INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION

THE FUTURE TREND OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES  AND THE RIGHT TO COMMUNICATE

Dr Pekka Tarjanne
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union
Keynote Address, The 21st Century Global Information Society, Jakarta, 12 June 1997

Mr President,
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and an honour for me to address this distinguished symposium. As you may know, I have flown here from Singapore where I opened the ITU’s  ASIA TELECOM 97 Exhibition and Forum.  I will tell you a little more about ASIA TELECOM later on in my speech, but let me say that I am delighted that I was able to find time in my schedule to be with you today.  

I am very pleased to be back in Indonesia, not only because of the natural beauty of your country and your traditional hospitality, but also because of the example Indonesia sets in what can be achieved if there is common commitment - between the State, the banks and private firms - to improving the level of telecommunication networks and services.  Indonesia has recognized that successful national development and telecommunications are linked and that if it is to attain its ambitious goal of status as a Newly Industrializing Country (NIC), telecommunications must play a pivotal role in releasing the enormous potential of its large and diverse population.

Over the past thirty years, the ITU has been pleased to play a part -- a small part perhaps, but hopefully important nonetheless -- in Indonesia’s telecommunications success story.  Although the ITU is more than 130 years old, development is still a relatively young activity, and one that hopefully still has a lot of growing to do.  In this respect, there is much to be learned from the long and successful collaboration that has taken place between the ITU and Indonesia.  This collaboration has produced many notable results, particularly in the area of human resources management and development.  We at the ITU are particularly proud of the role we have played supporting the establishment and development of the Bandung training centre.  It is our largest human resource project anywhere in the world, and in many ways our most successful. 

It is also worth noting that PLANITU, an ITU-developed computerized network planning tool, was introduced in Indonesia with ITU assistance and that it has been successfully used for planning the telecommunications networks of the two largest cities in Indonesia, Jakarta and Surabaya.  This collaboration continues with the planned upgrading of PT Telkom’s system to the Windows NT version of the PLANITU software.

The vital role of the ITU
Many of you already know this, but it bears repeating: Without the ITU – the International Telecommunication Union – many of the daily activities we take for granted simply could not happen. When we watch television, make a telephone call, send a fax, or fly safely around the world, we depend on the ITU’s work.
At the ITU we define and adopt the telecommunications standards that allow fax machines to talk to each other, for example. We also regulate the use of the international  radiofrequency spectrum – allowing aircraft communications to be interference-free, and television signals to be sent and received. And, last but not least, we further telecommunications development around the world, particularly in the developing nations.
The ITU is the largest and most influential telecommunications organization in the world. We now have 187 Member States and over 400 Sector Members, including industry giants such as AT&T, Intel, Matsushita, Microsoft, NTT, Siemens and Sony. Indonesia is well represented both directly as a Member State through the DGPT (Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications), and indirectly through Sector Members such as  PT INDOSAT, PT SATELINDO and PT Telekom
When we go about our daily business it is all too easy to forget that the international telecommunications network is the largest and most complex ever man-made object. The network keeps us in touch, brings us world news and underpins the global economy.
When I first became involved with the communications industry twenty five years ago, there was much talk about ‘the information age’ and how we would soon be living in a ‘global village’.  Nothing much changes!  The information revolution has always been subject to hype.  We are now so used to hearing how the new technologies will transform all our lives that we take it for granted.  I have no doubt that there is a great deal of truth in many of the claims made about the coming information society.  
However, what is far from certain is the speed of this revolution, the manner in which it will develop and who will participate.  That is why I want to concentrate in my talk today on an issue which is dear to my heart and is at the core of the ITU’s activities - the right to communicate.  It is my belief that universal access to basic communication and information services is a fundamental human right.
Universal Access to Basic Communication and Information Services 

Of course, the idea that there should be universal access to basic communication and information services is not new.   The 1984 report of the Independent Commission for Worldwide Telecommunications Development (the Maitland Commission) identified the "missing link" in telecommunications development as the gap, in access to basic telephone service, between developed and developing countries.  Sir Donald Maitland, the Commission Chairman, illustrated this gap with the famous quote that there were at that time, more telephones in Tokyo than in the entire African continent.

