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Official Decries 'Digital Divide' As Unjust
by William New
No one can enjoy the Internet while so many people cannot access it. That is the message of Yoshio Utsumi, secretary general of the U.N. International Telecommunication Union.
"Until we address the injustices of this 'digital divide,' we cannot embrace the promise of cyberspace with a clear conscience," he told delegates of the Asia-Pacific regional preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) on Tuesday.
Utsumi added that the WSIS, to be held in Geneva in December and in Tunis, Tunisia, in 2005, provides a unique opportunity for countries to develop a vision for the information society and to address current problems.
Despite the fact that 80 percent of employment in developed countries is based on the creation, processing and dissemination of information, Utsumi said information and communications technology is not high on the political agendas of leaders. He said that a developing country that embraces the information society could leapfrog ahead, skipping the constraints imposed by the distribution of natural resources or the terms of trade.
The Internet is the world's most unevenly distributed network, Utsumi said, with more than 500 million users worldwide but 80 percent of them in the developed world. Only one in 50 people in developing countries has Internet access, he added, compared with two out of every five in developed countries.
According to an IDG News Service report, Utsumi said Monday that the WSIS could ignite international efforts to develop a regulatory framework for the Internet that would cover cyber crime, taxation, freedom of speech, intellectual property rights and privacy. The Tokyo preparatory meeting ends Wednesday.
Tough Talk On Regulation, Innovation In Europe
European Union leaders on Tuesday pleaded with member countries to do better in 2003 at implementing and enforcing European-wide laws and regulations at the risk of losing the region's high quality of life. The countries also need to improve knowledge and innovation, EU President Romano Prodi said.
"The unsatisfactory performance of some countries is holding back the overall development of the union," Prodi said in a speech to the European Parliament.
Prodi stressed that knowledge and innovation lie at the heart of sustainable development. "They are the preconditions for growth, competition and new jobs, and a healthier environment," he said, adding that countries need computers in schools, quality education and training, and research and commercialization of ideas.
Europe lags behind competitors such as the United States and Japan in terms of investment and performance in a knowledge-based economy, Prodi said. To address the problem, the European Commission, the EU's regulatory arm, is launching an action plan for research and development, among other initiatives.
"We set ourselves the challenge of creating a competitive, knowledge-based society based on sustainable growth," Prodi said. "On our success in doing so will hang the future of the European model, our ability to honor the international commitments we made at [recent international meetings], and the implementation of policies to secure peace and stability in neighboring countries."
Meanwhile, European Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein on Tuesday detailed the 15 EU member states' mixed results in implementation of EU policies. Without taking the tough decisions nationally to comply with EU-wide policies, he said, "Europe will miss the opportunity to become the most competitive economy in the world, and we will all suffer."
Bolkestein presented a report that showed six of the 16 initiatives covered in a review were completed on target. Officials made reasonable progress on another five. Action in the remaining five cases -- including an EU-wide patent, which is snarled on jurisdictional issues -- has been "considerably" delayed, he said.
Of 12 measures due for completion in June 2003, reasonable progress has occurred on five of them, including one on the patenting of software-related inventions, he said.
Where Are Europe's Female Researchers?
Women comprise more than 50 percent of graduates in higher education in the European Union, but they represent 15 percent of researchers in industry. That fact has led European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin to conclude that fundamental changes in research culture, recruitment and careers are needed.
On Jan. 23 in Brussels, Belgium, the home base of the European Union, Busquin will present a report prepared by an EU-sponsored experts' group on the situation of women in industrial research. With the goal of improving the situation by 2010, the report calls for private-sector action and highlights the need for participation by governments, universities and others. Women account for almost one-third of researchers in universities.
More than one-third of all European industrial researchers are located in Germany and Austria, but women comprise 9.6 percent and 9 percent, respectively. For other EU nations, the proportion of women ranges from 17.8 percent in Finland to 28.2 percent in Ireland.
Separately, research firm Windmill Reports found that European venture-capital investment fell nearly 35 percent in 2002, from $9.53 billion in 2001 to $6.24 billion in 2002. Yet Europe still bested the United States, where venture-capital investment dropped 50 percent.
Software companies received the most investment, followed by biotechnology and healthcare companies, the firm said.
Alliance To Map Wireless Hot Spots
An alliance backed by leading electronics companies plans to launch a global program in March to make it easier to find locations that offer wireless Internet access, BBC News reported.
Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, the Wi-Fi Alliance program would label with a logo the hotels, cafes airports and other places worldwide that offer Internet access via the wireless technology known as Wi-Fi. In addition, a Web directory will be created to serve as a "yellow pages" for hot spots.
Experts predict that Wi-Fi will become a more commonly known word this year, BBC News said. A massive explosion in wireless use is expected in the coming years, with sales of Wi-Fi cards forecast to jump from 6.5 million in 2001 to 31.2 million in 2006.
At the trade show, many products included Wi-Fi technology, BBC News added.
Australian ISPs Pressed To Obey U.S. Law
The U.S. company MediaForce, a provider of anti-piracy services claiming to act on behalf of Warner Bros., has sent a letter to at least one Australian Internet service provider (ISP) requesting that action be taken to safeguard the company's copyrighted material, according to ZDNet.
Australian ISPs argue they are under no obligation to comply with U.S. law on terminating the Internet contracts of customers suspected of breaching copyright laws.
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