slowing pace of e-government roll-out is that the initial
steps are easier than the successive ones. We are now at the stage where
e-government, if it is to deliver, will entail the progressive
rationalisation of 'pre-E' bureaucratic processes. "Governments are
showing steady progress on several important dimensions, but not major leaps
forward," says West. "On several key indicators, e-government
performance is edging up. However, movement forward has not been more
extensive in some areas because budget, bureaucratic, and institutional
forces have limited the extent to which the public sector has incorporated technology
into their mission." For e-government (and therefore government) to
prosper, civil administration in the region will need to embrace technology
as an agent of change. The e-government genie has come out of the bottle;
there's no going back.
E-Government Rankings: The Asian Top 10
1. Taiwan
2. Singapore
3. China
4. Australia
5. Iraq
6. Hong Kong
7. New Zealand
8. Bahrain
9. Indonesia
10. Japan
E-Government Rankings: The Global Top 20
1. Taiwan
2. Singapore
3. United States
4. Canada
5. Monaco
6. China
7. Australia
8. Togo
9. Germany
10. Iraq
11. Hong Kong
12. New Zealand
13. Italy
14. United Kingdom
15. Liechtenstein
16. Bahrain
17. Dominica
18. France
19. Israel
20. Marshall Islands
(by James Smith)
From http://www.pstm.net/ 09/20/2004
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E-Govt to Drive Asian Content
Management Market, Says IDC
According to a new IDC study, the regional
Content Management solutions market will see significant growth over the next
four years - and the public sector will be taking the lead when it comes to
roll-out. "E-government initiatives are expected to be among the key
drivers of growth for this region as governments seek to improve the quality
of services that they provide to their citizens," says Sharon Tan, an
analyst with market research firm IDC. The Content Management software market
in Asia Pacific (exclusing Japan) is expected to grow from US$109.42 million
in 2003 to US$219.28 million in 2008, a compound annual growth rate of 14.9
per cent. Unsurprisingly, Australia and Korea lead the CM markets in 2003 at
US$32.4 million and US$29.02 million respectively, which was largely
attributed to their mature e-government initiatives. According to IDC, Demand
in the region is principally fuelled by government and the financial sector.
The primary objective of the region's governments is to reduce costs as well
as increase efficiency in order to provide better services to citizens. Many
of the region's administrations have made e-government their priority
project, with Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore emerging as global leaders
in e-government initiatives. Governments across the rest of Asia Pacific have
also been actively adopting internet-based technologies as part of their
ongoing efforts to develop their own e-governments. These include reaching
out to the public with up-to-date information on government portals and
deploying web content management software solutions as well as reforms to
increase efficiency. Singapore was an early adopter of content management
among the ASEAN countries in 2003 and is expected to continue dominating the
market throughout the forecast period of 2004–2008. The ASEAN sub-region
comprises Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. This is
largely due to various governmental initiatives that are fuelling demand for
content management applications. Although IDC expects the total content
management software market in Singapore to grow from US$9.71 million in 2003
to US$19.19 million in 2008, in terms of growth potential, Thailand is
forecast to be the key growing market in the sub-region with a five-year
compound annual growth rate of 18.4 per cent. This is partially attributable
to Thailand's recently-launched government initiatives.
From http://www.pstm.net/ 09/21/2004
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Asian E-Govt Is Thriving
Darrell West, Director of the Taubman Center
for Public Policy at Brown University, says that Asia has made rapid progress
in the field of e-government over the last four years - but that there are
still lessons to be learned from North America. On the back of the latest
E-Government Rankings survey, produced by the Center for Public Policy, the
author of the research Darrell West [pictured] spoke exclusively to Public
Sector Technology & Management, touching upon some of the drivers of
Asia's recent e-government progress. "E-government is thriving in
Asia," says West. "Governments have made rapid progress at
integrating technology into the public sector. Both citizens and businesses
appreciate the convenience of online government and value the opportunity to
transact government services 24/7." According to West a primary enabler
of recent e-government development in the region has been the degree of
political leadership and support for IT-enabled government. "Leaders in
this region deserve credit for making electronic government a top
priority," he says. "Several Asian countries are ahead of the
United States and Canada at bringing broadband service to their people. This
makes it easier and quicker to access new applications. It is harder to put
interactive technologies online when access speeds are slow." However
although the region has made great strides in shifting information and
processes online, more remains to be done. North America as a region still
ranks higher than Asia in the latest E-Government Rankings. "What some
Asian countries can learn from North America is the importance of privacy and
security in online transactions. Citizens want to be reassured when they use
electronic government that their transactions are confidential. There also
needs to be greater attention in some places to making websites accessible to
the visually impaired. Web sites should be designed to further access by all
people, regardless of physical condition."
From http://www.pstm.net/ 09/23/2004
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Fourth Annual Global E-Government
Study by Brown University
Providence, RI-A new study of global
e-government undertaken by researchers at Brown University shows that 21
percent of government agencies around the world are offering online services,
up from 16 percent in 2003, 12 percent in 2002, and eight percent in 2001.
The countries of Taiwan (China) and Singapore now lead the United States and
Canada in overall e-government performance. The fourth annual survey
conducted by Professor Darrell M. West of the Taubman Center for Public
Policy at Brown University and a team of researcher: country’s on-line
presence. The research evaluated government websites on two dozen different
criteria, including the availability of publications, databases, disability
access, privacy, security, and the number of online services. Previous
studies of global e-government were released in 2001, 2002, and 2003. This
year's study reviews 1,935 government websites in 198 countries during June,
July, and August, 2004. Among the sites analyzed are those of executive
offices, legislative offices, judicial offices, Cabinet offices, and major
agencies serving crucial functions of government, such as health, human
services, taxation, education, interior, economic development,
administration, natural resources, foreign affairs, foreign investment,
transportation, military, tourism, and business regulation.
From http://www.insidepolitics.org/ 10/03/2004
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Korea's IT Experts Elected as ITU
Study Group Leader
Korean experts on standards of information
technology (IT) have been elected as leaders of study groups (SGs), which
will undertake IT standardization work at the International Telecommunication
Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). Dr. Park Ki-sik of
the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) was named
chief of the SG3 involving the billing and charging policy at the general
assembly of the ITU-T, which closed last week. Six other Korean IT experts
were named as vice chiefs of the six SGs, including the broad convergence
network (BcN) and the next generation mobile telecom network. The activity of
SG3 will be spotlighted as one of the most important standardization groups
of the ITU-T as Internet use billing has emerged as a hot issue. At the
general meeting, the positions of the chairman and vice chairman in 13 SGs
and one technological advisory group TASG were elected. Korea has secured the
SG chairmanship for the first time since it joined the ITU in 1953. Only
eight countries, including the United States, France and Japan, among a total
of 189 members of ITU have led the standardization groups. Following are the
newly elected Korean leaders of the ITU-T SGs at the general assembly meeting
last week. Dr. Park Ki-sik of ETRI, head of the SG3 on billing and charging
policy; Lee Hong-lim of KT, vice chairman of the SG2 on call planning and
network operation; Lee Hyong-ho, chief of the center for standard research of
ETRI, vice chairman of SG11 on signal and protocol research; and Lee Jae-sup,
visiting researcher of ETRI, as vice chairman of SG 13 on next generation
telecom networks. Meanwhile, Chin Byong-moon, chief of the standardization
department of the Telecommunications Technology Association, was renamed vice
chairman of the SG17 on IT software; Kim Young-kyun, executive managing
director of Samsung Electronics, as vice chairman of the SG19 on mobile
telecom network; and Lee Byong-nam, ETRI researcher, vice chairman of TASG on
customs duties in Asia and Oceania.
From http://www.korea.net/ 10/20/2004
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Project Promoting ICT to Boost Rice
Production in Three GMS Countries
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) has approved a US$1 million grant to help improve food security
and the livelihoods of poor farmers in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)
using information and communications technology (ICT). The grant, from the
Japan Fund for Information and Communications Technology (JFICT), financed by
the Government of Japan, will help boost rice production in Cambodia,
Thailand, and Viet Nam. It will provide better access to market price
information to enable producers to increase their incomes by using ICT to
disseminate agricultural information on production techniques and global best
practices. The TA will adapt and translate materials from the Rice Knowledge
Bank (RKB) of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to meet the
needs of local farmers. The RKB will also serve local agricultural extension
workers, information facilitators, nongovernment organizations, and other
institutions. "ICT offers powerful new ways to capture, present, and
disseminate the wealth of knowledge available," says C.R. Rajendran,
Director of ADB's Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division for
the Mekong. "However, most poor and small-scale farmers are unable to
access such information available through ICT due to language barriers, lack
of tools, and lack of knowledge about existing information. Also, they may be
overwhelmed and intimidated by ICT." Rice, a staple crop of the three
countries, is particularly important for the poor and small-scale landholders,
most of whom live in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture. It is
already a major export from Viet Nam and there is potential for export from
Cambodia in the future. Agricultural extension workers and civil society
organizations that work with and support these poor farmers to improve
agricultural production techniques often have limited knowledge of global
best practices. They also usually have little experience in applying
information available through ICT at the local level. "This knowledge
gap and limitations constrain farming options and efficiency, and,
ultimately, have a negative effect on production levels, income of the poor,
and on the environment," says Mr. Rajendran. "These countries need
to build and strengthen agricultural information networks to manage and apply
information to benefit farmers." The grant complements the Japan Fund
for Poverty Reduction grant for Improving Poor Farmers' Livelihoods through
Postharvest Technology approved earlier this year. IRRI is the executing
agency for the grant. Governments are contributing $100,000 equivalent and
IRRI will add $150,000 toward the total project cost of $1.25 million. The
JFICT was set up in July 2001 with an initial contribution from Japan of ￥1,273.3 million
(about $10 million) to harness the potential of ICT and bridge the growing
digital divide in Asia and the Pacific. ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty
in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth,
social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by
63 members - 45 from the region. In 2003, it approved loans and technical
assistance amounting to US$6.1 billion and US$177 million, respectively.
From http://www.adb.org/ 07/28/2004
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South Korea
to Help Reduce Digital Divide in Southeast Asia
ASEAN Plus Three (Korea, Japan and China)
countries held an information ministers’ meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on
Wednesday (August 4), the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC)
reported. At the meeting, Chin Dae-je, Korean information minister, addressed
five major issues, including the reduction of digital divide among regional
countries, developing an information infrastructure for ASEAN countries,
coordinating ICT (information communication technologies) policies, fostering
human resources, and expanding ICT investments. In the digital divide, the
minister stressed that Korea would share its know-how and experiences with
ASEAN countries. Already, the minister said, Korea has been sponsoring
various projects, including setting up information service centers
(“information access centers”) in various parts across the region, dispatched
young Internet specialists to provide digital education programs, and hosting
IT-related workshops for government officials of various countries. According
to the ministry, Korea has set up four information access centers in four
countries thus far, and efforts are under way to put up the fifth in the
Philippines. Some 350 Internet specialists have been dispatched to countries
like China, Vietnam and Indonesia, and over 600 East Asian IT specialists
have received training at workshops sponsored by the ministry since 1998.