There is a big difference between developed and developing countries in "teledensity" -- the number of telephone lines for each 100 people. In the richest countries, there are 45 or more phone lines for each 100 people. In the poorest countries -- mainly in sub-Saharan Africa - there is less than one. The developing countries of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe fall somewhere in-between.

In 1984, the Maitland Commission recommended that by the year 2000 everyone in the world should have ready access to at least basic telephone service. In 1983, 90% of the world's people had access to only 10% of the world telephone lines. Today, the situation is better. This same 90% have doubled their share, and now have about 20% of the world's telephone lines. Nevertheless, more than half of all households around the world still have no telephone.

In short, while the goal set by the Maitland Commission has not yet been reached, access to basic telephone services for the inhabitants of some low income countries is increasing rapidly.  So while we have made some progress in closing the telecommunications development gap identified in 1984, we still have a very long way to go before there is equal access everywhere in the world to basic telephone service.
Closing the gap - lessons from the Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region has probably gone further than any other in narrowing the telecommunications gap and consequently has much to teach us in extending this experience to other developing regions of the world. The Asia-Pacific region is now the world’s largest single market for telecommunications products and services. Investment in the region's telecommunications market over the next five years is expected to exceed US$ 300 billion. The region is also the fastest growing and most dramatically changing on the planet. For instance, the number of cellular subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region has already overtaken that of Western Europe and is forecast to outstrip the USA this year. 

What is encouraging for the other Asian economies is that the transition from a low to a high teledensity is becoming quicker over time. The OECD countries of the regions took between 10-35 years to move from a teledensity of 10 to 30, the four dragons did so in six to ten years, while countries like Indonesia and Malaysia seem set to complete the transition even faster.  The evidence shows that:

	The telecommunications gap between the developed and the developing economies can be closed given the right pre-conditions for growth. 

	The transition phase between low and high teledensity economies is becoming quicker and easier over time.

Why is the growth process speeding up?  There would seem to be a number of possible reasons:

	Technological change, and in particular the introduction of digital switching, has made rapid development of capacity much easier.  The dynamic Asian economies have been able to jump straight from manually-operated to digital exchanges, thus by-passing  the semi-automatic stage of network development.  In Indonesia, Hongkong, and Malaysia, for instance, exchange line digitization is above 75 per cent;

	The dynamic Asian economies already had an industrial structure that depended heavily upon telecommunications-intensive activities such as consumer electronic manufacturing or services whereas the OECD Member countries were still largely agricultural, resource-based economies when they started the transition;

	There is a learning curve whereby the "lessons" of a successful investment strategy in one country can be applied in others, given the right economic preconditions and policy framework.  There is also strong consumer demand for some new technologies such as mobile phones or fax terminals and this demand has been spurred by advertising and by tourism.

Towards the global information society

But even as one communication gap between developed and developing countries is beginning to close, a new and more dangerous gap is opening up.  

Despite the hype, we are in the midst of a communication and information revolution, complemented by an explosive growth in knowledge.  Information and knowledge have become the primary factor in societal and economic development.  As generic technologies, information and communication technologies (ICT) permeate and cut across all areas of economic, social, cultural and political activity. 

The convergence of telecommunication, computer and broadcasting technology is revolutionizing the production, distribution and consumption of information of all kinds -- from mass entertainment, to social, cultural and educational services, to scientific research and business. In the process they affect all social institutions, perceptions and thought processes.  

Globally the information and communication sector is already expanding at twice the rate of the world economy.  Decreasing costs of increasingly powerful, reliable hardware and software, as well as the fact that much hardware has become a desktop item, will continue to drive the use of information and communication technologies, facilitating access by ever wider segments of society.  But this tendency can have profound benefits only if gains in physical access are accompanied by capacities to exploit these technologies for individual and societal development through production and dissemination of appropriate content and applications.

The effect of the increasing pace of change in communication and information technologies, combined with the globalization of trade, is causing industrialized societies to evolve towards a global information society in which all human activities are increasingly dependent on electronic information infrastructures.  The economic and social effects of the use of these technologies are many and varied. Some will be positive; others will be negative. Striking the right balance will be neither automatic or easy. 

Numerous far-reaching programmes are already being implemented to take advantage of the potential economic benefits of these technologies in terms of economic growth, employment and resource management. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the impact of these technologies on existing jobs and the future availability of work. 

