L I R N E . N E T

The University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication research seminar by Joe Straubhaar and Jeremiah Spence (both of University of Texas at Austin) is available for online viewing.

“This talk will trace the waves of thinking in Brazil about digital inclusion in terms of social thinking, policy choices, technology choices and programs, as well as the adoption of technology at local and national levels. We will compare Brazilian thinking about digital and social inclusion with that of the U.S. and Europe. We will examine the impact of social networking in Brazil, including how it has accelerated Internet use deeper into society. We will also look at how some very new technologies, like virtual worlds, are being used to address concrete social problems like distance education for teachers.”

This talk is part of the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication speaker series.
Click here to view the presentation From digital inclusion to social networks and virtual worlds in Brazil.

Click here for the USC Annenberg School for Communication Event Calendar.

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The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a number of organizations working on ICT issues in the Latin American region, recently participated in a workshop in Quito, Ecuador to build up a ICT4D Andean Network - APC’s CILAC project Communication for influence in Latin America (CILAC - Andean Region), which seeks to integrate research, research communications, network-building and advocacy for affordable universal broadband.

Among other presentations, Hugo Carrion from Imaginar introduced Situación de las TIC Acceso a infraestructura en la Región Andina.

Click here to download an interview with Julián Casasbuenas, director of Colnodo for the radio program ALER Contacto Sur.

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The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has posted a series of position papers and commentaries on equitable access to ICT infrastructure. The papers in this series formed part of a wider programme on equitable access including a workshop organised by APC; a joint APC-LIRNE-IDRC session for the 2007 Internet Governance Forum in Rio; and an online dialogue hosted by LIRNE and APC.

Click here to go to the APC Equitable Access resources page.

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Scott Wallsten’s recent paper (April 2008), Reverse Auctions and Universal Telecommunications Service: Lessons from Global Experience, provides an update on the use of reverse auctions (or least cost subsidies, or reverse subsidies). This mechanism allows market actors to bid for what they calculate will be the minimum needed subsidy to extend networks to rural and remote areas, with the concession awarded to the lowest bid. This has been an effective way of setting competitive terms for serving what were perceived to not be attractive or viable markets. Wallsten’s paper reviews experiences with reverse auctions in Australia, Chile, Colombia, India, Nepal, and Peru - and further discusses their implications for the US.

Click here to go to the free download page at the Social Sciences Research Network.

See also LIRNEasia research in this area: “Smart Subsidies - Getting the Conditions Right: The experience of expanding rural telecoms” in Nepal by Harsha de Silva & Ratna Kaji Tuladhar, Chapter 7 in Diversifying Participation in Network Development (2007).

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The African Copyright & Access to Knowledge network (ACA2K network) will be launched on 26 April, as the global community marks World Intellectual Property Day 2008. The network comprises a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda, supported by a team of international advisors, and is charged with the mandate to investigate the relationship between copyright and education in African countries.

Click here to go to the ACA2K website.

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infoDev’s ICT Regulation Toolkit, the most complete online repository of its kind, has completed all seven modules originally designated to cover the range of relevant themes. The final piece, Universal Access, is now available in beta version, with the finalised content being made available during the month of April. Self-described as “a live resource for policy-makers, regulators, the telecom industry, and consumers. It provides a global overview of how telecom policy is best implemented with practical materials highlighting experience and results.” The toolkit is kept up-to-date with new links to resources being added on a regular basis.

Module 1: Regulating the Telecommunications Sector: Overview
Module 2: Competition and Price Regulation
Module 3: Authorization of Telecommunications Services
Module 4: Universal Access (beta)
Module 5: Radio Spectrum Management
Module 6: Legal and Institutional Framework
Module 7: New Technologies and Impact on Regulation

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The Radio 2.0 for Development blog is intended as a space for practitioners and researchers to share experiences and ideas about combining radio and other information and communication technologies. Community triple play is an example of the types of community-driven solutions that are emerging in many parts of the world, and which are designed to extend networks to communities bypassed by traditional telecom networks and provide ICT services that meet the specific needs of poor and rural communities.

For this particular model, these networks in conjunction with a local community radio can offer “community triple play”, locally-owned and managed operations providing radio, internet access, and voice over IP telephony. “Evidence shows that when regulatory and other hurdles are removed, business models emerge that provide sustainable modern communication capabilities to poor and remote communities.”

Go to the Radio 2.0 for Development blog.
Read the full post, Community radio, new technologies and policy: enough watching, it’s time for doing.

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