From http://www.mic.go.kr/ 08/05/2004
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China Willing to Expand ICT Cooperation with ASEAN
At the 3rd China-ASEAN Information and
Communication Seminar kicked off in Bangkok on Friday, Chinese Information
Technology Industry Minister Wang Xudong said China is willing to carry out
broader cooperation with ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
countries in the fields of network construction, business operation and
government regulation and consultation. "China and ASEAN nations have
enjoyed long-term friendly cooperation in the economic and trade field. In
recent years, the exchanges and cooperation in ICT sectors among related
countries have yielded positive results," said Wang, referring to the
signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on ICT cooperation between China
and ASEAN in Oct. 2003, which opened up a new chapter in the mutually
beneficial cooperation among countries in the region. Thanks to the concerted
efforts from all these countries, co-operations stated in the memorandum have
been carries out, said the minister. Initiated by China, the building of a
trunk communication network along the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has
received active response from ASEAN countries and the project was being
pushed forward. "As developing countries, China and ASEAN countries need
to jointly promote information and communication development to adapt to the
change of the global economic situation," said the minister, adding
China's plan to train 500 telecom management personnel for ASEAN has got a
good start. Meanwhile, Thai Information and Communication Technology Minister
Surapong Suebwonglee said in his welcome speech that the signing of the MOU
between China and ASEAN countries is a monument and the framework will be
discussed at the seminar. Governmental officials, entrepreneurs and experts
from China and ASEAN countries participated in the two-day seminar.
From Xinhua News Agency 08/06/2004
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China, Korea Emerging as Mobile Phone
Powerhouses
TOKYO -- The number of mobile phone
subscribers in China is the world's largest at 300 million, as of May 2004.
Also, experiments on third-generation (3G) mobile phone services have been
carried out successfully in China, with its proprietary technology
"TD-SCDMA" expected to be commercialized soon. Despite a widespread
view that 3G services will not penetrate broadly until handset prices decline
to 2G levels, China still has a great impact because its market is immense.
Meanwhile, Korea topped the world with 7.3 million subscribers to CDMA2000
1xEV-DO phone services, its 3G commercial service initiated ahead of other
countries in 2002, and its movie contents are gathering momentum, too.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 08/23/2004
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UN Organizes Open-Source Software Day
Across Asia
The United Nations, through its
International Open Source Network (IOSN) will organize the first annual
Software Freedom Day on Saturday in an effort to educate Asian users about
the benefits of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and encourage its wider
use in the region. The United Nations, through its International Open Source
Network (IOSN) will organize the first annual Software Freedom Day on
Saturday in an effort to educate Asian users about the benefits of Free and
Open Source Software (FOSS) and encourage its wider use in the region. IOSN
will organize events in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, setting up stations in public places to
give away informational brochures and CDs with selected open-source software,
including The Open CD and a Linux Live CD. "Access to ICT (information
and communications technology) is severely limited in developing countries
due to high costs," IOSN said on its Web site. "FOSS ... represents
an opportunity for these countries to adopt affordable software and solutions
toward bridging the digital divide." Apart from Linux, high-profile FOSS
applications being promoted include the Open Office productivity suite, the
Mozilla browser and e-mail project, my SQL database and the Apache Web
server. IOSN has also released a primer describing the philosophy, history,
benefits and disadvantages of FOSS, with topics such as localization,
licensing and Linux also briefly covered. Several Asian countries have begun
initiatives to promote Linux and open-source applications, although none have
yet mandated its use over proprietary equivalents. A three-country initiative
involving Japan, China and South Korea has resulted in a localized standard
version for Linux known as Asianux. Microsoft Corp., which stands to lose
significantly if Asia makes a large-scale move away from its standard Windows
desktop has recently agreed to sell a cheap version of its flagship XP
desktop operating system in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The software,
called Windows XP Starter Edition, will be available on low-cost hardware
from October. (by David Legard)
From http://www.infoworld.com/ 08/25/2004
TOP↑
Developing Joint Projects Among Major
Asian Cities
The Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Asian
Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) will be convened on November 22 and 23 in
the Indonesian city of Jakarta. The ANMC21 was formed with the aim of
conducting joint projects among major Asian cities in order to address the
issues common to all major cities, such as resolving urban problems or
promoting industry, thus achieving further prosperity and development within
the region. The Plenary Meeting will include Implementation Reports on the
Jpoint Projects, policy dialogue and exchanges of ideas among the representatives
of participating cities regarding the problems of Asia's major cities, and a
Special Report on infectious diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) and bird flu. The results of the meeting will be compiled
into the Jakarta Declaration.
From http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ 08/31/2004
TOP↑
Asia Moves Faster Than US, EU in IT
Revolution
Asia has now almost taken over the lead in
the world’s technology. Information and communication technology (ICT) is
currently being developed faster in Asia than in any other part of the world.
One-third of the world’s ICT users reside in Asia, and 35% of world’s
well-known IT corporations are also based in Asia. The five countries with
the highest broadband Internet penetration rates are all Asian countries, and
35% of the world’s CDMA subscribers are in Asia as well. In this eastern
partdsye"odrlf:1xsldechnologically so inspiring, stands Korea with its
aspirations for making the best of information technology and
telecommunications. For 20 years Korea has been engaged in developing the
infrastructure for the foundation of today’s technological achievements. From
1987’s National Basic Information Systems in key areas such as public
administration and defense, through Korea Information Infrastructure
Initiatives in the early 1990’s, to recently realized Cyber Korea 21 and
e-Government, Korea has established one of the firmest bases in the world for
further ICT development beyond the information society into ``ubiquitous’’
society. In addition, the IT 839 Strategy developed by the Ministry of
Information and Communication is guiding efforts for the goal of achieving
u-society in Korea. This ambitious strategy focuses on the technological
implementation of eight services, three infrastructures, and nine growth
engines. In a recent report by the MIC and the Korea Internet Promotion and
National Internet Development Agency, the number of Internet users in Korea
exceeded 30 million as of June this year, which represents 63.3% of the total
population. This figure has placed Korea third in the world, trailing only
Iceland and Sweden. The number of PCs has increased from 5.4 million in 1995
to 26.7 million last year, growing by almost five times in less than 10
years. The number of Internet banking subscribers has also probably increased
by 180 times over the same period, from 0.12 million to 21.7 million. The
number of mobile phone subscribers exceeded 33 million as of last year and an
increasing number of people are turning to mobile banking services as well.
Such successes are the fruits of strong presidential commitment and
systematic national policies well developed and implemented. Cooperation
between the public and private sectors under a collaborative legal framework
have also played significant roles in enabling the implementation of national
policies to yield active investments and advanced technology as well as
demand creation in the field. Korea is now heading further toward the
realization of a ``ubiquitous’’ society. Under the ultimate goal of creating
u-Korea, in which a variety of ICT is melded with our everyday lives in a
network for providing a better and more convenient environment, Korea now
aims at enhancing the quality of people’s lives and raising industrial
productivity, as well as reforming public services. In a period of stagnation
in economic growth such as today, the establishment of u-Korea will
facilitate national growth and guide Korea along with Asia to contribute to a
global u-society. More efforts will be made in order to achieve the
u-society. Closing the internal and external digital divides is one major
task. Korea has worked internationally in this regard, cooperating with
countries such as Morocco, Cambodia, Congo, Myanmar, Chile, and Mexico. In
particular, the National Computerization Agency is jointly providing
expertise along with the Development Gateway Foundation and the World Bank to
countries with interest in Korea’s computerization model. It is in this
respect that Korea is pleased to host the ITU Telecom Asia 2004 in Pusan
(Busan), September 6-11, 2004. Under the theme of ``Asia Leading the
Future,’’ ITU Telecom Asia 2004 will comprise a major exhibition featuring
the latest services and technology from the global ICT industry. The
exhibition will be accompanied by a thought-provoking forum that will provide
a platform for the sharing of ideas and experiences across all sectors of ICT
industry. The six-day event will provide opportunities for all participants
to learn how to advance and cooperate in order to take part in the building
of a u-society in the region and develop toward the world’s future. (by Suh
Sam-young)
From The Korea Times 09/07/2004
TOP↑
Asia-Pacific ICT
Sector Keeps Climbing
Geneva — The Asia-Pacific region continues
to show strong telecommunication market growth. The ITU Asia-Pacific
Telecommunication Indicators 2004 report, issued at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 in
Busan (Republic of Korea), found that growth rates for fixed lines, mobile
subscribers and Internet users over the last few years have soared in a
number of countries across the region. Mobile subscriber numbers rocketed by
31% per year between 2000-2003 to reach 560 million — overtaking North America
as the world’s largest market. Numbers of fixed lines in the region also grew
by 14% in the same period, surpassing the single digit growth rates seen in
most other regions. Next generation IMT-2000 services have been launched
across the region and Japan and the Republic of Korea are emerging as global
leaders in this field. Indeed, Japan has the world's highest penetration of
mobile Internet users. The number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific
region also experienced rapid growth — 38% year on year from 2000-2003. At
the end of that period, the number of Internet users in the region amounted
to 255 million, surpassing North America, which grew by 18% to reach 227
million users by yearend 2003. In comparison, Europe/CIS grew by 20% from
2000-2003, reaching 191 million in 2003.
Asia-Pacific Leads in Broadband Connected
Economies
Asia Pacific’s broadband markets have shown exceptional growth. According to
the report, by year-end 2003, four of the top 10 broadband-connected
economies in the world were from the Asia-Pacific region. The Republic of
Korea, with a broadband penetration of 23.3%, and Hong Kong, China — with a
broadband penetration of 18% — top the global broadband league. They are
closely followed by Taiwan, China (13.4%), and Japan (11.7%). Singapore is in
11th position at 10.1%. A number of factors have helped the growth of
broadband, including a favourable regulatory environment, the emergence of
regional equipment manufacturers, and urban demographics. "The role of
governments has also been critical in helping the rollout of broadband,"
explains Eric Nelson, a consultant and lead author of the Asia-Pacific
Telecommunication Indicators report, "Governments have taken steps such
as becoming preeminent adopters of the technology themselves, stimulated the
development of adequate national backbone networks, created incentives for
the establishment of competition, interacted closely with the private sector
and given subsidies and other incentives to extend coverage into rural areas
to reach new user groups." New wireless technologies, which are
currently being developed, could further help to extend the reach of ICTs
into previously untapped rural or remote areas. WiFi — designed for
local-area usage — is becoming a popular option for certain applications.
Emerging wireless technologies such as iBurst or WiMax hold the promise of
delivering very high-speed broadband access over a wide-area network, and
could provide coverage for numerous villages or towns or even several of the
Pacific Islands.
Disparities in Asia-Pacific Region Remain
The Asia-Pacific region encompasses some of the most and least connected
economies in the world. Success in areas such as broadband or next generation
mobile should not detract from the gap between the region’s low and
high-income economies. At the end of 2003, total telephone penetration —
fixed and mobile — in lower-income economies in the region was 22.6%,
compared to 139.4% in the region’s upper-income economies. Although this gap
is considerable, the good news is that it is showing signs of lessening. High
levels of demand and more affordable technologies, amongst other factors,
have meant that the growth rate for total teledenstity between 2001-2003 in
lower income countries was substantially higher — at almost 28% — than in
upper income countries. At these rates it could take less than 8 years for
lower-income economies to catch up with today’s levels of teledensity in
upper-income and developed economies. Governments could play a key role in
helping less developed economies catch up. "By following the kind of
steps taken by governments such as Japan or the Republic of Korea," says
Nelson "The rapid ICT progress made by these countries can be duplicated
in less developed markets. Asia-Pacific’s ICT future looks set to be a
positive one."