The Global Information Infrastructure - the Future of Communications?
It is more than three years since US Vice-President Gore proposed, at the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference in Buenos Aires, that the nations of the world should cooperate in building what he called a “Global Information Infrastructure”, or GII. Today, his vision is widely shared  In fact, dozens of national initiatives have been announced around the world, and the GII has been the subject of ministerial meetings and numerous other conferences.
It is no exaggeration to say that every country has a slightly different view of what the GII is, what it will do, and how it should be built.  Europe has put the emphasis on economic and social issues, such as employment and competitiveness, in “the global information society”.  Japan, on the other hand, has stressed the theme of “reforms toward the intellectually creative society of the twenty-first century”.  Singapore sees itself as an “intelligent island”.  Indonesia’s vision for its N11 Nusantara-21, can be considered the information era’s corollary to the PALAPA domsat network initiated in the 1970s - the communication web linking all corners of the archipelago.  Every country, in fact almost every speaker, has a different point of view.
Should we therefore conclude that the GII is nothing more than a catchy slogan? Personally, I would hesitate to draw such a negative conclusion.  It seems to me that  whether we talk about information highways or the GII, we are talking about a common set of goals, about a common set of ideals, about a common set of problems.
How will the communication networks of the future differ from those of the past?  To begin with, I think there is widespread agreement on the technical aspects of this question. The networks of the future will be digital.  They will be intelligent.  They will be defined and controlled by software.  They will offer high transmission capacity and flexible bandwidth.  They will have open architectures so that they can be easily accessed and interconnected.
Second, there is also consensus on how the communication services provided by these networks will differ from traditional services.  They will convey information from every possible source -- by putting us in touch with other human beings, by tapping the world’s rapidly expanding reservoirs of electronically stored information, by sensing what is happening in natural and man-made environments.  This information will be presented to us in all its richness; the networks of the future will connect with our senses of sight, sound and touch, and perhaps with our other senses as well. The services provided by the networks of the future will be personal, tailored to the needs of individual users.  They will allow us to interact with other information sources -- whether they are people, databanks or environmental sensors -- in ways not previously possible.  And they will be mobile, available at any time and perhaps in any place.
Third, there is also a widely shared vision of how these networks and services will be applied. In addition to providing an almost unimaginable range of business and entertainment services in response to market demands, it is widely assumed that education, health care and other public services can be provided by communication networks. Many social problems could be alleviated through the application of new communication and information technologies; for example, the elderly and the disabled could be integrated much better into social life through applications such as distance learning and remote medical consultations.  But as these new technologies become more widely used, they also give rise to new social and cultural issues in connection with new lifestyles, working relations and leisure habits that are being created through their use. 

The revolution in communication and information technology will have profound implications for all of those involved in the creation, production and dissemination of information, whether they are involved in scientific research, education, cultural, entertainment or commercial pursuits. On the one hand, this revolution will put at their disposal powerful new creative tools and means of reaching their audiences, whether they are local or global. On the other hand, this revolution raises new issues related to the ownership, control, diversity and flows of information.  If all of these visions materialize, it is certainly the case that every aspect of life will be transformed. 
This, in a few words, summarizes the consensus that I see emerging around the world on the communication networks and services of the future.  It is an inspiring vision.  The question is, how can we realize it?
It is sometimes thought that there is a magic solution to building the GII -- for example that the answer is the Internet, or that it is Broadband ISDN, or that it is interactive cable television, or that it is future generation wireless technologies.  Personally, I do not believe that there is a magic solution of this kind -- that some “revolutionary technology” or “killer application” will conquer the world.  It is much more likely that the GII will be a “network of networks” and that it will evolve out of existing technologies and services such as the Internet, just as communications has always done.
Ladies and gentlemen, many of the topics I have talked about today are currently the subject of much fruitful discussion at Asia TELECOM 97 in Singapore. Asia TELECOM 97 is the fourth Asia TELECOM event to be staged by the ITU in Singapore since 1985.  This year’s Forum theme, ‘The Asian Routes Towards the Global Information Society’, is bringing together more than 1500 participants and speakers providing an excellent opportunity to explore how the benefits of the global Information Society can be harnessed for everyone in the region. In addition, more than 30 000 telecommunication professionals from over 90 countries will visit the exhibition.  The Forum and Exhibition will continue for another two days - so if you haven’t already been, it’s not too late for you to attend!

