Focus Group Promotion and use of the Internet infrastructure in developing countries Bonn, 15-16 December 1998
Internet & Developing Countries Michael Minges <minges@itu.int> Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) The views expressed are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ITU or its Members.
The world gets connected... 40 Internet hosts 217 worldwide 192 174
35
129
20
22
35
83 48 60
25 15 10 5
19 90 19 91 19 9 19 2 9 19 3 9 19 4 95 19 96 19 Ju 9 7 l-9 8
0
Internet hosts (millions) Countries connected
2
30
Source: ITU, http://www.nw.com/zone/host-count-history
• August 1981: 213 Internet hosts Several thousand users • July 1998: 37 million Internet hosts ~150 million users • Practically every country in the world has some Internet activity
…but distribution is unequal
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Distribution of Internet hosts, July 1998
Africa 0.4%
Canada & US 73%
Europe 18%
LAC 1% Other Asia / Pacific 2%
Australia, 6% Japan & N. Zealand 6%
Source: ITU.
• More hosts in Finland (514’000) than all of Latin America (386’000). • More hosts in Australia, Japan and New Zealand (2’280’000) than all the rest of Asia-Pacific region (538’000). • Over sixteen times as many hosts in New York City (132’000) than all of Africa (excluding South Africa (7’850)).
Levels of Internet development
• Relevant analysis is why countries have different Internet penetration than expected.
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Internet users per 1'000 inhabitants
www.agsd.com/gdi97/gdi97-2.html
Degree of Internet diffusion Pervasive
100
Common 10 Established 1
Experimental
0.1
0
0.5 1 Human Development Index
See http://www.undp.org/hdro/ for info about Human Development Index.
Source: ITU.
• Internet penetration related to level of socio-economic development. • Four stages of Internet development; see The Mosaic Group for more
The Internet user profile
Male
Urban
Young
Which are barriers and which are prerequisites? 5
Wealthy
Educated
Academic users
6
Mexico Internet Users Residential 17%
Gov't 3%
July 1997 403'000
Business 51%
Academic 29%
http://www.cft.gob.mx/html/5_est/graficas/Tbl7_pag37.html Source: Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones
• Emerging countries that were early to come online did so through academic initiatives and have large educational user bases (e.g., Central and Eastern Europe & parts of Latin America). • This is not the case for countries that have come online more recently and academic connectivity is poor (e.g., Africa and Asia).
Internet diffusion barriers • Price – Personal computer – ISP – Telephone call charge
• Infrastructure – Telecom network – Internet gateways
• Content – Language – National sites
• Awareness
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Price
www.unmetered.org.uk
Venezuela Japan UK Hungary
Source: ITU.
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• Many users do not pay for Internet access (schools & business). • Telephone call charges affect overall price of Internet access. • Some countries have adopted policies reducing call charges for Internet access. • User rebellion growing over high telephone charges; see Campaign for Unmetered Communications:
AVERAGE Philippines Mexico
Internet monthly charges
Hongkong Malaysia $0
$20
ISP charge
$40
$60
Call charge
Note: 20 hours of off-peak use. US$. November 1998. Not including connection or monthly line rental.
Infrastructure • Telecom infrastructure limitations holding back Internet diffusion in developing countries. • Internet demand is influencing telecom development • Voice+: Bundling Internet service with telephone service
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Voice+ In Asia Country Bangladesh
Telecom Rural operator Grammeen Telecom licensed
Malaysia
New operators licensed
Sri Lanka
2 new WLL operators licensed
Internet Plans to provide Internet from village kiosks New operators given ISP licenses ISPs bundling service with new PTOs
Content 9'400
China Internet China Internet users 000s users 000s
6'300 4'300
19 94 19 9 19 5 9 19 6 Ju 9 7 n98 19 98 19 9 20 9 0 20 0 0 20 1 02
14 60
2'900 2'000 1'175 Forecast 160 400
Source: ITU, http://www.virtualchina.com/matrix/#stats
11
• Growing national content is driving Chinese Internet usage. • China only came online in May 1994 but is already forecast to be 2nd largest Internet market in Asia by 2001. • Chinese web pages have grown from less than 100 in 1994 to over 250’000 by 1997. • Number of Chinese web sites around 10’000.
Awareness
All who are aware of Internet 1.93m
All adults aged 18-55 2.09m
92% 2%
All who ever bought via Internet 40,000
32%
All who ever used Internet 677,000
http://www.ec.gov.sg/ECSurvey.html
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Singapore: Level of Internet Awareness Source: National Computer Board.
• Singapore is typical of developed countries where there is a high level of awareness of the Internet • In developing countries, which tend to have lower levels of literacy and media exposure, many citizens are unaware of the Internet and its benefits
The Geography of Cyberspace
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Tonga (21)
Internet domain names per 1'000 inhabitants, July 1998 (World rank)
Israel (19) Singapore (17) Anguilla (14) Iceland (4) Finland (2) Niue (1)
0
50
100
150
200
Source: ITU, adapted from www.nw.com.
• Countries with high Internet penetration tend to be geographic or psychological islands leading to a sense of isolation. • Developing countrieswhich often feel isolated from the global information economythus possess a significant driver of Internet demand.
Ghana gets on the info-highway
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2.5
Ghana: Telecom & Internet penetration
2.0 1.5
Source: ITU.
1.0 0.5
00 2
0
99 1
8
99 1
6
99 1
4
99 1
2
99
0
0.0
1
• Liberalization of telecom sector has increased availability of communication infrastructure. • Ghana came online in August 1995, first West African country to do so. • Project to provide 30’000 e-mail addresses accessible through post offices.
Teledensity (per 100) Internet density (per 1'000)
Conclusions • Raise awareness – Educating citizens about Internet uses and how to use it
• Enhance accessibility – Spreading availability to those who cannot afford to use Internet by widespread proliferation of public access points
• Make it relevant – Make sure Internet has national relevance by encouraging development of national content
• Understand policy implications – Complex regulatory issues that involve trade-offs between costs, prices, technological innovation and universal access
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