From http://www.itu.int/ 09/07/2004
TOP↑
Asia-Pacific Youth Envision a Society
of Understanding and Connectivity
Busan — A society of understanding and
connectivity where everyone has the possibility of fulfilling their potential
through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is at
the heart of the declaration issued by the 60 Youth Fellows from 34 countries
in the Asia-Pacific region, who participated in the ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 Youth
Forum. The Youth Forum delegates — known as Youth Fellows — are university
students selected by an ITU Steering committee following a competition at the
national level. The Youth Fellows, widely acknowledged as the next generation
of leaders in the information and communication technology field,
participated in a programme of talks, debates and interactive panel
discussions with those in attendance at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 Exhibition and
Forum. They were able to meet with the more than 200 exhibitors from across
Asia and around the globe and to take part in the main Forum sessions of
their choice. Mr Hamadoun Touré, Director of the ITU Development Bureau told
the Youth Fellows he was encouraged by the thought and commitment reflected
in their work and "particularly impressed by the emphasis placed in
their declaration on aspects such as education, accountability and
cooperation; all of which are elements that are shared by the ITU
membership." The Youth Forum focused on 3 key areas for the ICT future
of the Asia-Pacific region; technology and applications, policy and
regulation and finance and business opportunities. Lively and animated
debates ensued during the course of the sessions and after three days of
debate and discussion the Youth Fellows released the following declaration
and action plan to the industry leaders in attendance at ITU TELECOM ASIA
2004.
From http://www.itu.int/ 09/10/2004
TOP↑
The first Global ICT Forum for the
Least Developed Countries
Geneva — The first Global ICT Forum for the
Least Developed Countries (LDCs), recently held in Mauritius, considered ways
to help least developed countries join the Information Society. Organized
jointly by the International Telecommunication Union and the Commonwealth Business
Council and held in association with NEPAD’s E-Africa Commission, the Forum
enabled development partners to hold a series of bilateral and multilateral
negotiations on innovative development solutions and practical strategies for
deploying information and communication technologies (ICTs) projects that can
help the world’s poorest countries break away from the poverty trap. 150
participants from government, business, civil society and donor agencies took
part. The meeting followed a two-track format: one track set the stage with
presentations by the various stakeholders of their expectations, requirements
and initiatives, while the other brought together government and small and
medium-sized enterprises from the LDCs in one-to-one meetings with development
partners to discuss specific areas of cooperation. The Forum gave donors and
businesses an opportunity to underscore the current problems of investment in
LDCs, while participating governments showed great interest in finding out
how to attract financing into their ICT sector. The debate gave rise to a
number of policy options that could help increase investment flows into LDC
economies. The novel format of the meeting proved to be extremely effective
with the last day organized as a "speed-dating" event where donors,
investors and LDCs were given the opportunity to identify, through one-to-one
meetings, whether there existed areas of common interest in specific
development projects. For example, Mali sought assistance on an e-government
project to link 27 ministries through the Internet. USAID, whose assistance
programmes focus on facilitating the provision of e-government services to
increase transparency, particularly in government procurement projects,
responded positively to Mali’s call. Lesotho’s plea for assistance in
strengthening the regulatory skills of the regulatory agency’s board members
raised positive interest from the African Development Bank, which also showed
great interest in financing two Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) from
Malawi and Mauritius. The meeting aimed at stimulating positive change. In
particular, it examined proposals and models that can be translated into
concrete projects mainly in the areas of infrastructure, universal access,
education services and entrepreneurship development. It also sought to
identify possible sources of funding. In addition to creating a trading
platform, the meeting offered an exclusive networking opportunity to
participants who were able to gather information and explore possibilities for
cooperation in order to build synergies in their LDC-related activities as a
way of hedging against risk. Speaking at the event, Mauritius’ Acting Prime
Minister Jayakrishna Cuttaree said that the borderless nature of ICTs was
making the world a global marketplace. "The digital economy has a growth
potential for the gross national product of many countries of which LDCs
cannot be an exception." He added, "adapting to this new phenomenon
within the shortest span of time is the sine qua non condition for getting
out of underdevelopment and ensure prosperity." "Technological
developments, if left unmanaged, can widen the current digital gap and trap
developing and least developed countries in a perpetual spiral of poverty and
exclusion," said Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication
Development Bureau (BDT). "This is why this multi-stakeholder event is a
very important one, not only for LDCs but for all of us trying to make a
difference on the ground", he also said. He urged participants to ensure
effective cooperation and coordination at all levels in order to achieve the
required synergies, complementarities, and efficiencies. Warning governments
against over-regulation that can stifle innovation, he urged them to ensure
they put in place dynamic but flexible and transparent regulatory regimes. He
challenged business leaders to explore the abundant market opportunities that
remain untapped in least developed countries. While cautious, he expressed
confidence that private sector was now able to develop services in LDCs that
have set up adequate regulatory environments with the perspective of an
adequate return on their investment. The Forum provided an opportunity to
showcase a number of success stories with projects jointly implemented by ITU
with Sector Members in developing and least developed countries. Among them,
the ITU Internet Training Centre Initiative implemented in over 50 countries
in partnership with Cisco Systems, the ITU Global Telecommunication
University supported by Cable & Wireless and the ITU Youth Education
Scheme that operates under a partnership arrangement with Vodafone, Anacom of
Portugal and NTI of Egypt. Comoros and Kiribati saw merit of the ITU Internet
Training Centre initiative for their countries and embarked on discussions
with ITU and Cisco to join. A number of participating businesses expressed
interest in the ITU Global E-Learning Initiative aimed at providing Internet
connectivity to rural schools and e-health services to remote communities in
cooperation with Inmarsat and I-Linx. Bhutan’s ICTization project aimed at
connecting 20 schools and surrounding communities to ICT, has also generated
a lot of interest from the Global VSAT Forum, Cisco Systems and Inmarsat. As
part of the follow-up activities, ITU will facilitate full-fledge commitments
and delivery on the basis of the initial contacts established at the Forum.
From http://www.itu.int/ 08/11/2004
TOP↑
The Third China-Japan-Korea ICT
Ministers' Meeting: Further Promotion of Cooperation
Among China-Japan-Korea in ICT Field
On July 26, 2004, Rep. ASO Taro, Minister
for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, Mr. WANG
Xudong, Minister of Information Industry, China, and Dr. CHIN Dae Je,
Minister of Information and Communication, the Republic of Korea, jointly
convened the Third China-Japan-Korea ICT Ministers' Meeting in Sapporo,
Japan. At the Meeting, with the viewpoint of further promoting cooperation
among Japan, China and Korea in the ICT field, the three ministers amended
the Arrangement signed upon in 2003 for cooperation concerning the seven
information and communications fields, and added a new theme
"cooperation on RFID Sensor Network," etc. It is anticipated that
this will lead to the promotion of cooperation between China, Japan and Korea
aimed at realizing a ubiquitous network society, through future R&D and
joint verification experiments on technologies related to RFID and Sensor
Network, as well as joint research concerning Ubiquitous Network.
From http://www.soumu.go.jp/ 08/23/2004
TOP↑
The Asia-Pacific E-Government Summit:
19-21 October 2004, Singapore
The 2004 Asia-Pacific E-Government Summit is
an innovative event born out of the growing demand for e-business solutions
in governments and other public sector bodies across the tremendously diverse
Asia-Pacific region. This unprecedented international summit will focus on
the strategic and technological solutions for successful
government-to-government (G2G), government-to-citizen (G2C), and
government-to-business (G2B) operations. Governments across the Asia-Pacific
region are now embracing the challenge of developing strategies and adopting
technologies for successful e-business. International governmental
organisations, national, regional and local government authorities, and other
public sector bodies such as health and police services hope to realise the
huge transformations, efficiencies and cost savings that can arise from
implementing e-strategies and technologies. The World Summits Organisation is
working very closely with various bodies responsible for e-strategy and
e-policy from every country in the Asia-Pacific region. With this in mind, we
are hosting a completely unprecedented Summit on the subject of e-government
for all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Summit will be held over 3
days at the exclusive Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. We are concentrating on
gaining the highest level delegate attendance in order to stage a most
comprehensive and stimulating Summit agenda.
From http://www.worldsummits.com/ 09/01/2004
TOP↑
Senior Officials from the Asia Pacific
Meet in Beijing on e-government
The State Council Informatization Office
(SCITO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China, UNDP-Asia Pacific
Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) and Cisco Systems organised a
high-level e-Government meeting entitled the APAC Public Services Summit in
Beijing on 15 and 16 July 2004. The summit featured presentations on the
theme “Connectivity and Competitiveness: New Models for E-Government in
China, Asia-Pacific, and the World.” More than 160 attendees, including
several vice ministers, senior government officials and representatives of
regional intergovernmental bodies, participated in the gathering. The summit
addressed the following critical issues facing government leaders: (1) How to
enable cooperation across multiple ministries for delivery of enhanced public
services. (2) How to ensure that the benefits of e-Government are made
universal, to government, business, and to all citizens in urban and rural
regions. (3) Exploring relevant evaluation methodologies and benchmarks for
e-Government and how to track programme implementation. The speakers touched
on critical issues facing government leaders and shared lessons learnt and
best practices from across Asia Pacific and around the world that can be
adapted and applied to situations in participating countries. Topics presented
ranged from Public Sector Reform and Cross Agency Collaboration, Citizen
Service Network, Connected Cities and Communities, to Public-Private
Partnerships and more for E-government. The summit also focused on challenges
faced by governments, reform processes, the need for service-level standards
that can be used to benchmark improvements, and how to evaluate overall
effectiveness of reforms. The presentations are available at APDIP website.
Mr. Chen Dawei, Vice Minister of the SCITO in summing up the summit said:
“Through communications with the international counterparts, we expect to
achieve more interactive and higher efficient functions of e-governance,
providing the citizens with timely and convenient public services. The public
service is an essential element of e-government and promoting it in China has
been the top priority for the government. The summit contributes tremendously
to bridging the digital divide and economic development in the Asia Pacific
region. It is supportive for the long term and future development of the
e-government and public services in each country.” Mr. Macleod Nyirongo,
Senior Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP China, added that “The UNDP
places high priority on the issue of how best ICTs can further the Millennium
Development Goals, balance political, economic, and social interests, and
bridge the digital divide between rich and poor. By joining with the SCITO
and Cisco, UNDP hopes to focus attention on how information and communication
technologies within and across nations and organizations can generate
productivity gains and offer competitive advantages to citizen and corporate
constituents for all the participating nations.” The local Chinese press
noted that “This summit is the highest ranking international conference that
is ever held in Beijing in the e-government field." More press coverage
is available. (by James George Chacko)
From http://www.digital-review.org/ 09/02/2004
TOP↑
ITU Telecom Asia 2004 Opens
An Asia-Pacific information-communication
technology Olympics held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
raised its curtain Monday in Pusan. Under the theme ``Asia Leading the
Future,’’ the ITU Telecom Asia 2004 opened the five-day event at the nation’s
second-largest city situated about 450 kilometers south of Seoul. Around
1,500 big-name participants, including President Roh Moo-hyun and ITU
secretary general Yoshio Utsumi, attended the opening ceremony of the
biennial conference at the BEXCO. From 27 nations, a total of 224
high-profile companies like IBM, Lucent, Intel, Qualcomm, Alcatel, China
Mobile and NTT DoCoMo are representing themselves at the ITU event. Also, 55
Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Pantech
Group, SK Telecom and KT, are showcasing their up-to-date technologies on
home soil. The event comprises an exhibition of the world’s top-of-the-line
products and watershed technologies as well as a forum that will focus on
accurate and in-depth perceptions of the market. In a press conference before
the curtain-raising ceremony, Utsumi said that this event is aimed at
providing a platform for industry leaders, governmental and regulatory bodies
to meet, exhibit, discuss policies and explore the wealth of opportunities
the Asia-Pacific region offers. ``The Telecom event has been changing from an
exhibition place to a meeting place. The people participating in the event
are seeking more opportunities to meet people rather than exhibit their items
and we are adjusting to the new demands,’’ he said. Utsumi said this event is
also geared toward bridging the exacerbating digital divide, the information
gap between information haves and have-nots. ``And another target is to
examine how the benefits of ICTs can be spread across the region, extending
their reach to those who have yet to access or draw benefits from them,’’ he
said. Regarding Pusan, Utsumi admitted he didn’t know much about the city
when the venue was fixed several years ago, but the port city will be kept in
mind in the field of telecom with this event. ``Telecom Asia events have
taken place in the southern part of Asia in the past. But we have a strong
policy that regional events should be held in a geographically balanced way.
