Connectivity – Page 9

How Mobiles Could Revolutionize Data Collection

Collecting baseline data in developing countries can be expensive and require many costs. Also, many have called into question the reliability of the data. To streamline the data collection process, the World Bank and South Sudan are experimenting with a new alternative—data collection by mobile phones, which World Bank director of Economic Policy Marcelo Giugale recently claimed is the “fast track” to actually listening to the poor, and subsequently meeting their needs.

Photo: GoSS

To conduct South Sudan’s national survey for 2011, the year of their independence, World Bank researcher Gabriel Demombynes worked with the Southern Sudan Centre for Census, Statistics and Evaluation and utilized mobile phones as a means to collect the data (a photo essay explaining the survey design can be seen here). In the Southern Sudan Experimental Phone Survey (SSEPS), 100 households in each of the capital cities in South Sudan’s ten states were identified, making for a total sample size of 1000 households. Each household received a free mobile phone. Researchers gave half of the households traditional Nokia phones and the other half solar-powered phones. For four months, the researchers contacted the households by phone and conducted the same survey, while adding a few additional questions each month. Those who answered the phone and participated in the survey were compensated with additional phone time each month; half received five Sudanese pounds of phone credit while the other half received ten pounds.

Photo: World Bank

This innovative survey design allowed researchers to accomplish two purposes: document the current state of South Sudan and experiment with many methods of mobile phone survey data collection. The results of the survey, and of the data collection experiment, will be available as a World Bank “Poverty Assessment” document in the coming months. For now, however, a quick summary of the survey data that has been processed thus far can be downloaded as a “Poverty Profile” of South Sudan. The results demonstrate stark differences between North and South Sudan.

In addition to collecting important data regarding the state of poverty in South Sudan, the study also provides interesting insights about the efficiency and potential of mobile data collection. Dr. Demombynes describes a few insights from preliminary analysis of the data (though these results may be different once all of the data is analyzed in the coming months):

There was approximately a 50% response rate for the entire four months among all participants.
Households who had a mobile phone before the survey were much more likely to respond each month to the survey.
- This indicates that other respondents had trouble knowing how to work the phone, lacked service coverage, or were less likely to remember to answer and use the phone without prior exposure.
- More efforts to train respondents on using the mobile phone are necessary and could potentially improve response rates significantly.
There was no difference in response rates between those who were compensated with five pounds and those who were given ten.
- There was no control group who received no compensation, so it is difficult to say what impact compensation of any form has on response rates.
There was no significant difference in response rates between those who received a Nokia phone and those who received a solar-powered phone.
- The solar-powered phones perhaps had to be in the sun for too long and could potentially be stolen. Also, although electricity is inconsistent, generators are common and local people know where to go to recharge their phones at affordable prices.

The potential for mobile phones as a means of data collection appears to be valid, as demonstrated by this experiment. However, additional research should be conducted such as a cost-benefit analysis of mobile collection versus traditional survey methods. If successful, then more data can be collected about the developing world, informing policy and leading to projects that better meet the actual needs of the poor as opposed to their perceived needs.

June 29, 2011/by actualize

What if your Internet bill was more than your mortgage?

Photo: ITU

A recent report by the ITU states that the price of high-speed Internet connections dropped by over 50% globally last year, with entry-level ICTs dropping 18%. The drop was less extreme in developed countries at 35%, but very pronounced in developing nations at 52%, and particularly in Africa at 55%.

The positive headlines of the ITU’s report quickly fade away, however, as the reality of Broadband prices in developing countries sinks in. “In 32 countries, the monthly price of an entry-level fixed broadband subscription corresponds to more than half average monthly income. …And in a handful of developing countries the monthly price of a fast Internet connection is still more than ten times monthly average income.”

Though this report from the ITU demonstrates that the digital divide is narrowing, the stark differences in Broadband prices between the developed and less developed world appear still widely extreme. The ITU’s report on the price drop ultimately highlights the expansive measure of the digital divide.

If governments are lining up to invest millions in constructing fiber optic cables, should they also set aside some money to subsidize bandwidth usage? Are governments’ efforts to make broadband accessible futile without subsidies to reduce prices? Arguably, a small investment in bandwidth subsidies is necessary in order to make the investments in Broadband infrastructure ultimately meaningful.

