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EU Traditions Slow New Tech Opportunities
by Winter Casey
The European Union could be missing opportunities by sticking with traditional ways of doing things, EU Parliament member Malcolm Harbour said this week during an international Internet policy meeting on Capitol Hill.
Harbour said information technology and communications tools have the power to revolutionize. "The availability of relatively low-cost but high-intensive computing power is completely revolutionizing the process of scientific discovery," he said at a discussion moderated by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Internet Caucus.
Harbour said efforts in the United States to deregulate telecommunications impact Europe as well. He discussed 2002 EU legislation that created a single, technology-neutral framework for electronic communications.
When legislation has been properly implemented, Harbour said, more competition results. He cited the area of high-speed Internet penetration in Europe as evidence. "We are seeing a number of telephone companies moving to offer video on demand" and television via broadband, he said.
The official said current EU regulations and tools are "perfectly sufficient" to address concerns about network neutrality. Goodlatte briefly outlined the heated neutrality debate in Washington, which concerns whether Bell telephone and cable operators should be free to charge Internet companies for preferential treatment in their delivery of high-speed bits.
Harbour said the European Commission is going to put out a paper next year that will address net neutrality and other issues, such as determining mobile call locations for emergency situations. He spoke of a possible international agreement on standards.
On another front, Harbour said the European Union is "doing the right thing" in engaging in intensive debate related to radio-frequency identification technology and addressing public-interest concerns such as privacy and the use of data "early on." The tracking technology offers potential benefits for a range of sectors, he said.
Goodlatte urged caution against RFID regulation. He said that in the United States, "we want to minimize the political elements related to the Internet."
Parliament member Erika Mann said the European Union is weighing issues related to Internet openness and the Web's future. She said the body is concerned by issues pertaining to Internet trust and security. The EU government wants to make sure all countries feel like they are being included in discussions, Mann noted.
Harbour further said it is vital for universities to have the skills and knowledge to apply new tools. A focus needs to be placed on using technology to improve the "quality and delivery of public services," he said.
When the issue of patent reform was raised, Harbour said support for patents that would work in all EU nations is lacking. Some countries clearly are not prepared to move that idea, he said, also noting that the Parliament is awaiting a guidance paper from the European Commission.
Harbour also referenced the challenge of defining the conditions of computer-implemented inventions. An audience member said she was "pessimistic that we will have anything serious done [regarding EU patent overhaul] during this parliamentary term."
Another audience member noted that there is still disagreement regarding patents on business methods -- Amazon.com's "one-click shopping" function is an example -- but that the European Union is interested in the views of the United States. She also said Europe wants to enforce intellectual property protections in China and Russia.
A Sept. 6 Finnish conference will address patent changes, intellectual property and innovation.
Indian President Emphasizes Education, Tech
Education is key to creating future leaders, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said Tuesday. Institutions must teach "research and enquiry, innovation, use of high-technology, entrepreneurial leadership and moral leadership," he said at the University of Mumbai.
Kalam congratulated the institution, which began offering distance learning in 1971, for pioneering virtual-learning tools. The government must provide quality education in areas where private institutions will not go while a mix of government and private intuitions in urban environments is healthy, he said.
"Education has to be bilateral," Kalam said. "In the real sense of globalization, we should have foreign universities setting up institutions in India and Indian institutions setting up institutions abroad. I have seen Indian institutions setting up engineering colleges in Dubai." He said that type of exchange will encourage competition, benefit Indian students and set a higher benchmark for Indian institutions.
One student asked why the country has an education system that only appears to emphasize certain fields like medicine and technology. Kalam said the "emphasis is on many things" and "we are now talking about convergence of technologies such as information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology."
He also noted that in the IT industry "the average age is 24 or 25, and there are many young CEOs running the establishments very well."
He said India must help its 220 million people living below the poverty level if it wants to promote global economic and social justice. "For this, the government, industry and business houses have all got to be sensitive to their social responsibility and make social responsibility" part of their mandate, Kalam said.
One of the important ingredients for successfully "transforming India into a developed nation by 2020 is the evolution of creative leaders" that change traditional roles, he said. All aspects of a country's economy and society connect and determine its ability to succeed, he said.
The president said he has suggested that IT industries "start enterprises in tier-two cities instead of concentrating on metropolitan cities" in order to reduce environmental and social problems.
Botswana To Liberalize Telecom Sector
Botswana plans to further liberalize its telecom industry. "The time has now come to further liberalize the industry in order to increase competition with enhanced quality services at reduced cost," Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi said.
Competition was first introduced into Botswana's telecom sector with the adoption of a national policy and the enactment of a 1996 law, according to the government's Web site. Before the law was passed the industry was governed by a monopoly.
"The economic benefits realized from the partial liberalization ... includes price reductions for services in the last seven years; more choice of products to consumers; foreign direct investment (FDI) by external investors in Mascom and Orange; citizen ownership; and participation in the telecommunications services sector," Venson-Moitoi said.
In other news, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Saturday that a modern telecom system is vital. The deadline for public comment on Uganda's new telecom policy ended Friday.
The country has a communication's commission to enforce telecom rules. In May 2006, the minister for works, housing and communications issued telecom guidelines that ended a monopoly by two national providers, MTN and Uganda telecom. A third company, Celtel, had a smaller share that enabled it to offer services such as storage and messaging services.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Clinton emphasized this month in an appearance in Africa the importance of technology, improving healthcare and encouraging development in Africa.
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