So this time we came to the northern part of Asia,’’ Utsumi said. Started in
1989, the Asian telecom conferences were held in just two regions of
Singapore and Hong Kong. The Pusan event is the seventh regional ITU telecom
conference held in the Asia-Pacific region, the world’s largest,
fastest-growing and most progressive market. Only businessmen will be
admitted to the conference, but the public will be able to feel the hands-on
ecstasy of the world’s leading-edge technologies on Friday. (by Kim Tae-gyu)
From The Korea Times 09/07/2004
TOP↑
Internet Prods Asia to Open Up
SHANGHAI, CHINA – As the Internet sweeps
across Asia, it is bringing with it a strong challenge to the region's
authoritarian governments: a freer exchange of information and ideas. Nowhere
more so than in China, where the government has mounted a huge effort to
filter Internet content. The "Great Firewall of China" is manned by
at least 30,000 censors who blocked as many as 50,000 websites in the first
half of 2002, according to a US State Department report on China's human
rights. Just this week, Beijing introduced stringent penalties against
purveyors of Internet pornography, including life imprisonment for those
behind major sites that receive more than 250,000 hits. "Pornographic"
is left undefined. Those who study the Internet and its impact on Asia say
that although the region is rife with censorship efforts like those in China,
freedom is relative and increasing by degrees. The free-wheeling and
expansive nature of the online world has proved difficult to control, pushing
Beijing and similar governments in the region to make concessions, much as
they had to do in entering Western-style economics and trade, say analysts.
"The Internet will make any country freer," says Ang Peng Hwa, a
professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. "If you have
the Internet, you're connected to the world. If you want to be a part of the
world, you have to play by the norms of the world. The world norms lean
toward a freer Internet." China's massive firewall is already showing
cracks under the weight of the Internet's expansion. The pressure has come
from innumerable sources, including an onslaught of weblogs, open-source
directories, and projects like Wikipedia, an "open-content"
encyclopedia.
Censorship has narrowed
Five years ago in China, most Western newspaper websites were blocked from
viewing. Today, the Chinese censors who watch the Internet target more
specific sites - chat forums on ultrasensitive topics like Tibetan liberation
and the Falun Gong religious movement. (Beijing does not actually label sites
as "blocked." Instead, when a user clicks on a blocked site, the
page will begin to load, slowly, and then the user is redirected either to an
error message or back to a Chinese search engine.) So while the average
Chinese still can't walk into an Internet cafe in Ningbo and pull up the
homepage of the Taiwan government, he can read The New York Times. Even some
sensitive topics, surprisingly, are readily available in China. A quick
browse through Wikipedia's Chinese-language version for the "June 4,
Tiananmen" entry offers a broad look at the Democracy movement of 1989
and its violent end. Without using any special software or proxy servers, a
Chinese web user can view the famed photo of a lone man facing down tanks
outside the square 15 years ago in Beijing. As countries like China become
more open to international business and globalization, gradually, "the
Internet will become more open and the restrictions will become less onerous,"
says David Goldstein, an Internet policy consultant based in Sydney,
Australia. Residents of Asian countries are projected in the next few years
to make up more than half of the world's online population. Across the
Asia-Pacific region, Internet freedom conditions vary and tend to mirror how
individual governments have attempted censorship of other media - films,
television, books, and radio programming - in years past. So far, the
Internet is pushing boundaries in a positive manner, observers say. "For
countries which previously managed gatekeeping regimes, the Internet has been
a constructive test of governments' assumptions" about controlling
information, says Chin Saik Yoon, the Malaysia-based chief editor of the
Digital Review of Asia Pacific. "Most have responded well, and
information flows in these countries have been re-energized. This change has
led to better engaged citizens and hopefully, in time, to more prosperous
information societies." But even advanced technology and widespread Internet
access do not automatically equate with freedom, several organizations
report. South Korea, for instance, is often held up as a model for its
foresight and investment that led to its becoming the world leader in
broadband access. It's estimated that more than half of all South Koreans
have Internet access and most of those who go online do so via broadband. Yet
South Korea is not above Net censorship. In July, two students were fined for
violating national election laws by posting material online that mocked political
candidates. Others in South Korea have been arrested for promoting communism
via the Web, and the government blocked a reported 18,000 Web pages from
public view last year, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders
(RSF).
Japan, Taiwan get high marks
In its 2004 report "Internet Under Surveillance," RSF analyzed
Internet censorship and filtering trends worldwide and gave troubling marks
to most Asian countries. Only Japan and Taiwan earned positive grades for
Internet freedom. In Burma, the report says, public Internet connections are
rare, "partly for reasons of poverty but mostly because of the military
regime's harsh crackdown on freedom of expression." Totalitarian North
Korea, likewise, offers no known public access to the Internet, a potential
window onto the outside world. In heavily policed Vietnam, seven
"cyberdissidents" are in prison. Quite another experience is
happening in Mongolia, where the government has used international grants to
set up a widely-used open government forum. If they stick to basic courtesy,
those with Internet access in the vast reaches of Mongolia can discuss public
policy online, and be certain the prime minister will read the message boards
at least once every two weeks. The forum's input is often discussed at
Cabinet meetings and other policy-making venues. While such gains are
important, there is no guarantee that the Internet by itself will create a
"freer" world overall, Yoon says. The outcome depends on how the
medium is used and controlled - and by whom. But, the Internet's flow of
information, he says, "combined with satellite TV and international news
channels has prodded national and local media to be more forthright in their
coverage of local issues so as to compete with foreign sources." In one
prominent example, e-mail, mobile phone text messaging, and
impossible-to-ignore world news coverage that made it to China in part via
the Internet, are widely credited with forcing the central government to go
public with the facts and scope of the 2002-03 SARS epidemic. Greater
openness has begun and will continue, if for no other reason than that it's
just too large to stop, say analysts. Despite its firewall efforts, the
Chinese government is not stopping people from buying PCs or signing up for
cheap Internet access. The country has an estimated 87 million Internet users
this year, nearly four times the number in 2000, according to the data
website www.internetworldstats.com. "It will become more flexible,"
Ang predicted. "To block things, you really need to deploy manpower and
that is a costly proposal."
Internet use shifts to Asia
More Internet users are from Asia than from any other region. However, only a
small - but growing - percentage of people in Asia actually have Internet
access. Online users: Region % of population % Of world
Africa 1.4 % 1.5 %
Asia 7.1 32.1
Europe 30.7 28.1
Middle East 6.5 2.1
North America 68.6 27.9
Latin America/Caribbean 9.4 6.3
Oceania 48.5 2.0
Source: Internet World Stats (by Kathleen McLaughlin)
From http://www.csmonitor.com/ 0909/2004
TOP↑
Government Online 2004: Achieving A
Citizen-Centric Community Through More Advanced Networked Government &
Public-Private Partnerships
This event will take place in October 27-28,
2004, Singapore, presenting 12 global case studies from Singapore, Mexico,
Spain, the US, the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Notably: Secretaria de la
funcion publica (Mexico City) created a citizen portal of Mexico to allocate
a single access point for all levels of government services; Cat365 (Spain)
achieved e-governance for cross-agency collaboration; US Small Business
Administration developed public-private partnerships to improve its service
delivery to customers; The Department of Homeland Security (US) safeguarded
the information security and management of their e-gov intelligence system;
The Improvement & Development Agency (England and Wales) measured the
adoption rate and calculated the ROI of its e-gov initiatives.
From http://www.iqpc.com.sg/ 10/02/2004
TOP↑
Business Process Outsourcing Asia 2004
Conference: 2-3 December 2004
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Outsourcing is IN
The promising nascent market for business process outsourcing (BPO) is poised
to take off in the Asia-Pacific. Continuing challenging economic times are
leading large organisations to look to BPO as a toll to save costs and
provide strategic review of many of their activities. While the other IT
services segments are feeling the impact of the economic downturn, the BPO
market continues to show healthy growth. According to research house, Gartner
Inc, the Asia Pacific region is estimated to see double-digit growth in BPO
over the next few years.
Do you know what Asia has to offer?
What advantages, or disadvantages does the Asian arena offer global companies
for BPO - Which processes can you outsource and what benefits can you expect?
How do you avoid costly mistakes in your BPO arrangements? Find out the
answers and more at Business Processing Outsourcing Asia 2004!
Asia's most important BPO event
Hear first hand from global companies on strategies for picking the right
outsourcing partners in Asia. Find out the true windows of opportunities in
the Asian BPO space and road maps to capitalise on them. Unparalleled
networking and prospecting opportunities with key executives from
international companies looking at outsourcing their back office to Asia.
Notably: "A well-run program with the highest quality which is the
trademark of Terrapinn events," by Alex Lam, Chief Operating Officer -
Asia, The Outsourcing Institute, Canada; "A definitive collection of the
best outsourcing ideas and players in one conference! It's a must for anyone
who is serious about BPO in Asia," by Tikki Gee, Business Process and
IT, Konsortium Logistik Berhad, Malaysia; and, "Good (programme) with
experienced speakers who are very willing to share." The 3rd annual BPO
Asia 2004 is where BPO professionals congregate to exchange ideas and come
together to make BPO functions in Asia work.
From http://www.terrapinn.com/ 10/18/2004
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AZERBAIJAN: Ministry of Communication
Discuss Draft of State Program on IT Industry
The Ministry of Communication and
Information Technologies discussed the draft of the State program of
development of the industry for 2004-2012. The document, consisting of 8
chapters, reflected present status of industry, required money for its
development, sources of financing, action plan and etc. The program
indicates, the main direction of development of industry is its
de-monopolization, reorganization of management of the ministry,
denationalization of enterprises of the IT industry. Realization plan is
divided into two stages. The first stage covers the period- till 2008, and
the second stage- till 2012. It is predicted by 2008, number of telephone
sets per 100 person will be 26 pieces (it was-11,6 pieces in 2003), number of
mobile telephones per 100 persons - 48 pieces (12,75 pieces), number of
personal computers per 100 persons - 4,5 pieces (1,5 pieces). For realization
of the first stage of the program $150 mln will be required. The
representatives of the state and the private sector, employed in the area of
information technologies and also non-governmental organizations participated
at discussion of the draft of the State program. The draft of the State
program is planned to be submitted for consideration to the Cabinet of
Ministers 10 October 2004.
