Internet is an amazing technological innovation that has revolutionised the entire range of economic, social and personal interactions. Internet merges notable features of traditional media like broadcasting and telecommunications. Internet has removed the barriers to information access and communication in ways that has never been experienced before in human history.
Internet is a uniquely universal platform that uses the same standards in every country. Every user can interact with every other user regardless of geographic location. Open access to the Internet has revolutionised lifestyles. Economic impact made by the Internet over the past decades has been quite massive. Research by the World Bank in 2009 found that for every 10 percentage point increase in the number of high-speed internet connections in developing countries, there was an increase of 1.3 percentage points in economic growth.
EMPOWERING INFLUENCE: Internet has developed from a small collection of user communities to an integral element in the lives of 3 billion people around the world. Beginning as an obscure network of researchers and technology experts, the Internet today has become a day-to-day reality for more than a quarter of the world's population.
In nearly every country and every sector, the internet has evolved into a powerful economic engine. Internet has become a key enabler of business operation, job creation and increase in productivity. Effectiveness of government functions has increased owing to the ability to provide citizen-centric online services and to involve citizens in governance. The spread of internet has made wide societal impact, especially on less-privileged segments of the society.
Internet is an enabling platform common to everyone. Cyberspace, after land, sea, air and outer space, is the fifth common space for the entire global community to operate through and benefit from. As an enabling platform, the internet has vast potential to boost economic growth. Large enterprises and national economies have reaped major benefits from technological innovations of the internet. Individual consumers and small upstart entrepreneurs alike are the greatest beneficiaries of the empowering influence of the internet.
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM: Creating a global network of networks based on a standard platform is a foundational success of the Internet. In the early days of the internet, access was established over fixed-line networks. It is the mobile network that triggered the explosion. Internet connections rose from around 200 million in 2008 to 2.2 billion by 2013.
First milestone in the development of the mobile internet is the introduction of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in mid-2000. GPRS added internet access to the existing second-generation (2G) GSM mobile voice service. The second milestone paving the way for mobile internet was the release of the Apple iPhone, in June 2007. This allowed users the ability to use a browser in a similar way as on a traditional personal computer. The iPhone also created the path for applications, commonly referred to as apps.
Due to limitations in the coverage of the fixed network, Mobile internet has already surpassed fixed access in many countries. Indeed, mobile connectivity has turned out to be the most important development tool for billions of people in developing countries. More significant benefits of the mobile internet are arising from new innovative services based on mobile access to the internet.
Mobile is at the heart of the new digital ecosystem. Mobile ecosystem is globally a major driver of economic progress and social welfare. It is driving innovation and the development of new services in areas like digital content, social networking and online commerce. Over the years the operators have invested heavily in their infrastructure with capital expenditure set to increase further to support mobile broadband network deployments.
According to a latest estimation, there will be a total of almost 3.5 billion mobile broadband subscriptions by the end of 2015. Industry analysts predict 6.5 billion mobile broadband (3G/4G/5G) subscriptions by 2019, making mobile broadband the fastest growing ICT service in history.
SECOND TO BASIC NEEDS: Innovative mobile solutions are helping to provide underdeveloped, underserved and poverty stricken regions with relevant support to overcome socio-economic challenges in areas like health, education, disaster response and financial inclusion. Spending on Internet access for the underserved and the underprivileged population takes second place after food, shelter, clean water and energy.
To the new generation, internet or a smart phone is the key to everyday world. Younger people outpace their older generations in nearly every digital activity on a daily basis-- from social networking to streaming media. Technology has become an integral part of their lives. When we were young, we had to go to the board office to know our result in the terminal examination. Today, students can know their results on their mobile phones or through the internet. This saves them from transport costs and all the time-consuming hassles. With this trend on, digital divide that may linger in societies will increasingly become generational rather than geographical.
Mobile is increasingly linking the digital with the physical world. Mobile has already redefined consumers' experiences in many aspects of daily life. Mobile has created a range of new business opportunities and services. New technologies, imaginative usage and business models are likely to generate even more profound and useful innovations.
TOWARDS DIGITAL BANGLADESH: Access to internet is perceived as an enabling factor for facilitating and streamlining institutional processes for improving public service delivery to the excluded. Within next decades it will be difficult to find a production unit that does not rely on the common platform of the internet. In our country internet access has been established at community centres and libraries so that citizens do not have to pay for individual subscriptions.
e-Governance is vital to fight against poverty and as a cross-cutting enabler for interventions. Bi-directional information flow between citizens and government provides the platform of consensus building within society, providing a voice for the poor and disadvantaged groups. Taking these objectives into consideration, the government of Bangladesh envisaged the vision of creating a digital Bangladesh by 2021. Two key pillars of the Digital Bangladesh are, connecting citizens and facilitating pro-poor services at citizen's doorsteps, catering to the needs of the poor.
Price of broadband access plays a critical role in terms of broadband diffusion. In 2008 people had to spend Tk 27,000 to buy 1GBPS data, which is now available at Tk.2800- a 90 per cent cost reduction. By the end of July 2015, the total number of internet subscribers in Bangladesh has crossed the 50 million mark. At a meeting of Digital Bangladesh Taskforce on August 6, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the internet service providers (ISPs) of the country to make internet affordable for the people. Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) has promptly announced 41 per cent bandwidth price cut on August 31, 20015. The process is going on to make the price even lower at subscribers' level.
SUSTAINABLE DIGITAL INCLUSION: Internet is the most transformative innovation of the contemporary world. A variety of Internet-based applications are geared at bringing fundamental changes to disadvantaged groups. At the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC 2014), April 2014, the need for accessible ICTs for persons with disabilities was reaffirmed. Likewise, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, held in Busan in October and November 2014, established the Connect 2020 Agenda, which includes four high-level goals: growth, inclusiveness, sustainability & innovation, and partnership.
As for educational opportunities, according to the 11th meeting of UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, February 2015, mobile phones, tablets and e-readers with broadband connectivity could prove to be the long-sought solution in the global effort to bring high-quality, multidisciplinary educational opportunities to people everywhere, especially those in the world's poorest and most isolated communities.
While broadband is becoming more affordable worldwide, it nonetheless remains unaffordable in many parts of the developing world. The ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission has presently set four distinct new ambitious but achievable targets for making broadband uptake universal. It is stated in Target-2 of the Broadband Targets for 2015 that entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries, amounting to less than 5 per cent of average monthly income by 2015.
At a special United Nations summit on September 25 this year, governments from all over the world adopted the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . To ensure inclusive sustainable growth, internet penetration in developing countries has to continue to grow. For digital inclusion to be sustainable, it is important to advance from basic connectivity to the establishment of local knowledge hubs or clusters, formed around universities and companies. Silicon Valley in the United States, Bangalore in India, Zhongguancun in China and the more recently established Konza Techno City in Kenya are examples of such knowledge hubs.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tim Nurul Kabir
Quelle/Source: The Financial Express Bangladesh, 03.10.2015
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