Kenya is the first African nation to provide bandwidth subsidies to business processing operators (BPO), allowing a 20 cent saving on all operational costs. ICT board leader, Paul Kukubo, explained, “Increasing Kenya’s competitiveness in the global BPO sphere is vital for our country’s economic growth…and to put Kenya on the global outsourcing map.” Though the effectiveness of the subsidies have been called into question, this is a step in the right direction. Maximizing the benefits of Broadband connectivity may often require bandwidth subsidies as African nations struggle to breech the digital divide.

June 21, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Fiber Optic Cables To Extend to 3 More East African Nations

In today’s headlines, African Telecoms giant Seacom announced that it will be laying fiber optic broadband cables in the coming year in three African nations: Burundi, Somalia, and Southern Sudan. Fiber cables will first be laid in Burundi with the assistance of a $10.1 million dollar grant from the World Bank, and later in Southern Sudan and Somalia.

Attempting to connect all of East Africa together, Seacom has successfully completed fiber construction in Uganda, Djibouti, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Kenya, which is the headquarters of the region. East African governments have been key partners with Seacom and other private telecommunications companies, including Korea Telecom in Rwanda. In fact, the East African Community (EAC), a group of five nations, will invest a combined total of $400 million in laying broadband cables in the coming years. With the undersea and terrestrial fiber cables laid, the groundwork will be in place for all of East Africa to be connected directly.

African Undersea Cables — A History

View more presentations from Steve Song

In Burundi, the reported plans include laying 1,300 kilometers of fiber optic cable, partially funded by the World Bank. The funding for Southern Sudan and Somalia, however, is less concrete at this point, as governments and private sector players are only at the formation stage, with Seacom leading the way.

Seacom’s announcement came despite the spread of land fighting on the border of North and South Sudan this past week, where reportedly more than 53,000 Southern Sudanese citizens fled their homes. Despite the fighting, Seacom spokesman Julius Opio remained optimistic.

However, Mr. Opio has expressed other concerns, including the low portion of the Internet community that is owned and produced by Africans. Establishing broadband infrastructure in Africa, Mr. Opio argues, will increase African ownership and power in the Internet sphere.

“Today, the majority of internet content consumed in Africa is non-African, flowing from Europe and North America into Africa. …We believe that the growth of the African ICT market, including mobile penetration and the eager adoption of social networking, coupled with the development of cloud services will result in a rapid increase in content on African soil.”

Slideshow from Steve Song, and video from Seacom and CreamerMedia.

June 14, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Legal & Regulatory, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

The Broadband Commission’s New Report and an Interview with Mr. Charles Kenny

The ITU’s newly formed Broadband Commission released its first full report Monday, June 6, 2011, entitled A Platform for Progress. The report highlights the need for governments to adopt national Internet strategies in order to compete in the global market. Broadband Internet access, the report states, should be universally available through the public sphere. Others such as Charles Kenny, researcher at the Center for Global Development, argue that Internet access should be leveraged through the private sector, dictated by market needs.

The report reads, “To optimize the benefits to society, broadband should be coordinated on a countrywide basis, promoting facilities-based competition and with policies encouraging service providers to offer access on fair market terms… Developing isolated projects or piecemeal, duplicated networks is not only inefficient, it delays provision of infrastructure that is becoming as crucial in the modern world as roads or electricity supplies.”

Photo Credit: ITU, Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, Vice-Chair, speaks at the Broadband Commission for digital development meeting, Geneva

Some ICT4D experts, however, are not so quick to believe the report’s broad-reaching claims. Charles Kenny, from the Center for Global Development, explains in Foreign Policy that the evidence showing Broadband access increases growth is weak. Looking at data from 1980 to 2006, one unpublished World Bank study estimates that for every 10% increase in Broadband penetration a 1.3% increase in national GDP can be expected. This is a sandy foundation, argues Kenny, for the Broadband Commission’s recommendation that countries develop, invest in and subsidize national Broadband plans. Other studies, not cited by the Broadband Commission, show limited if any growth as a result of increased Broadband access.