From http://www.bakutoday.net/ 09/15/2004
TOP↑
CHINA: Measures Go Online to Protect
Surfers
Publishers, producers and retailers are
about to pay the price for infringing the copyright of computer games and
harming adolescents with unhealthy games. A three-month action plan focusing
on the Beijing market has already discovered up to 56 kinds of illegal or
unhealthy computer games-and this is even before the nationwide campaign
officially gets cracking. Some of the publishing and producing companies will
be taken to court, said sources with the country's publication
administrations. A nationwide campaign to crack down on pornographic websites
is currently in full swing. Since mid-July, nearly 700 sites have been shut
down in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities and Liaoning and
Guangdong provinces. Both campaigns claim the aim is to reduce the harm on
adolescents by unhealthy content online. China has seen a fast-growing
population using the Internet and playing computer games in recent years, a
significant number of whom are young people. Among around 87 million netizens
in China, more than 30 per cent are believed to be students, and some 50 per
cent are under the age of 24. Of these younger Net users, 46 per cent visit
lewd websites. Last year, one fifth of Internet users are online game users,
a 63.8 per cent increase over 2002 and still growing, according to an
official annual report on China's gaming industry. "To protect
youngsters from the influence of violent computer games and to safeguard
copyright, we took action during April and June in Beijing," said Kou
Xiaowei, a senior official with the State Administration of Press and
Publications. Kou said it had achieved "satisfying results." In Beijing,
56 illegal computer games were discovered to be in production. Some of the
games violated China's gaming regulations that ban any games which "hurt
national dignity and interests." "Project IGI2: Covert Strike"
is a game in which Chinese soldiers are attacked and is considered to
"smear" the Chinese army's image. "Hearts of Iron" calls
for Tibet independence and includes Taiwan Province in the territory of
Japan. Others are pirates of foreign electronic games. Beijing Century
Thunder Digital Sci-Tech Co Ltd had launched a big promotion project for
"Winning 11," which turned out to be a pirated product. Targeting
these problems, the administration tightened market supervision during the
investigation, closed video shops, and launched special probes into companies.
The next step will be to join hands with the State Copyright Bureau and the
National Office for Anti-Porn and Anti-Piracy to kick off a nationwide
campaign, Kou said. Websites involved in production, trade and dissemination
of porn movies, stills, video pictures and arranging sex acts via chat room
services. Some of them are even making use of juvenile education networks for
porn services. Internet service providers across the nation have introduced a
real-name registration system and are forbidden to collect service charges
for pornographic websites. Internet cafes are being requested to install
special software to block certain sites, while informant centers, hotlines
and email services have been launched in many areas to deal with complaints.
From China Daily 08/04/2004
TOP↑
Shanghai to Open Gov't Archives to
Public
Ten of Shanghai's municipal government
departments have joined forces to guarantee freedom of information for the
city's millions of residents. The 10 departments have set up a permanent
joint conference, to be chaired by Vice-Mayor Feng Guoqin, to ensure wider
access to official information and archives, some of which were previously
considered State secrets. The decision to afford wider access to official
documents comes as a landmark legal case is taking place over freedom of
information. It is the first ever time an ordinary resident has accused
government agencies of refusing the plaintiff access to information that had
been claimed to be open to the public. The municipal government unveiled the
freedom of information rules earlier this year, which stipulates that local
government departments should open their files, unless the information is
confidential. The 10 members of the team include the Shanghai Development and
Reform Commission, Shanghai Municipal Financial Administration and the
Informatization Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. A
standing committee was recently established too to answer inquiries from all
government departments. An experts committee is also being formed to give
advice to it. Last week, Xuhui District Court held the first hearing for the
first resident to sue a governmental department for refusing to allow access
to information. The 70-year-old woman plaintiff, Dong Ming, sued Xuhui
District Housing and Land Administrative Bureau for rejecting her request to
obtain access to archives related to her former home. Dong's lawyer, He
Guoping, said that Dong's father had bought the house in downtown Shanghai's
Yueyang Lu, Xuhui District, in 1947. But the family were forced to leave in
1968 during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), losing most of the
documents and certificates related to the house. The bureau based its
decision upon a regulation that took effect in 1998, stipulating that only
the owner of the villa can read the original documents of the property and
there were no registered documents showing Dong owned the house. "The
court is expected to hold the second hearing in the next couple of weeks. If
we lose it, I will appeal to a higher court," said He, Dong's lawyer.
"We will classify government information and archives to make clear what
items can be opened and on what conditions a resident can apply for
information," said Li Jingzhong, deputy director of Shanghai Xuhui
Informatization Commission. The classification is expected to help avoid
misunderstanding and confusion in the future, Li said.
From China Daily 08/23/2004
TOP↑
China OKs Measure to Boost E-commerce
China has passed a law legalizing electronic
signatures to boost the growing online commerce industry. The law gives
electronic signatures the legal status of handwritten versions and allows the
creation of companies to verify the identity of people making online
transactions. China has the world's second-largest number of Internet users,
with 87 million people online. But e-commerce has grown slowly, held back by
a low rate of credit card use among Chinese and a lack of other online
payment options and legal structures. China already has some 4,000 Web sites
that carry on e-commerce.
From CRI 08/30/2004
TOP↑
China Strengthens Laws and Networks
Xu Qin, Vice President of the High
Technology Industry Development Department of the National Development and
Innovation Committee, told the 4th International Seminar of the Asian Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) Summit held in Shanghai in July that China has made
much progress in the following four aspects of its network reliability system
which is based on public key technology: (1) A draft of the Electronic
Signature Law has been completed. The draft law confirms the validity of
electronic signatures, regulates the process of using electronic signatures,
confirms the legal status and certification procedure of certification
departments, and regulates the safe issuance of electronic signatures. Local
regulations have been enforced in Shanghai, Guangdong, Hainan and Liaoning
provinces. (2) Following the expanded usage of PKI, China has set up about 80
Certification Authorities(CA), and released more than 5 million electronic
certifications which are widely used in the fields of finance, taxation,
custom declaration, as well as the annual check of industry and commercial
trade by the government. (3) The procedure of standardization has made much
progress. The first batch of nine technical standards has been approved by
the national standardization department and will be launched soon. Fourteen
more important technical standards and management regulations are being drawn
up and are expected to be launched next year. (4) China is applying its CA
Mutual-Communication Paradigm Project to solve problems relating to national
CA mutual communication. The project is going to combine six typical CA which
were set up for different sectors. The purpose is to enable these six CA to
communicate with each other and to share information. The improvement in the
network reliability system is good news for China’s e-businesses which have
been faced by online security problems. Furthermore, PKI relates to overall
national capacity and also affects e-government and the whole strategy for
national informationization development. As the importance of PKI becomes
widely acknowledged in China, it will strongly push China’s development on
the Web and ensure the safety of e-trade and the evolution of e-government
and e-business. (by Huixin Ke)
From http://www.digital-review.org/ 09/02/2004
TOP↑
HK: Views Sought on IP Telephony
Regulation
Views from the telecommunications industry
are being sought on the regulation of Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony which
offers voice, fax, data and multimedia services using IP technology. Some
local fixed network operators have recently offered IP Telephony services
which allow customers to make telephone calls over a broadband Internet
connection instead of the traditional telephone line. The Office of the
Telecommunications Authority wants to solicit views and comments on various
issues, particularly on whether the existing regulatory requirements for
traditional voice telephony services should be applied to the new services.
It also seeks views on whether service providers, such as Internet Service
Providers, should be allowed to operate IP Telephony services, and if so, the
type of licence to be used. The office said IP Telephony or any new IP-based
services will bring new business opportunities to the industry and give
consumers more choice of innovative multimedia features. The office said the
minimum and proportionate level of regulation should be applied to IP
Telephony, subject to preserving the achievement of certain social
objectives. The 'technology neutrality' principle should be upheld, it said,
adding that regulation should not obstruct the adoption of new technologies.
The choice of, and pace of migration to, the services based on the IP
technology, should be left to consumers and the market. While the office
advocates the minimum level of regulation on IP Telephony, it may be
necessary for IP Telephony services that are intended to be used as
substitutes to the conventional public telephone services to meet certain
minimum conditions (such as number portability) to protect public interest
and avoid consumer confusion. The consultation paper can be downloaded from
the office's website. Any views or comments should reach the office on or
before December 4. Electronic submission to iptelephony@ofta.gov.hk is
welcome. Views collected will be studied thoroughly before the office
determines the appropriate regulations for IP Telephony.
From http://www3.news.gov.hk/ 10/04/2004
TOP↑
IRAN: Government Cracking Down on
Internet Freedom
ANKARA - The media watchdog body Reporters
Without Borders (RSF) has voiced concern at the growing efforts of the
Iranian authorities to censor online freedom of expression, including the
preparation of a draft law that would create a legal framework to crack down
on Internet usage. RSF has also called for the release of Mojtaba Lotfi, a
cyber-dissident theology student."Since the elections [last February]
the authorities have tried to tighten control over the Internet, because they
realise the power it has for the opposition," Julien Pain, responsible
for the RSF's Internet freedom desk, told IRIN from Paris on Thursday, noting
that the Iranian government was blacklisting information and political
websites.However, Pain stressed that, despite the government's crackdown,
Iranian Internet users were willing to express themselves online, even if they
risked imprisonment and torture, "because people really believe in
politics in Iran". The watchdog organisation called for the release of
Mojtaba Lotfi, a theologian and former journalist with the reformist daily
newspaper Khordad, which was closed in 2000. Lotfi was imprisoned in May in
the holy city of Qom, 120 km south of the capital Tehran. He was tried in
July on charges of spying and publishing false information after he posted an
article entitled "Respect for human rights in cases involving the clergy"
on www.naqshineh.com, a website also subject to judicial proceedings over
some of its articles on the recent legislative elections, according to RSF.
"You cannot jail someone just because he expressed his political ideas
on the Internet," Pain said, explaining that this case was very
interesting, given that the authorities targeted somebody from "the
inside", as Lotfi was a theology student in one of the most famous
schools and was very close to Iranian reformists. After analysing the draft of
the proposed law "on the punishment of crimes linked to the
Internet", published in February in the Iranian media, RSF says that it
would create a legal framework to legitimise the oppression of online freedom
of expression. "If the law is approved they can even tell the
international community that all their actions [to restrict free expression
online] are legal," the RSF official said, noting that the law would
increase pressure on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet users.
"The law would make it easier to censor the Internet and imprison
people." The draft law proposes prison sentences of up to three years
for disseminating "information that poses a threat for the country's
internal or external security" and from five to 15 years if the
information is passed to "foreign states or foreign organisations",
an RSF statement noted. Furthermore, it would give the police the power to
search Internet users' homes or the premises of any legal entity involved in
Internet activity, without a judge's authorisation. According to the draft,
the new legislation should conform to international norms and conventions
concerning the Internet, but adds that "foreign laws will not apply if
they are contrary to sharia [Islamic law] or Iranian law, or if they run
counter to the country's security and interests," RSF said.
