ICT infrastructure in conflict zones
The recent LIRNEasia publication ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks in its Chapter 3, “I Just Called to Say: Teleuse under a Ceasefire,” explores the value and modes of access to telecom in the Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. Clearly there is a great need for infrastructure in such areas to replace infrastructure targeted by war. This chapter observes that post conflict societies “despite considerable financial constraints, have a higher demand for telecom services than people in areas directly unaffected by conflict.”
Another new paper by Agnieszka Konkel and Richard Heeks, considers the issue of ICT infrastructure development in conflict zones from the perspective of investment. Drawing on the cases of Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, the paper elaborates some counter-intuitive evidence to conventional wisdom, in that insecurity does not necessarily deter investment. The authors speculate on three possible hypotheses:
“One is that the lure of high demand and profits may be sufficient to pull investors through the obstacles posed by bad governance (though some diaspora investors might also have been motivated by service-provision and nationalist purposes). The second is that, as with lack of security, lack of governance may create a premium for information and hence an investment premium for the tools – such as mobile phones – that handle information. The third hypothesis is that “governance” presents more of a barrier to ICT investors than is normally supposed.”
While the three country examples used here demonstrate voracious need for telecom and a willingness to invest in spite of insecurity, against the larger backdrop of recovery and development - such as posited in the Sri Lanka case (during the now defunct ceasefire) - Konkel and Heeks’ third hypothesis doesn’t seem to fit, except for a very narrow segment of ICT infrastructure investment.
A study by Mike Best (et al.) on the Liberia case, for example, illustrates how in such conflict recovery environments that mobile adoption outpaces internet access and adoption. “While the mobile phone sector is mostly healthy, many issues remain (national backbone, rural penetration, reliability, advanced services, electricity, number portability, interconnection regime, licensing regime, and independent regulation)”.
In the same vein, a 2004 study of Somaliland by Knud Erik Skouby and Reza Tadayoni describes the development of the ICT sector, despite being cut off from international cooperation and assistance and not having a formally recognised country status. What emerged in Somaliland was a “negotiated competiton” based on pricing agreements between operators, of which the Ministry was subsequently informed. While this arrangement has resulted in some of the lowest mobile rates in the world, there is no interconnection or formal regulation. Entering the market is contingent on acceptance by the ruling political forces and other market actors, and overall, the sector is characterised by mutual mistrust between actors.
Links to articles:
“I Just Called to Say: Teleuse under a Ceasefire” by Rohan Samarajiva, Mariam Hameed, and Ayesha Zainudeen, Chapter 3 in ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks, edited by Rohan Samarajiva & Ayesha Zainudeen (2007) SAGE Publications & IDRC.
Challenging Conventional Views on Mobile Telecommunications Investment: Evidence from Conflict Zones by Agnieszka Konkel & Richard Heeks (2008) Development Informatics Short Paper no.9, Development Informatics Group, IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK.
Post-Conflict Communications: The Case of Liberia by M.L. Best, K. Jones, I. Kondo, D. Thakur, E. Wornyo & Yu, C. (2007) Communications of the ACM, 50(10), 33-39.
Click here for other articles by Mike Best on ICTs for Democracy, Peace and Reconciliation.
A case study on Somaliland, in the framework of the WDR project by Knud Erik Skouby & Reza Tadayoni, Chapter 14 in A.K. Mahan and W.H. Melody (2005) Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for Regulators. infoDev and World Dialogue on Regulation.
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