I personally corresponded with Mr. Kenny via email last week regarding the role of governments and private companies in National Broadband Networks. His responses are listed here:

1. In your opinion, what is the role of the Internet in fulfilling the MDGs?

The Internet is definitely a factor in speeding progress towards poverty reduction, lower mortality and more widespread educational opportunities. At the same time, the Internet is neither necessary nor sufficient for such progress. Take health: the interventions necessary to dramatically reduce child mortality are things like widespread vaccination, the use of bed nets, breast feeding, and sugar-salt solutions to counter diarrhea. The Internet may be able to help in rolling out these approaches, but that role is decidedly secondary.

2. Where can Broadband have its greatest impact – health, education, governance, economy, or agriculture?

To date, the biggest impact of broadband in developing and developed countries alike has been in entertainment—allowing widespread access to interactive gaming and streaming video. Looking forward, there are surely applications across all of the areas you list, but it is far too early to suggest where the biggest impact will be.

3. Should Broadband services be provided by governments, private companies, or a combination?

Private companies. It is too early to say that there is a big justification for public financing of Broadband networks; we just don’t know if there is a considerable public good impact. Regardless, if the telecoms industry has taught us anything it is that private competitive provision of information infrastructure has lowered prices and extended access far more rapidly than government provision. So even if the government wants to finance broadband network rollout, it should work through the private sector.

4. Should countries pursue a National Broadband Network or leave the market to organically construct networks?

Leave it to the market. Command and control has sometimes, but rarely, worked as a development strategy. But the fast-moving area of ICTs isn’t a good place to try it. Given how little we know about Broadband’s economic and social impact, this isn’t an area where governments should be throwing money regardless.

Despite Mr. Kenny and others’ doubts, the Broadband Commission recommends governments develop their own National Broadband Networks. Their report can be downloaded here.

Photo Credit: CGDev.org

Charles Kenny is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. His current work covers topics including the demand side of development, the role of technology in quality of life improvements, and governance and anticorruption in aid. He has published articles, chapters and books on issues including progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, what we know about the causes of economic growth, the link between economic growth and broader development, the causes of improvements in global health, the link between economic growth and happiness, the end of the Malthusian trap, the role of communications technologies in development, the ‘digital divide,’ and corruption.

June 9, 2011/by actualize

Asia, Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Where we work

Indonesia Aims to Have 30% Broadband Penetration by 2014

The Indonesian Ministry of Economy recently publicly announced its goal to increase “meaningful” broadband penetration by 30% by 2014. The goal is optimistic; Internet penetration was 12.3% in 2010, only 18% of which was broadband, making broadband penetration around 2.2% of the population.

In the Jakarta Declaration for Meaningful Broadband released on April 14, 2011, a collection of government and private industry ICT leaders in the Indonesia agreed on the goal to bring “meaningful” broadband access – affordable, usable, and empowering – from under 3% to a ten-fold increase of 30% within three years. This “big push” for broadband penetration is founded on a US$9.2 billion plan. The plan includes $4.3 billion public-private partnership (PPP) funding allocation, linking PT Telecom’s fibre optic cable to “last mile” initiatives to connect rural, more isolated areas. According to estimates, Elizabeth Aris, expert on National Broadband Networks, states that such a PPP would leave costs at “$3 a month per consumer.”

Photo Credit: Digitaldivide.org

Critics of the fund claim that Indonesia has more pressing needs, that broadband should be left entirely to the private sector, and that Indonesia’s goal is implausible. The Meaningful Broadband Working Group is not deterred, however. Craig Smith, former Harvard Professor and current director of the Investment Group Against the Digital Divide, explains that the Indonesian government has set specific goals to minimize the gap in income inequality, but additional goals to increase GDP.

“The problem with GDP growth is that it only benefits the wealthy. So, the government says let’s use broadband that could create equitable growth… The problem is that they did not understand the critical mass of broadband… is important to require the equitable growth,” Smith said. In other words, broadband penetration is an economic equalizer as well as accelerator, but only when large investments into IT infrastructure are made.

June 7, 2011/by actualize

Asia, Connectivity, Democracy & Governance, Legal & Regulatory, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Where we work

ICT Access: a Human Right in Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani held a press conference on Tuesday, declaring that ICT access and use is vital to the development of Pakistan. Given recent modifications in the allocation and use of USF funds in Pakistan, Gilani’s strong support for ICT investment is particularly noteworthy.