From http://www.irinnews.org/ 08/05/2004
TOP↑
JAPAN: MPHPT Announces a Basic
Framework for Protecting Personal Information in the Field of Broadcasting
The MPHPT set up on May 10, the Study Group
on Protecting Personal Information in the Field of Broadcasting and Satellite
Broadcasting in the IT Era (chaired by Prof. FUNADA Masayuki, College of Law
and Politics, Rikkyo University). The group has been investigating 1) a
framework for protecting personal information so that individuals can feel
secure in making and enjoying broadcasting contracts, and 2) a framework for
putting in place and operating a more appealing satellite broadcasting
system. The MPHPT invited comments concerning a basic framework (rough draft)
for protecting personal information in the field of broadcasting from July 2
until 30, and received a total of 56 comments from 12 respondents. The MPHPT
took these comments into consideration and recently compiled a basic
framework for protecting personal information in the field of broadcasting.
The MPHPT will take this framework into consideration and plans to announce
guidelines for protecting personal information in the field of broadcasting during
August.
From http://www.soumu.go.jp/ 08/13/2004
TOP↑
New Measures Against Violation of
Human Rights on the Internet
MPHPT has been made aware of recent problems
with infringements of human rights such as the numerous postings on Internet
bulletin boards of the names and photographs of young assailants in murder
cases. In order to address these problems, MPHPT has been examining since
April methods for providers and the like to delete smoothly information that
infringes on human rights, along with the Civil Liberties Bureau of the
Ministry of Justice and telecommunications carrier organizations. As a result
of this examination, the Libel and Privacy Related Guidelines (formulating a
code of conduct for providers and the like) that were prepared by the
Conference on Examining Guidelines for the Law Concerning the Liability of
Internet Service Provider, have been revised (this will be decided following
a month-long invitation to comment starting as of July 30, 2004). This resulted
in deciding to newly developing procedures for cases of requests by the civil
liberties organizations of the Ministry of Justice to providers and the like
for the deletion of information that infringes on civil rights.
MPHPT expects that these recent measures will lead to an improvement in the
problem of infringement of human rights on the Internet, and the promotion of
the protection of young people.
From http://www.soumu.go.jp/ 08/23/2004
TOP↑
MPHPT Announces Results of Invitation to Comment on Draft Partial Amendment to
Examination Standards for the Radio Law
The MPHPT decided to amend the Examination
Standards for the Radio Law (MPHPT Instruction No. 67 of January 6, 2001) in
conjunction with the enactment of the Law Concerning Usage of Specified
Public facilities in the Situation of an Armed Crash (Law No. 114,
2004)(Unofficial Translation), and invited comments concerning this draft
partial amendment from July 30 until August 20. No comments were received and
the MPHPT will move ahead promptly with the partial amendment of the
Examination standards for the Radio Law as per the original draft.
From http://www.soumu.go.jp/ 09/03/2004
TOP↑
Basic Concept
on IT International Policy Centered on Asia published
It is necessary for Japan to promote
international cooperation measures relating to IT in a priority manner using
its achievements and technological and system strengths and to make a
positive contribution to the building of an advanced information and
telecommunications network society in the whole of Asia through Japan’s
initiative.
From Japan IT Strategic Headquarters 09/10/2004
TOP↑
Gov't to Open Up Frequencies to Firms in 3G Cell Phone Market
TOKYO -- The Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications has decided to open up some of the frequencies currently
used for public services to private-sector cellular phone companies as early
as fiscal 2005, ministry sources said. The move will allow more companies to
enter the cell phone market, which has grown to about 8 trillion yen a year
-- a development which will further spur competition and a decline in cell
phone service fees and more improvement in the quality of services.
Currently, four companies, including NTT DoCoMo Inc and KDDI Corp, use three
frequency bands, including an 800-megahertz band, to provide cell phone
services to their combined 83 million subscribers in Japan. The band expected
to be newly opened up is part of the 1.7GHz band, which will be exclusively
earmarked for third-generation cell phone services and enough to provide
services to 15 million subscribers. Companies, which will be allotted the new
band, will have to select one of the two 3G communications standards --
DoCoMo's W-CDMA or KDDI's CDMA2000 1X. Because both are already in practical
use, they will be able to start their own 3G services soon after obtaining a
frequency. The ministry is set to establish a task force in October to decide
on the qualifications and number of companies eligible to seek a new
frequency. If the allotment of the new band takes place next fiscal year, the
actual service could start in fiscal 2006, the sources said. Companies likely
to apply for the new band include Softbank Corp and newly-emerging
communications firms. Masayoshi Son, Softbank president, said some time ago,
"We'll launch a cell phone service in the future."
From The Nihon Keizai Shimbun 09/27/2004
TOP↑
Gov't to
Allocate New Cell Phone Frequencies to Promote Competition
TOKYO — The Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications said Thursday it plans to allocate new frequencies to
commercial cell phone operators by the end of 2005. The ministry's plan to
open up the 1.7-gigahertz and 2.0-gigahertz bands is aimed at promoting
competition by encouraging more companies to enter the cell phone market.
From Kyodo News 10/01/2004
TOP↑
SOUTH KOREA: Teenagers to Be Blocked
from Cyber Pornography
The government will implement a set of
comprehensive and systematic measures to prevent illegal harmful information
from reaching juveniles. To develop technologies for protecting teenagers
from lewd and detrimental information in cyberspace, the government has
decided to invest 10-billion-won by 2007. The Ministry of Information and
Communication (MIC) said Thursday that it plans to further fortify
technological power for filtering noxious images and text flowing through
Peer-to-peer (P2P) sites. It will also strengthen monitoring of cyber
communities, including those for suicide, and P2P sites from next month. In
addition, guidelines for safeguarding teenagers in the virtual world will be
mapped out by the end of the year. The MIC will establish and run a
subdivision for teenagers at the anti-spam mail commission chaired by the
deputy minister of information and communication from September. Under the
subdivision, it will also form groups of private specialists, who will each
deal with related spheres of cyber space such as laws, systems, and fixed
line and wireless internet services. It plans to establish an advisory team
for the team as well. Moreover, the government eyes to brace a cooperation
system with the National Police Agency in investigating illegal cyber
information reported to the police and to the Hotline Internet 119 at
www.internet119.or.kr, which is run by the Information Communication Ethics
Committee. The government will expand the cooperation with local police
agencies, the MIC said. The MIC has decided to revise laws on use of
information networks and information protection, which will require service
providers in cyber space to be designated as ``juvenile protectors.’’ It will
also regulate advertisements containing information detrimental to teenagers
with more solid measures. The government will name sample schools as ``cyber
clean schools,’’ where programs for ethics in information communication will
be taught, and devise a test to gauge the degree of individual students’
ethics till the end of the year. The MIC plans to promote establishment of a
cooperation center among Asian nations, as there is a rising demand for
inter-country cooperation in confronting illegal and harmful information in
the virtual world.
From The Korea Times 08/19/2004
TOP↑
Culture and Information-Communication
Ministries Sign MOU for Synergies in Online Contents
After one year of feuding, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) and the
Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) have signed a MOU (memorandum
of understanding) to cooperate in the field of cultural contents. The
agreement came during a meeting between Minister of Culture and Tourism Chung
Dong-chea and Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je held at
the Ubiquitous Dream Hall in the MIC building last Friday. While the two
ministries’ efforts to achieve hegemony over online contents have long been a
source of inter-ministry conflict, the ministers reached an agreement on
cooperation to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in the field, instead
of wasting valuable time and resources to secure the lion’s share from within
the somewhat duplicated scope of the work at the ministries. “Close
cooperation between the ministries will propel both the country’s digital and
cultural contents industry to the world’s top level,’’ Chung told reporters
after the meeting. ``We will help the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT)
the best we can, as far as technology is concerned,’’ Chin said. Through the
MOU, they reaffirmed that cultural contents, including games and characters,
is under the control of MCT, while the MIC is in charge of Internet
technology. However, the two also agreed to make joint efforts in pursuit of
the shared goal of placing the country among global powerhouses in terms of
Web-based digital contents. The contents of online PC games, the hottest
issue between the two as both have claimed the right to rate them for
different age groups, will consequently be referred to the Korea Media Rating
Board, as judged by the Office for Government Policy Coordination early last
month. From 2006, they also agreed to pass the responsibility to the game
industry itself. Until then the two ministries will consider further details
for updating related rules and organizations. Disputes over the right was
aggravated last year, when the Information Communication Ethics Committee, a
subsidiary committee of the MIC, announced that ``Lineage II,’’ a sequel to
the globally popular Korean online PC game, could only be played by people
over 18. Back then however, the Korean Media Rating Board, which is closer in
its line of work to the MCT, had already made a similar decision. Henceforth
the ministries will tackle all possible disputes between the ministries from
the viewpoint of related companies and regular users. However, as the term
``digital contents’’ is vague, the loosely divided affairs of the two
ministries may still lead to problems. To relieve concerns, the two will seek
to expand the exchange of information and even personnel. To this end, the
MIC will have one MCT employee participate in its planning and development
process for new digital technology, at the recommendation of the MCT’s
minister, to accurately reflect the needs of the culture industry and rapidly
introduce new technologies. The ministries will also work together to co-host
an international game fair in the near future. (by Lee Yong-sung)
From The Korea Times 10/06/2004
TOP↑
MONGOLIA: New Law on Radio and TV to Be Announced
A new law on radio and television is
expected to be announced and approved by Parliament this year. A member
Parliament of Mongolia N.Enkhbold said that the separation of national
television and radio from control by the state is highly significant. The
government usually draws its attention to change the organizations` status
without raising the employees and creative artists` interests. This matter is
doubly significant when considering extending the freedom of the press.
From MONTSAME 09/17/2004
TOP↑
Guidelines A Net Gain for Elderly,
Disabled
To make computers more user-friendly for the
elderly and people with disabilities, the industry ministry aims to simplify
Web sites, software and related technologies. The Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry has for the past three years been working with electronics and
computer-software makers to develop new criteria to update the Japanese
Industrial Standards for product guidelines. Manufacturers and designers will
be asked to use the standards for all information products and Web sites to
simplify access to information, the ministry announced in May. It also has
started detailing specifications for each product to ensure elderly and disabled
people can become more easily familiar with them. The new specifications, for
example, will recommend that designers of Web sites and information devices
avoid the combination of red fonts on green backgrounds, which can be
difficult for people with poor eyesight to see. Makers of PCs and accessories
such as printers will be asked to include an additional function to extend
time limits of certain operations for slower users, and to use color-coded
interfaces to make it easy to connect accessory cables. The new standards
also ask Web-site designers to use Japanese as much as possible for important
data such as contact information. Ministry officials say this information is
often written only in English such as ``About us'' or ``Contact us.'' A
survey by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and
Telecommunications shows only about 20 percent of people in their 60s use the
Internet, while more than 90 percent of those in their 20s and 30s do. The
industry ministry plans to appeal to the International Organization for
Standardization to adopt similar specifications. New standards for cellphones
and photocopiers will be introduced this fiscal year.
