| Contribution :
|
Building an enabling environment is critical for promoting affordable access to the Internet and bridging the digital divide. The UK strongly supports the agenda for an enabling environment set out in the outcome document of the review of the World Summit on the Information Society. Beyond fundamental development issues such as basic infrastructure, there are clear elements that need to be in place in order to build an enabling environment, particularly in terms of the market environment for investment. These include competition; straightforward licensing processes; clear, transparent and predictable regulation; removing barriers to crossing national borders with network infrastructure and traffic; public funding, where there is market failure, through open and competitive tendering processes; and proportionate taxation. The ITU can play an important role in developing capacity and spreading best practice in these issues.
All stakeholders have roles and responsibilities to build confidence and security and need to work collaboratively together. There are a number of examples in the UK, such as “Cyber Essentials” and the “Cyber Streetwise” campaign. Government’s roles include empowering users, ensuring a fair and consistent human rights compliant domestic legal framework, promoting investment in infrastructure and opening-up policy making processes. Governments can also put government services and information online. The GOV.UK programme is an example of this.
|