At the 24^th Board Meeting for USF Pakistani, presiding Gilani stated that ICTs potential could not be overemphasized in terms of socio-economic development and job opportunities. He went on to explain that the ability to communicate in the information driven era was a basic human right. These are strong words, especially in light of current debates about the Internet as a human right at the UN and amongst practitioners.

Gilani’s support comes just weeks after Pakistan’s USF announced an agreement with national telecommunications consultant Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) to “promote development of telecom services in underserved areas.” In the partnership, PTCL will help USF to meet its targeted goals, advancing Gilani’s agenda of providing IT access as a human right.

Photo Credit: The Express Tribune News Network

The USF-PTCL partnership to focus on the underserved is important to the success of Pakistan’s efforts to provide ICT access to all its citizens. According to other reports, however, previous USF funds in Pakistan were not utilized due to the Prime Minister’s failure to attend meetings with the board and approve spending for the entire last year.

The ICT industry in Pakistan has major changes as of late. USF Pakistan terminated a contract with telecommunications giant Telenor, citing security concerns that limited project completion. Another project, to provide fiber optic cables to the Balochistan region, was approved this week. And Telenor and Boston Consulting Group also completed a study finding that mobile financial services could increase the GDP by 3%.

USF funds disbursement is not a problem unique to Pakistan. In fact, just last month, reports circulated about the U.S. FCC’s failure to disburse USF funds. Despite this, however, public-private partnerships (PPP) offer hope for more effective USF fund usage.

June 3, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Administrator Shah Emphasizes the Role of Mobile Banking

At an OECD Meeting on May 27^th, 2011, Administrator Shah outlined three areas of reform for USAID, one of which was “leveraging the role of science and technology,” particularly through mobile phone banking systems. The announcement should not come as a surprise, given the growing movement among the leaders of the agency to support mobile phone programs.

Photo Credit: USAID

Shah’s announcement is coupled with his recent talk with MIT economist Esther Duflo at the USAID Development Forum on May 23^rd. During the question and answer session, Shah referred to the power of mobile banking, citing the financial security it provides to rural farmers.

In addition to voicing support for mobile banking, USAID has supported specific initiatives, coming to an agreement last year with the Gates Foundation to provide a $10 million incentive fund to companies in Haiti who provide mobile financial services. Speaking about the fund, Shah said, “Before the earthquake, fewer than 10 percent of Haitians had ever used a commercial bank. A mobile money system can restore and remake banking in Haiti and serve as an engine of inclusive growth.”

Eric Postel, assistant administrator at EGAT, has led USAID’s mobile money programs in Haiti, including one project that allows Haitians to purchase emergency relief food supplies via mobile money payments. Postel praises Haitian shop owners who accept mobile payments, which, he claims, are “broaden their client base” and lower their risk by not carrying cash payments to the bank.

Photo Credit: USAID

Other leaders in USAID have shown support for mobile banking as well. Maura O’Neill, Chief Innovation Officer at the USAID Development Innovation Ventures in the Office of the Administrator, recently co-hosted the Mobile Money Summit in Afghanistan. At the summit, the USAID Mobile Money Innovation Grant Fund was announced, which aims to create unique public-private partnerships to encourage mobile banking. Currently, “only 4% of Afghans have bank accounts,” and given the success of M-PESA in Kenya and similar services worldwide, mobile banking is a legitimate solution to this problem. O’Neill attended the summit with Senior Advisor to the Administrator Priya Jaisinghani, another notable expert in mobile banking.

USAID’s interest in mobile projects is not new. In 2008, USAID commissioned a report on the use of phones in citizen media. As well, numerous projects targeting women in development, have utilized mobile phones. Mobile banking, however, appears to be a high priority for USAID currently.

June 2, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

A Shift In Rhetoric At The WSIS Forum 2011: Incorporating ICTs Into All Aspects of Development

On May 16-20^th, world leaders gathered in Geneva for the annual World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum. Speakers emphasized the role of incorporating ICTs into all aspects of the MDGs as opposed to the previous goal of providing ICT access.

This type of rhetoric respecting the role of ICTs is different than previous global summits and conferences. In 2000, when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were first released, the eightieth goal – Global Partnership – included a specific target to “make available new technologies, especially information and communications.” Subsequently, the 2010 MDGs Report included measurements of ICT availability and number of users. In this report, ICT usage was the primary goal.