From The Asahi Shimbun 08/18/2004
TOP↑
UZBEKISTAN: Daewoo
International Corps Sold Unitel, Its Cell Communications Operator in
Uzbekistan
Daewoo International Corp. of South Korea
sold Unitel, its cell communications in Uzbekistan, for $73.5 million. The
buyer is Silkway Holding of Holland (owned by Germanos, a Greek network
dealing in phones and accessories). The European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development reports that it and the Black Sea Fund intend to buy some Unitel
shares. The bank is prepared to invest $9 million in the project. Moreover,
the bank offers Unitel a loan to the tune of $30 million for its 3 year
investment program totalling $83.3 million. Daewoo International Corp.
announced this Wednesday that the sale of the Uzbek operator is an element of
the campaign of selling sideline assets. The money paid for Unitel will be
used to pay debts. It is going to be the first long-term investment in the
Uzbek sector of telecommunications for the European Bank of Reconstruction
and Development. Daewoo Unitel Co, is the second largest cell communications
operator in Uzbekistan controlling about 25% of the market. This August,
Mobile Telesystems bought 74% of the stock in Uzdunrobita, the largest Uzbek
operator, for $121 million. (by Vremya Novostei)
From http://enews.ferghana.ru/ 09/16/2004
TOP↑
Source Says Telecom Privatization to
Be Reduced
A source at Uzbekistan's Agency for
Communications and Information Technology told Prime-TASS on 5 October that
the government now plans to sell only 49 percent of national telecom Uzbektelecom
instead of a planned 64.2 percent. Meanwhile, the government plans to
increase its stake in the company from 30 percent to 45 percent. A
spokesperson for Germany's Commerzbank, which is consulting the Uzbek
government on the sale, told the news agency that the changes could
jeopardize a successful privatization. DK
From http://www.rferl.org/ 10/06/2004
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AUSTRALIA: WA Supercomputing Gets
$3.1m Boost
Western Australia's Interactive Virtual
Environment Centre (IVEC) for high performance computing and visualization
technology, received an additional $3.1 million in state government funding
last week which will go towards bringing its supercomputing facilities in
line with the other APAC members. A joint venture between Central TAFE,
CSIRO, Curtin University of Technology and the University of WA, IVEC will
allocate about $1 million of the funding towards upgrading the HPC hardware
and software, according to Dr Steve Harvey, deputy chief of CSIRO exploration
and mining in WA. Harvey said the upgrades are necessary so that the new
IVEC, IVEC2, has the capacity to service the "extensive demand in usage
that has developed over recent years". "A new HPC facility [will]
be located at The University of Western Australia and the Australian
Resources Research Centre nodes by the end of 2005," Harvey said.
"IVEC2's Mission Statement has been refined to reflect its more mature
stage of development, relative to IVEC1. IVEC2 will increase Western
Australia's innovative capacity and economic development through the
exploration, evolution and exploitation of advanced computing technology,
high-speed communications, scientific visualisation, grid technologies and
e-research infrastructure." IVEC2 will go out to tender for the HPC
equipment. With an initial core membership consisting of Central TAFE, CSIRO,
Curtin University of Technology, Murdoch University and UWA, Harvey said
IVEC2 aims to "engage, encourage and energise" the research and
education communities and industry into understanding how advanced computing
and visualisation technologies can enhance economic development. "This
will be accomplished through the provision of highly accessible HPC and
visualisation equipment and the necessary operational support," he said.
"Specifically, IVEC2 will work with the universities to develop
high-quality graduate students trained in advanced computational skills;
provide networked access to a range of HPC facilities within Western
Australia and nationally, and promote and facilitate the uptake of advanced
computing technology by industry." Funding has also been earmarked for
connecting new members to the network and to upgrade existing infrastructure.
"Virtual reality technology will be a component of IVEC2, however the
type is still under discussion," Harvey said. The funding also includes
the inaugural Premier's Collaborative Research Program grant of $600,000 over
three years for specific collaborative research to develop a 3D virtual
environment to enhance investigation of mining accidents bringing the total
funding to $3.7 million. Virtual reality technology aimed at reducing the
number of mine site accidents will also be developed, according to the
state's Premier And Science Minister Dr Geoff Gallop. "Virtual reality
is becoming a key tool in medicine, industry and a range of research
fields," Gallop said. "In the research field, it is very important
as it helps overcome the isolation that can be a problem for Western
Australia - by giving researchers the chance to collaborate in real time with
interstate and overseas researchers."
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 08/17/2004
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Senate Toughens Net Porn Law
TOUGH new laws cracking down on internet
child pornography have been passed by the Senate. Under the Telecommunications
Offences Bill, people who use the internet to access, transmit or make
available child pornography or child abuse material will face up to 10 years
in jail. Possessing or producing child pornography with intent to publish it
on the internet will also become an offence. It will also become illegal for
an offender who has won a child's trust to use a telecommunications service
to set up a meeting with the child for sex, while researchers would have to
obtain ministerial approval to access banned material. Justice Minister Chris
Ellison said that meant the responsible minister could be held accountable
for any decisions. "(The minster) can be questioned in the parliament
and of course, this is something which would have to be exercised very very carefully,"
Senator Ellison said. "To leave it open and say `you can have the public
benefit (legal) defence' - that we believe could really leave the position
unclear and be of no benefit. "The interpretation of the courts for that
might vary over time, leaving it to someone who is subject to public scrutiny
- the scrutiny of parliament - we believe is more appropriate." Senator
Ellison said it was at times necessary for professionals such as law
enforcement officers and criminologists to access such material, however
unpalatable that might be. Labor voted with the government to pass the new
bill.
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 08/31/204
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ACS Acts on Spectrum Auction
THE Australian Computer Society has called
on government to withhold spectrum in regional areas to let local communities
build and operate their own wireless access networks. In a submission to the
Australian Communications Authority (ACA) - which is preparing to auction
additional licences for broadband wireless access in remote areas ?the ACS
has called for 20MHz of spectrum to offered directly to small communities to
allow them to build, own and operate their own access networks. The ACS also
plans to pursue the issue directly with IT and Communications Minister Helen
Coonan. Computer Society president Edward Mandla said bandwidth should be
made available even to communities with smaller than 30 residents. Mr Mandla
said there was a risk of spectrum hoarding if the big telecom firms used
their financial power to purchase all available licences, and simply allocate
broadband services where the profit equation worked in their favour.
"The ACS considers that development of infrastructure to support broadband
services should be treated in the same way water, electricity, road and other
infrastructure projects are delivered to rural and remote communities,"
he said. "This means significant government involvement is required to
ensure services are delivered in areas that may not, in the first instance,
be economically viable," he said. "Following the model for
community radio and community television, the communities themselves - under
the guidance of their local councils - should be consulted on how their
portion of spectrum is used and allocated."
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 09/06/2004
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Go-ahead for Online Health Bills
THE $48 million Medicare Electronic Claim
Lodgement and Information Processing Environment (Eclipse) has been
successfully piloted at two Brisbane Endoscopy Services sites and will roll
out nationwide over the next two years. Hospitals and other medical service
providers will be offered financial incentives to take up Eclipse – which
allows billers to electronically submit patient claims to the HIC and private
health funds – over the next four years. It also allows providers to check a
person's insurance fund status and eligibility for gap payments. Eclipse is a
companion to HIC Online, the electronic billing system that will allow
patients to lodge Medicare claims from their doctors' rooms. A system for
payment of pharmaceutical benefits, PBS Online, will also be tested this
month in a small number of pharmacies. Under the Federal Government's
MedicarePlus package, general practices are entitled to a $750 (metropolitan)
or $1000 (rural/remote) cash bonus to hook up to HIC Online. Similar
incentives will apply to Eclipse and PBS Online. In addition, software
vendors receive financial assistance from the HIC to integrate its products
into their offerings. Eclipse will allow billers to send unpaid patient
accounts to Medicare and the person's health fund for assessment and payment.
HIC business manager Peter McMahon said Eclipse would replace the current,
semi-automated, simplified billing system and cut claim processing time to
days rather than weeks. "The paper process takes an average eight weeks,
as about 40 per cent of claims have a keying error such as a mis-spelt name
or wrong Medicare number," he said. "If there's a typo, someone has
to get on the phone or fax to get a correction." Mr McMahon said Eclipse
was designed to eliminate these errors by capturing data at source and making
it available to all relevant payers. "Savings will flow predominantly to
health funds, which will no longer have to rekey claims," he said.
"The data is keyed once, by the doctor or practice manager, and sent by
way of the internet to Medicare; Medicare does its assessment, the claim is
then sent on to the health fund." In turn, HIC would benefit from
greater efficiencies due to cleaner claims information, he said. Two software
vendors, Houston Medical and Web Alliance, have received HIC approval for
their Eclipse integrations and three other vendors will follow suit shortly.
HIC Eclipse marketing manager Lisa Hayes said these five vendors held about
20 per cent of the billing software market. "Eclipse really has been a
health industry collaborative effort," she said. "Everyone has been
very willing to share information and to change back-end systems to enable
the messaging." Meanwhile, general practitioners have been slow to adopt
HIC Online. To date, only 886 sites out of an estimated 7800 practices
Australia-wide are transmitting claims. Another 330 practices are registered
with HIC Online and waiting for the technical ability to go live. Quicker
uptake is expected due to the Federal Government's recent decision to
effectively subsidise broadband delivery to GPs' desktops. (by Karen Dearne)
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 09/07/2004
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Labor Hits Back at ICT Trade Deficit
IT opposition spokeswoman Senator Kate Lundy
today said the rapid growth of Australia's ICT trade deficit is a graphic
symbol of the Howard Government's indifference to the local ICT industry.
Launching Labor's ICT policy she said Australia's ICT deficit in 2002 hit
$14.4 billion, this is equivalent to 65 percent of the current account
deficit. "This is why Labor has identified Australia's ICT industry as
central to achieving Labor's vision for traditional and emerging industries
in an innovative Australia. ICT is a foundation of nation building in the
21st century," Senator Lundy said. According to a statement released by
Lundy, a Latham Labor Government will: Promote Australia's ICT capability
internationally to increase export market access and encourage investment.
Introduce an effective government purchasing policy to ensure that Australian
ICT small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can participate competitively
in government contracts. Develop a 10 year Industry Strategy for software and
digital content to maximise the potential of this sector and increase export
opportunities and growth. Continue funding BITS incubators at current levels
and will negotiate expansion of the types of incubatee companies eligible to
improve prospects of sustainability in the future. Strengthen the National
ICT Centre of Excellence (NICTA) by encouraging NICTA to develop
commercialisation strategies and strengthen ties with Australian SMEs. Foster
stronger relationships between ICT related CRCs, CSIRO, DSTO, NICTA,
ARC-recipients, incubators and industry. Encourage a more entrepreneurial
culture in Australian education and research institutions through the inclusion
of business administration-oriented units in ICT courses with the aim of
improving the commercialisation prospects for ideas and intellectual property
created in Australia. Support ICT skills development and stronger
relationships between the ICT sector and education institutions to ensure
skills development serves the needs of the Australian ICT industry in a
timely way. Support and promote ICT careers for women. Federal Labor is
concerned that only around 20% of people studying in ICT and related studies
are women, and that this percentage is decreasing. Transfer all resources
relating to policy and programs for ICT innovation and industry development
in the Department of Communications IT and the Arts to an ICT Section in the
Department of Industry to sharpen the focus, maximise synergy with generic
industry programs and improve administrative efficiency. A response to
Labor's policy announcement from the Federal Government will follow shortly.
