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The United States is pleased to contribute to the CWG-Internet's Open Consultation on building an enabling environment for access to the Internet. The United States is committed to the global goal of connecting an additional 1.5 billion people to the Internet by 2020 and to that end launched the Global Connect Initiative (GCI). GCI seeks to raise awareness among policy leaders, including Finance Ministers, that an enabling environment for the deployment of broadband connectivity will help educate and inform their people, open new market opportunities for small business and entrepreneurs, and result in GDP growth. GCI promotes principles that will foster an enabling environment for investment in broadband infrastructure rather than a one-size-fits all approach. The United States notes that there is an increasing body of work and capacity building resources available for policy makers, regulators and potential business entrants to support developing countries efforts to increase broadband deployment. The ITU has made contributions in this area, as have organizations like GSMA, IDB, OECD, Cisco, USTTI, and OPIC among others. The United States is a proponent of competition as a determining factor in price and quality of service. Recognizing that all stakeholders have important roles to play in building confidence and security in the use of the Internet, the United States promotes a "whole of community" approach to risk management, security, and resilience for cyber threats. An important element of this approach is the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, a voluntary framework for reducing cyber risks to critical infrastructure. While the contributions of all stakeholders are critical, governments can play an important role in developing a regulatory environment conducive to investment and competition and for ensuring respect for human rights and freedom of expression.
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