However, more recently, the ITU and UNESCO announced the establishment of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which embraces ICTs as “uniquely powerful tools for achieving the MDGs.” One of the commissioners, Bruno Lanvin, boldly explains: “Broadband is not just about infrastructure…it presents the opportunity for a quantum leap. …We may soon discover that Broadband has been the biggest absolute accelerator in our efforts to realize the MDGs.”

The shift in rhetoric surrounding ICTs is now beginning to affect international measurements. For example, last month the World Economic Forum released The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, and announced new changes to the Network Readiness Index. The WEF acknowledged that the original index “falls short in looking at the impacts of ICT usage,” and in their revised index elements such as business innovation, governance, citizens’ political participation, and social cohesion are incorporated, demonstrating the acceptance of ICTs as important development tools in all sectors.

A keynote speaker at the WSIS Forum, Mr. Mohammed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the UAE, explained that ICTs are crucial for “every sector of the economy and contribute to areas so diverse as health, education, and public safety.”

Other forum sessions at the conference further emphasized the importance of ICT utility in achieving all of the MDGs, including “Better Life in Rural Communities with ICTs,” and “ICTs as an enabler for Development of LDCs.”

The second day of the conference, May 17^th, was the annual World Telecommunications and Information Society Day. In a public video celebrating the event, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré states: “It is time for global action to connect rural communities to the opportunities offered by ICTs.”

The WSIS Forum 2011 verified the need to utilize ICTs to accelerate the completion of all the MDGs. This change in rhetoric and measurements regarding ICTs will likely affect public policy in the short future. The WSIS Forum 2011 was an important marker in the history of ICT4D. ICT access and connectivity is the means to making sustained impacts in all the MDGs, but is not the end goal in itself.

June 1, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Closing the Urban-Rural Digital Divide: Connectivity Success in Mongolia

A rich dynamic taking place within the telecom sector is the emerging of new, low-cost solutions more suitable for delivering cost-effective solutions to remote, low-density rural communities. Studies have shown that there is considerable untapped demand in rural areas. However, until just recently the cost of delivery relative potential revenues, has limited carriers from making the needed investments to service those living in these rural communities.

Photo Credit- Mongolian Artist

USAID’s Last Mile Initiative (LMI) undertook a number of projects to explore the potential for identifying and exploring potential solutions. One of these was the Mongolia LMI project. The project was launched in mid-2005 with an initial Assessment that explored opportunities, including holding discussions with the government and discussion private-sector firms interested in becoming involved. Discussions were also held with the World Bank who at the time was exploring an initiative to support for a universal service program and to undertake some limited rural demonstration deployments.

During this early phase the most promising approach that surfaced was to form a partnership between the Khan Bank who has approximately 300 rural banks throughout Mongolia, and Incomnet, a local ISP with a satellite network providing connectivity to a growing number soum-center branches of the rural Khan Banks. The preliminary focus was on leveraging this satellite investment by adding a community-wide extension through the deployment of community-WiFi networks, with voice services provided through a low cost Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution set. In many ways this VoIP approach served as a forerunner to the now-emerging lower-cost commercial solutions entering the marketplace.

In late November-early December of 2006, the USAID-funded team returned to Mongolia to design a workable network using Incomnet’s satellite network and to develop a detailed project plan. This design and project plan put forward an approach consisting of three key elements;

the development of a detailed business-financial plan showing financial viability of rural access,
the support of technical assistance for the deployment of wireless networks in four rural communities that would provide broadband and VoIP services off the back of Incomnet’s Dial@way satellite network, and
a modest amount of risk capital required to install these four rural community networks.

The project was executed from mid-2006 through mid-2008, with full operations beginning in mid-2007.

The implementation took place in four rural communities: 1) the Saikhan soum of the Bulgan aimag, 2) the Tsengel soum of Bayan-Ulgii aimag, 3) the Chuluut bridge of the Ondor-Ulaan soum in the Arkhangai aimag, and 4) the Tsagaannuur bagh of theTariat soum in the Arkhangai aimag.

The implementation focused predominately on providing voice services via satellite-WiFi-VoIP, with PSTN interconnection. A final phase provided Internet access by placing a limited number of PCs within each of the four communities. For the initial installation an estimated 20-30 WiFi phones were distributed across the rural communities, with more to be added based on local demand.