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 09/15/2004
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Labor Launches E-Australia Policy
The Labor opposition today launched a $69.3
million E-Australia policy aimed at getting every Australian online. This
includes $10.5 million for a Citizens Online project to explore 'greater
democratic participation using the Internet' as well as an annual forum to
exchange ideas and to fund an Internet users advocacy group which will act as
a voice for consumers. Labor will also establish Government IT and Online
(GITO) which will replace the current Australian Government Information
Management Office (AGIMO). It will provide policy leadership in the areas of
interoperability and open standards. Labor will also increase grant funding
from $2.5 million to $3 million per annum to the small business sector and
replace the existing small business online grants program ITOL. A total of
$10.5 million will be allocated to the Small Business Online initiative.
However, IT spokeswoman Senator Kate Lundy said E-Australia will be funded
through the existing resources allocated to AGIMO and the Office of
Information Economy.
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 09/15/2004
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Federated Approach Hampering
e-Government
Citing the very high levels of service
breadth achieved in 12 months, Accenture has moved Australia into shared
fourth place in its latest rankings of global e-government maturity, and
singled out the Commonwealth's JobSearch and the Tax Agent Portal for special
mention. Yet Accenture warns that the Commonwealth's federated approach and
the silo mentality that pervades agencies and departments are together
conspiring to limit citizen use of e-government Web sites. It says Australia
must remove both barriers between State and Federal government and barriers
within solutions or risk watching its e-government progress stall.
"Australia has a mature online government program, with many rich and
mature transactional services, but it may be that its federated approach has
led to suboptimal use," the report says. "In fact, one of the key
criticisms in the E-Government Benefits Study was that government agencies
and departments need to lose their silo mentality and provide outcome focused
services that transcend agency boundaries." But it warns citizens are
also being hampered in their use of government Web sites by lack of a common
identifier, limited integration across agencies, and the perceived
inconvenience of digital certificates. "Individuals typically conduct
infrequent, lower-risk transactions that do not necessarily warrant a full
digital certificate-based approach (until that approach is more effectively
supported by commercial products)," the report says. 'While there is a
challenge for Australia to enable transactions that traverse state and
federal boundaries, perhaps a greater challenge is the removal of boundaries
within solutions. Australia must turn more attention toward integrating the
technologies with the operational process and business reform needed to truly
drive value, both to government and to citizens, from having an electronic
presence." "The Government now has the challenge of building
interoperability across these fragmented services to provide a meaningful
experience for its customers. The stakes are high - Australia's
Internet-savvy population holds tremendous potential for greater take-up -
and hence, for the government to deliver an overall program of better service
more cost-effectively." Accenture credits the Government's Better
Services, Better Government vision, with its emphasis on the need for agencies
to establish business cases for investments with ensuring the value
proposition of the Australian Tax Office's Tax Agent Portal, which now has
16,600 registrants conducting more than 20,000 log-ins and generating more
than 745,000 page hits per week. And it says Australia's job-search
application not only helps job seekers complete and file resumes online, but
also offers automated job-matching facilities to help match jobs with job
seekers based on their skills and interests. Overall Accenture finds governments
around the world are at a crossroads with their online programs, with most of
their advances in e-government maturity having stalled and with existing
strategies reaching the limits of their effectiveness. "Governments now
find themselves trying to drive high performance - better outcomes more
cost-effectively - through e-government," the report says. "Some
are gradually building more transactional capabilities into their programs;
others have regrouped and developed more focused action plans that target
maximum value from every investment. "The leaders demonstrate the real
value of e-government, not only through measurably improved customer service,
but also through tangible savings in time, money and human resources to
deliver the services. Yet even the most advanced countries still have work to
do to derive greater value. e-government is far from reaching its maximum
potential. Until the gap is bridged between what is offered and what is used,
governments will never get all of the value possible out of their
e-government investments."
From http://www.cio.com.au/ 09/21/2004
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Labor's Open-door Policy on Digital TV
THE critical review of Australia's digital
television laws, which will determine the TV landscape for the next 10 years,
will be open to the public under a Labor government. The commitment, provided
in Labor's broadcasting policy released this week, contrasts the existing
closed-door reviews now being conducted by the Department of Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts. Labor communications spokesman Lindsay
Tanner has not said how the reviews would be made more transparent but said
he was committed to that policy. "I don't have a specific concept in
mind about how to do it but the idea of having them behind closed doors is
deficient," he told Media. The reviews will recommend whether a fourth
commercial TV network should launch; if the Seven, Nine and Ten networks
should be able to provide digital multi-channels and if the free-TV networks
could offer pay-TV services through digital TVs. Mr Tanner said the Coalition
had "botched" the launch of free-to-air digital TV as only 5 per
cent of homes have changed to digital TV in three years. Labor would "kick-start
digital TV", but apart from providing more funds for ABC multi-channels
Mr Tanner offered few other details, saying future decisions depended on the
digital TV reviews. But he said decisions would be based on the need to boost
take-up of digital free TV. But the free-TV sector remains unhappy with
Labor's plan to ban junk food advertising on children's TV and its suggestion
there could be a fourth TV network. On the pay-TV front, Mr Tanner talked
tough on strengthening the anti-siphoning list which keeps most sport on free
TV, but also said that list should operate on a "use it or lose it"
basis. "If free-TV broadcasters do not broadcast events on the list they
will lose the privileged access to those events," he said. Mr Tanner
also wants to close a loophole where companies associated with pay-TV groups
can buy pay-TV rights "after a thorough analysis of this issue with all
of the affected parties". Labor also plans to keep self-regulation of
the advertising industry through the Advertising Standards Board despite
saying in the policy it will ensure "advertising standards are
strengthened". But Mr Tanner said that did not indicate major change to
the existing system. "We would be concerned if there was any slackening
of the regime but it's important this is kept at arm's length of
government," he said. "I don't want a situation where I am, as
minister, being asked to adjudicate on beer ads, for example." Democrat
communications spokesman John Cherry said he was not planning a formal launch
of the party's broadcasting policy, instead creating an "issues
sheet" outlining key positions. They include supporting the review of a
fourth TV network and ensuring community TV stations gain access to digital
TV spectrum. He also supports Mr Tanner's push to force Telstra to sell its
50 per cent stake in pay-TV group Foxtel. But Senator Cherry also wants an
inquiry into whether Telstra's move to bundle products, such as pay TV, in
one offer was anti-competitive. The Coalition's broadcasting policy is not
expected until at least next week.
From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/ 09/23/2004
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NSW Government Goes Open Source
A panel of contracted suppliers has been
formed to directly service government agencies that choose to adopt Linux
systems. Tenders for the panel close with the Department of Commerce on
October 28, 2004. The creation of the panel will enable government agencies
considering or using open source software to better support services. Tenders
must offer both Linux systems support services and product specific training
services and in addition may offer Linux distributions, Linux infrastructure
software and Linux systems integration services. NSW Commerce Minister John
Della Bosca said initially there would be ten suppliers selected. "The
addition of more suppliers over the life of the contract will be considered
if there is a demand from agencies for items and services not adequately
provided by existing panel members." Recently, the NSW Office of State
Revenue went open source for e-commerce services and offices throughout the
state. The Roads and Traffic Authority has also chosen to go open source for
staff email and desktops. Della Bosca said that the Request for Tender for
open source software focuses on Linux as it is the most popular and well
supported open source operating system on the market today. "Agencies
seeking open source software and services will be able to go straight to the
list of suppliers and select the one that best meets their needs without
having to spend time and money on calling their own tenders and evaluating
bids," Della Bosca said. "It is estimated that this procurement
method can save medium to large bodies up to 12 percent and small agencies up
to 25 percent. "This initiative will make it easier to access the most
suitable software and support services," adding that the government
would continue to explore a range of competitive options when seeking
information and communications technology solutions to ensure value for
money. The contract will run for two years with an option to extend for two
one-year terms.
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 10/01/2004
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ACS Launches Software Quality
Assurance Policy
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has
called for the widespread adoption of software quality assurance
methodologies and professional standards to enhance Australia's status as a
key offshoring destination and to ensure better risk management practices.
Speaking at the Software Industry Action Group conference in Melbourne on
Monday, ACS president Edward Mandla said the federal government needed to
adopt a leadership role by pushing standards with suppliers. This means
suppliers would have to use internationally recognized standards when
building and supplying software. Mandla also called for governments to
require that ICT employees be members of an appropriate professional
association which ensures they are suitably qualified, that they subscribe to
a Code of Ethics, and that they are subject to sanctions for breach of professional
standards and can assist in addressing liability issues. "Australia is a
world-class software developer but we face increasing competition from
offshore," Mandla said. "If we are to remain competitive and secure
our place in the global market, we must be able to demonstrate our
professional standards and credentials. "Purchasers, employers and
insurers need confidence that the people behind their projects or services
have the professional qualifications, certifications, ethical framework and
disciplinary mechanisms in place to perform to the highest standards."
Mandla said the federal government should encourage local software
development firms to adopt software quality assurance methodologies to
develop local industry capability. He suggested a two-stage approach to
improve software processes and product testing including an audit of
Australia's SME software development firms to remove any impediments to
adopting standards and to assess costs. "Then apply targeted assistance
based on the outcomes of the audit," Mandla said.
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 10/18/2004
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NEW ZEALAND: Broadband Spectrum
Allocation Announced
The Government has announced a spectrum
allocation plan for fixed wireless access broadband services. Fixed wireless
access is a method of delivering broadband by radio links, in competition
with wire-based services. Associate Communications Minister David Cunliffe
said the allocation would make additional spectrum available to parties
wishing to provide wireless broadband services in specific areas, who might
not have had the incentives or resources to acquire nationwide rights. The
spectrum would be managed by the Ministry of Economic Development on behalf
of the Crown. It consisted of two blocks in the 3.5 GHz frequency band. These
were held back from auction in 2002. Licences would be available for
geographic areas based on territorial local authority boundaries.
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 09/13/2004
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Telecom Seeking Clarification of
Telecommunications Act
Telecom today said it was heading to the
High Court for clarification on some terms of the Telecommunications Act, to
guide future determinations by the Commerce Commission. Telecom general
counsel Mark Verbiest said in a statement the telco was just seeking clarity
for the future and was not appealing any determinations by the Commission. He
said the company had been pointing out its concern to the Commission that
determinations could go beyond the purpose of the legislation in the way that
some services are defined. "For instance, it's unclear whether a service
such as subdivision reticulation, which provides new network to developers,
can really be said to be a service provided over the fixed telecommunications
network when it actually relates to the building of new network," Mr
Verbiest said. He said Telecom was also concerned about the Commission's
ability to backdate its determinations. "The Commission declined to seek
the High Court's opinion on this issue and advised that the initiative rested
with Telecom. So we are taking that initiative," Mr Verbiest said. He
said a judgement by the court would have no effect on determinations already
made, but the Commerce Commission would be required to take it into account
for any pending or future decisions. TelstraClear has been named in the
proceedings because it is a party to applications which are pending with the
Commission currently and because it has been a party on past determinations.
Recent dealings between the pair include a conference to determine the cost
of Telecom's Services Obligations (TSO), which are the minimum basic
telephone and internet service levels Telecom must deliver to users around
the country. Last month the Commission also met with Telecom to discuss
concerns over delays in its wholesale broadband internet service. Meanwhile
the duo could be headed to court again next year as the Commission seeks
penalties against Telecom for alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the use
of internet access code 0867.
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 10/05/2004
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