The 'Right to Communicate' in the Global Information Society' 

There is another comment I would like to make about the concept of the Global Information Infrastructure.  As I have said today, I think there is an emerging consensus on what the words “information infrastructure” mean, as well as on the kinds of services that will be provided by the networks of the future.  However, it seems to me that we have a much less clear idea of what the word “global” means.  Will the GII be global in the sense of carrying all kinds of information?  Or will it be global in the sense of being accessible from at least some locations in most or all countries?  Or will it be global in the sense of providing universal service to people everywhere, from the remotest villages to the most crowded urban cores? 
There appears to be a tendency to assume that the GII will be global in all these senses, and that it will provide access to the world’s information resources to the poorest countries and people in the world as well as to the richest.  This is a laudable vision.  But it is not realistic under present conditions.

People with access to the "information infrastructures" resulting from the convergence I have talked about will be the "information haves" of the 21st century. At present, these people are few in number and live almost exclusively in the richest countries. The vast majority of the world's population -- for whom the telephone is still a luxury -- will be "information have nots". The gap between developed and developing countries -- between the "information haves and have nots" -- will almost certainly be greater in the near future than it is today.

Moreover, the communication revolution I have described raises new questions about fundamental human rights, such as freedom of thought and expression, the right to privacy and the protection of intellectual property, the right to participate in political life, and the right to communicate.

Like the idea of universal access to basic communication and information services, the 'right to communicate' is not a new concept.  Philosophers and social scientists have long recognized that communication is at the basis of any society or group of human beings, and that the history of humanity is inextricably linked with that of communication. 

That is why it is timely to examine issues related to the 'right to communicate' in the context of the emerging global information society.  Because of the way in which the communications and information technologies cut across all aspects of our lives, it is not just the ITU which is concerned with the right to communicate.  A concerted approach is required from the whole international community.  This is why I proposed, a little over a year ago, that the United Nations should undertake a system-wide project on the theme of Universal Access to Basic Communication and Information Services. 

The basic idea behind this project is that in the global "information society" of the 21st century, none of the fundamental human rights established in the Universal Declaration can be implemented fully in the absence of communication between those who lay claim to them.  The right to communicate, therefore, must be seen as a dynamic concept, perceived as remaining open to any form of further development of technology and its implications. 

The purpose of the “Right to Communicate” project was to provide the UN system with an opportunity to reflect on the impacts and implications of the communication revolution for fundamental human rights, and to identify key issues that need to be addressed at the international, regional and country level.  It also provided an opportunity to examine how the members of the UN family could develop a concerted programme of action with a view to ensuring that communication and information technologies and global information resources are developed and applied by civil society so as to ensure that their benefits are universally available, in support of the goal of sustainable global development.

I am pleased to report that when I presented the results of this project to the new UN Secretary‑General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and my fellow Executive Heads of the UN programs and specialized agencies, without exception they expressed their appreciation for the work undertaken and the timely completion of the project under the leadership of the ITU.  They agreed that the promotion of access to basic communication and information services for all should be an integral element and key priority in the efforts now underway to reform the United Nations system and to redefine its role.  My colleagues also agreed that it was  important to reinforce the efforts being made by the organizations of the United Nations system, and to harmonize and coordinate their strategies for promoting the development and effective use of information and communication technologies.

As a result of this project, the UN leadership has unanimously adopted a policy statement on Universal Access to Basic Communication and Information Services, and invited the Secretary‑General of the United Nations to bring the Statement to the attention of the General Assembly with a view to seeking its endorsement, as well as to the governing bodies of all UN agencies and programs.

I am extremely pleased that the United Nations as a whole has recognized the importance of the right to communicate.  It is an admission that harnessing information and communications technologies is fundamental to securing sustainable economic development for all and that there is a need for UN agencies to pursue a more strategic and systematic approach to this end.  I am also personally delighted that this initiative, proposed and led by the ITU, helps establish the ITU as the international focal point for matters relating to telecommunications in the global information economy and society of the twenty-first century.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me finish by reminding you that the future is not a place we travel to, something that is waiting for us, an inevitability.  The future is something we must build. If we want, as I am sure we all do, a society in which everyone has the right to participate, then we must lay the foundations for that future now.  

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