CANTO2019
Regulatory Challenges & Opportunities in the New ICT Ecosystem
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
Tuesday July 23, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Excellencies, Honorable Ministers
Distinguished colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning.
I am delighted and honored to join you today in my capacity as Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, and to be part of discussions at this 35th annual CANTO Conference.
With more than 100 members from 33 countries, CANTO very effectively represents the interests of the ICT sector right across the Caribbean region, and has long been a valued partner of ITU in many areas of our work. So let me extend a special thanks to our host, and to the event sponsors, for organizing this year's compelling programme.
Today I want to speak to you about the challenges and opportunities in the fast-changing ICT ecosystem.
When it comes to ICT development, the Caribbean is, of course, an extremely diverse region. Over the past five years, we have seen encouraging progress in building a more competitive ICT environment, with the large majority of Caribbean countries now having full competition in ICT services.
We have also seen solid achievements in promoting broadband connectivity, with just about every Caribbean nation now having a National Broadband Plan. Here in Trinidad & Tobago, nearly 80% of individuals are now using the Internet – a very impressive figure that is in line with some of the world's most connected countries.
Economically, too, the telecoms sector continues to represent a key driver of regional growth, and contributes a relatively high proportion of overall GDP. Mobile telephony and data are growing steadily, and the welcome trend towards more investment in fibre infrastructure will help operators further enhance service offerings while improving quality of service and choice for consumers.
We heard a lot about doubles in the opening ceremony. Something I look forward to trying before I leave.
But I've been told that here in Trinidad and Tobago you boast a world number one: the Moruga Scorpion Pepper, which has been ranked by independent experts as the most powerful chili pepper in the world.
They tell me that one tiny Moruga Scorpion can inject more power into a dish than 200 ordinary jalapenos. That is what I call packing a punch!
If you will permit me the liberty, I would like to compare the formidable power of the Moruga Scorpion to the formidable potential of ICTs to inject a massive surge of power into the global development agenda.
ICTs:
- empower economic growth;
- they empower education,
- health care,
- agriculture,
- tourism,
- and environmental management.
- ICTs empower youth to find rewarding, well-paid jobs.
- They empower women to achieve equality and independence.
- They empower marginalized groups, like persons living with disabilities, to live productive and fulfilling lives.
Put simply, ICTs are the powerhouse for growth for every sector, and every economy, worldwide.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Most of us are already familiar with the advantages mobile phones and internet access can bring when tackling chronic development challenges.
But we stand today at a major inflection point, as emerging technologies like 5G mobile, IoT-connected devices, Big Data and AI-empowered platforms once again rewrite the rules of this fast-changing game.
The potential of these new technologies is huge – particularly for sectors like agriculture, which until now have often struggled to find compelling ways of harnessing the transformational potential of ICTs. I was pleased to hear from Minister Hughes the good work they are doing with farmers.
A study by Cisco and the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development demonstrated the enormous potential for IoT linked to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
And we already see real examples of this happening today:
- IoT technologies are providing real-time data on weather, helping farmers better manage water and optimize crop production. Bahamas is doing a lot of work in this space.
- IoT is bringing better healthcare services to rural and isolated populations.
- It is being used to collect data on education outreach and participation
- It is empowering unbanked citizens through digital financial services;
And it is delivering vital information for emergency response in disaster-struck zones.
That final point is, of course, of particular and urgent relevance for the Caribbean region.
Many of you know that ITU holds a regular global event dedicated to emergency telecommunications – the GET conference. We were very pleased to have CTU and other delegates from the region join us for GET 2019 in March, where we did a tabletop simulation of an emergency situation. And just a few days ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Pacific island of Vanuatu for our 2019 Global Symposium for Regulators, where we did a similar exercise focusing on the role of regulators in disaster preparedness and response.
Vanuatu is now ranked Number One as the country most at risk from catastrophic weather events. I don't have to tell any of you in this room that the impact of such events can levy a truly devastating toll, in both human and economic terms.
Advanced ICTs represent very powerful tools for weather prediction, early warning and disaster preparedness and response. Vanuatu has made a strong commitment to implementing the latest and best ICT-based emergency response systems, and their efforts represent an excellent showcase of what could be done to help other vulnerable regions.
At ITU, we are working with several countries in the Caribbean region – including Trinidad & Tobago – on a needs assessment for implementation of the Virtual Vision mobile early warning system, which provides real-time regional inter-agency information sharing, reporting and alerting. At the grassroots level, we are also working on an innovative Smart Seas Toolkit that uses ICTs to safeguard life at sea for small-scale fishing communities. Dr. Kim spoke about this yesterday
ITU encourages all Caribbean nations to establish a National Emergency Telecommunications Plan. This is a target in our strategic plan that all countries should have a national emergency telecommunication plan. We will work actively with you to deploy ICTs for disaster risk reduction, so that together we can harness the power of technology to protect lives, and livelihoods.
Looking ahead, the advent of 5G mobile broadband will be a major driver of all kinds of new applications, with smart systems and spectrum-sharing offering a one-thousand-fold improvement in bandwidth efficiency.
The development potential of this explosion in mobile bandwidth is unprecedented. Mobile broadband is, and will remain, the primary means of Internet access for the vast majority of the world's people.
What's more, new research by ITU and the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development shows a very clear correlation between mobile broadband penetration and economic performance, particularly in less developed nations.
From ITU's side, ensuring that 5G, IoT, and other wireless innovations like next-generation mobile satellite systems and high-altitude platforms, are given ample room to flourish will be an important focus of our World Radiocommunication Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh later this year. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
It is an exciting time to be working in the ICT sector, but on the flip side, ITU is very aware of the development and regulatory challenges these new technologies bring.