The Mongolia LMI provided a valuable test-bed of experience, rich with lessons in several key areas for application well beyond Mongolia, including;

Even those living in the most remote areas are capable and willing to pay for telephony services,
The satellite-WiFi-VoIP solution sets is a viable, low-cost approach for delivering voice services into these remote areas, with the added advantage that the network can also deliver broadband Internet access,
The revenue from these rural communities is sufficient to pay for the network, its operations, and interconnection cost, making these profitable business ventures even without universal service funds,
Maintaining these systems in harsh conditions is a significant challenge requiring constant attention, and
The technical & business-financial model is replicable to additional rural communities throughout Mongolia as well as other countries.

The Mongolia LMI project also positioned Incomnet, through the capacity building gained through execution of this project, to aggressively pursue subsequent roll-out of yet additional rural communities being funded in part through the World Bank and the newly established universal service fund.

In many ways the experiences in Mongolia pushed the envelop of both technology and a viable business-financial model, with the conclusion being that there are viable solutions for both. Fortunately there has been significant advancement in lower-cost technical solutions since this project was concluded, that provide even more stable and replicable rural solutions to meet the needs of rural Mongolia, as well as other remote rural communities.

May 24, 2011/by actualize

Connectivity, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Gaining Commitment and Synergy: National ICT Planning

During this last decade, ICTs have increasingly become viewed as having national strategic and tactical importance. Globally this was brought into focus through two World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) events—one held in Geneva in 2003 and the other in Tunis in 2005. At the conclusion of the 2005 Summit, there was worldwide agreement on ten ICT-related WSIS targets for 2015. Collectively these Targets for 2015 link directly to supporting each of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2010, an interim report was issued that tracks the progress of these targets Further, both the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) issue annual reports that relate directly to the progress being made in the overall ICT arena.

Virtually every country had high-level Ministry-level participation at these Summits, and agreed to these ten Targets for 2015. Further, this WSIS focus served as a trigger to where the vast majority of the participating countries have subsequently undertaken ICT-related strategic planning initiatives for their respective countries. Often these countries have folded these Targets for 2015 into their national level ICT strategic plans.

While this is extremely encouraging, USAID’s experience in this arena has demonstrated that often it takes more than high-level strategy documents. Often there are three missing components to ensure these national-level planning initiatives are fruitful; 1) there is the need for extensive public-private sector dialog throughout the planning process–and beyond the planning itself, 2) there is the need to drop down into a more tactical level–with public and private sector commitments and implementation targets captured and documented, and 3) there is the need for on-going support through an executive level forum that focuses attention on priority issues, periodically assesses progress being made, and makes needed adjustments.

The focus in developing the National ICT Strategic and Tactical Plan is to heighten the countries’ attention, and to mobilizing ICT-related resources. Having these Plans developed through broad participation of both the public and private sectors, along with international development and donor organizations, ensures there is synergy, prioritization, and integration of the wide-array of ICT-related initiatives being undertaken.

The ICT Team, through the GBI Program, provides support in this arena. The following two examples reflect earlier engagements:

Armenia—in 2001 USAID/Armenia, in partnership with the World Bank, supported the development of a National ICT Strategic and Tactical Plan. This initiative was supported by the then President of Armenia and led by the Minister of Economic Development. A critical component in this planning was the establishment of a ICT-related Council chaired by the Prime Minister, with both public and private sector members on the Council. The Council was supported by a Secretariat. After a year and a half, a local review as to progress was undertaken, again with support from USAID/Armenia. This led to refreshing the National ICT Plan to address priority areas where insufficient progress was being made.

Georgia—in 2008 USAID/Georgia requested ICT consultation with one of the findings being that even though Georgia was focusing on ICT, there was no unifying National Plan in place. This led to discussions at the Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development level, along with a key private sector advisory group, and other donors with active ICT engagements. The team mapped out an initial construct for a National ICT Strategic and Tactical Plan that was subsequently pursued by the local public and private sector entities.

These National ICT Planning efforts are at times the result of an initial ICT Assessment, where the need is identified and local support for such an initiative surfaces. Most often these initiatives are undertaken through a cost-sharing arrangement between the GBI Program and the Mission.

May 3, 2011/by actualize

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