RE: [ga] GA/DNSO Funding Issues

["Mark Flynn" <mark.flynn@telekom.com.sb>]

What we are talking about here is having ICANN try and play a role in
facilitating universal access to the Internet, which is essentially part of
the concept of universal delivery of telecommunications services. This would
appear to be well outside the scope of operation of an organisation like
ICANN, although perhaps they should participate in some way with the many
other national and global organisations trying to achieve this ideal.
Organisations like the UN (UNDP/UNOPS and other UN agencies),  World Bank,
ITU, or national government agencies like the USA FCC and Department of
Agriculture, etc.

The reality that much, approximately 1/3, of the worlds population are still
waiting to be able to make a telephone call, and now need to be able to use
the Internet, presents a major global development problem. The problem is
also more than just "fundamentally a technical problem" it involves major
changes to many national telecommunication operating environments around the
world, changes that would introduce competition where there is none, and
stronger regulatory policies where they may be currently lacking.  Changes
that would try to introduce information and communications technologies
(ICT) into markets (communities) that do not necessarily have the economic
maturity to pay for them yet, the bottom line being that someone has to pay
for the set-up and operating costs of telecommunications, no matter what
form they take. Hence the chicken and the egg syndrome.

For more information on how Oregon probably got networked take a look at the
report titled National Approaches to Meeting the Communication Needs of
Rural and Remote Users at http://www.circit.rmit.edu.au/publics/index.html
this will cost you AU$22, there are no doubt many other similar documents
available on the Internet, if others know of them I am interested in this
subject matter. Take a look at
http://www.peoplefirst.net.sb/General/PFnet.htm , also used in other
locations around the world, for an example of how slow things can get but at
least they will have some form of telecommunications beyond a voice echoing
over a VHF/UHF radio.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ga@dnso.org [mailto:owner-ga@dnso.org]On Behalf Of William
> S. Lovell
> Sent: Monday, 27 August 2001 5:55 PM
> To: Roeland Meyer
> Cc: vany@sdnp.org.pa; L Gallegos; ga@DNSO.org
> Subject: Re: [ga] GA/DNSO Funding Issues
>
>
>
>
> Roeland Meyer wrote:
>
> > Bill, we have here a classic boundary problem. There are a
> number of other
> > entities that are taking on the access issues. One of those
> that I belong to
> > is the ISOC (www.isoc.org). Also, the ICANN is supposed to
> be a technical
> > coordination body.
>
> Don't think so. What you term a "social service" is in fact the core
> requirement of the MoU: technical coordination of the Internet for
> the public good.  To limit the "public" to those already
> neatly connected
> constitutes mission abandonment: the "public" is taken, in
> ICANN terms,
> to mean only those who already have the technology to be connected,
> whereas it is highly doubtful that that is what the USG meant. To get
> people connected is to string wires or the like and then get
> those wires
> to work together, and that is fundamentally a technical problem.
>
> > What you advocate here would constitute mission-creep,
> > because it falls in the realm of social services. Firstly,
> I don't think
> > that ICANN can even do it. That's not the core business.
> Secondly, the
> > resources aren't there. Thirdly, it's not our call to make.
> >
> > BTW, HTML mail is a bear to format a reply to.
>
> I know.  I hate little blue lines. But when that's what one gets, what
> is one to do? (I've tried sending replies as text only, but once one
> starts in HTML, distinctions as to who wrote what can again get
> lost.  But I'll send this text and see again what happens.)
>
> Bill
>
>
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