The overhead involved in implementing new-generation 5G networks is far from negligible – in terms of infrastructure costs, installation and expertise. If we are not careful, we risk creating a new digital divide just as we are finally making progress in bridging the old one.
I think you will all agree that we cannot allow this to happen.
Distinguished colleagues,
The report of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, released last month, strongly advocates for the vital importance of multi-stakeholder alliances and cross-sectoral cooperation in promoting digital inclusion and ensuring that everyone in the world has the opportunity to benefit from digital transformation.
To reap these benefits, we need to tackle a wide-ranging agenda.
First, we urgently need to find innovative financing models to support network roll-out, to extend Internet access to the 49% of the planet still unable to get online, and to help countries upgrade to 5G platforms.
Second, we need to ensure countries have the technical support they need to manage complex issues like spectrum management and conformity and interoperability, to help them extract maximum value from existing networks and seamlessly integrate new infrastructure. In the past few months ITU has been working with 22 Caribbean states on a regional technical assessment, alongside regional workshops aimed at training young engineers to meet these new challenges.
Third, digital skills development, reskilling and capacity-building will be a vital part of the picture. Last Monday was World Skills Day, and I was in New York for the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It was reported that 65% of primary school children today will end up in jobs that do not yet exist – and ALL those jobs will have a digital component.
Digital skills development is essential.
ITU itself has a number of continuing actions in this area, including:
- the Digital Skills for Jobs partnership with our sister agency, the ILO, targeting the training of 5 million young people
- the ITU Digital Skills Toolkit, released last year
- our ITU Academy global training programme
- and of course the Skills Coalition of the EQUALS Global Partnership for digital gender equality.
Right now, 1 in 3 unemployed people is a young person aged 15-24. We need to find better ways to empower our youth to take full advantage of tomorrow's opportunities.
Digital inclusiveness and promoting ICT accessibility for marginalized groups, such as people with disabilities, is a core priority for ITU, and we were delighted to have the opportunity of partnering with Jamaica late last year on our 5th Accessible Americas event, entitled 'ICTs for All'.
Strengthening capacity building also means equipping our Member States to tackle the growing global scourge of cybercrime, which, if left unchecked, threatens to undermine people's confidence in the technologies that can do so much to improve their lives.
That is why the final element of our broad agenda needs to focus on building trust in the online world.
'Promoting confidence & security in the use of ICTs' is one of the key Action Lines conferred on ITU by the UN World Summit on the Information Society. ITU is currently working with Barbados to implement a national Computer Incident Response Team, and with Suriname, Saint Kitts and Bermuda to improve their cybersecurity readiness.
With so many sectors and services now dependent on ICT networks, this is an issue no country can afford to ignore.
Ladies and gentlemen,
ITU continues to actively engage with a large number of Caribbean countries on digital transformation issues, from smart cities; e-agriculture; m-payments; e-government, connected health care; digital transition, and more.
All of these actions are very important. But what I want most to leave you with today is my vision of the vital enabling framework that will bind all of these actions into a coherent whole that translates into the ubiquitous, meaningful, people centric connectivity that changes lives.
If I had to sum that framework up in one word, it would be this: COLLABORATION.
At last week's HLPF event in New York three messages came through loud and clear. And I am hearing these same message here.
One: we need a far more diverse spectrum of stakeholders to work together to shape our digital future. That means UN agencies and civil society, regional groups like CTU, CANTO, academia, and, vitally, the private sector (important to be technologically inclusive).
Two: we need to bring far more diverse voices to the table, particularly from developing countries and from traditionally marginalized groups such as women, youth, indigenous people, people living with disabilities, rural dwellers and the elderly.
And Three: we need to embrace much more holistic approach to our digital vision, moving away from silos and bespoke systems towards a true 'Whole of Government Approach' that views digital platforms as the underlying bedrock for every type of service and interaction.
Good regulation will be crucial. At our Global Symposium for Regulators event in Vanuatu, the focus was on what we call '5th generation regulation'. That means multi-stakeholder, collaborative regulatory approaches that view all players as partners, rather than adversaries, in the challenge to connect the unconnected.
The GSR adopted best practice guidelines to fast forward digital connectivity for all. These guidelines lay out core design principles, benchmarks for regulatory excellence, and tools and approaches for enabling digital experimentation.
The Caribbean FutureScape event held here in Port of Spain a few weeks ago is a great example of what 5th generation regulation can bring. The creation of harmonized single markets for ICT goods and services cuts through bureaucracy and injects new energy and focus into regional development, while helping optimize consumer offerings and choice.
Distinguished colleagues,
There are a great many challenges still to be met.
But I hope, like me, you are inspired and excited by the potential of ICTs to truly transform the world.
ICTs are uniquely powerful. More powerful, even, than your famous Moruga Scorpion pepper.
But right now, we're not harnessing as much of that power as we could, or should.
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. That televised broadcast was viewed by close to one fifth of the total global population. That's pretty amazing, given how few people owned their own TV set at the time. And yet, 50 years on, we still have an estimated 3.7 billion people unable to participate in the digital world. We really have to find a way to do better.
We are a most privileged generation, because we are the first to have the opportunity to harness the extraordinarily powerful potential of ICTs to transform the lives of our fellows, and the future of our children.
The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that “the spread of information and communication technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress."
If we succeed in rising to the challenge, our dream of a fairer, more equitable and more prosperous world might, at long last, be attainable.
Thank you.
