Department of Regional Development: Focus on Africa 2010 and Beyond

1. Department of Regional Development:Focus on Africa 2010 and Beyond Chris Morris Senior Manager, Access and Development Initiatives morris@isoc.org

2. The Future of the Internet…

3. ISOC Mission Statement "The mission of the Internet Society is to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world."

4. Regional Development

5. The Enabling Access Initiative • Embedding fundamental Internet values, concepts, and approaches in emerging Internet markets as they grow in importance as contributors to the global network. • Positioning ISOC as a “go to” organization on Internet development. • Through Content and Information, Expertise, Projects • Reignite our 15 year legacy of developing country work • Accomplishing practical Internet development in emerging markets, demonstrably advancing ISOC’s vision of a globally ubiquitous Internet. Internet Penetration Levels (% of Population), est. 2009, Internet World Stats.

6. Department of Regional Development • ISOC launched its Department of Regional Development in January 2010 to: • provide a more purposeful and comprehensive platform with which to address Internet growth – focusing more holistically on “development” as an end goal; • Focus on the unique Internet development issues in the Africa, Latin American/Caribbean, and Asia regions; • Provide a platform in which to enhance core Internet capacity building work and expanding to addressing ICT4D and “applied Internet use” projects and issues.

7. Overview of ICT4D Project Experience • ICT for Rural Development Projects • Wireless networks • Community owned wireless networks • MPCCs • Telemedicine • ACA2K Outcome Mapping • EUFP7 IST – IST-Africa (“Regional Impact of Information Society Technologies in Africa project “IST-Africa” 2005 – 2007) FP6 project to promote eAdoption in Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa. • “Comparative study of eAdoption in Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa”’

8. Project activities • Research & implement low-cost wireless technology, • capacity building, • Technical • Business • MPCCs • Monitoring & Evaluation – Outcome Mapping • Research Results – uses and users • Dissemination and Exploitation • Stakeholder workshops • Policy & influence

9. UCM (Pemba)‏ Angonet (Huambo)‏ SchoolNet Mozambique (Inhambane)‏ Tshwane PLC (Rooiwal)‏ CIUEM (Maputo)‏ Translate.org (HTML Pub)‏ Mesh (Whiteriver)‏ CSIR HLT (Openphone)‏ CSIR Telehealth (Eastern Cape)‏ UCT/UWC (Eastern Cape)‏ FMFI Projects & Partners • Paradigm shift from traditional “last mile” & “last inch” thinking • Nine project partners, Ten implementation sub-projects • Implementation of innovative first mile technology solutions • Research of social issues, the user interface and the context of the first inch • Establishment of a network of regional researchers Angola Mozambique South Africa

10. FMFI RecommendationsSustainability Stimulate demand Aggregate the demand Business models need to be developed based on demand-side studies for community owned networks Billing and management systems need to be developed Involve government early Needs assessment and local champion More capacity building Gender

11. African Challenges • The MDGs identify ICTs as a key enabler for poverty reduction and growth, supporting education, health and agriculture. • Internet penetration stands at less than 5% on the continent, the lowest in the world. • Telecommunication costs are exorbitantly high. In Africa, the cost of the ICT Price Basket (mobile, fixed, internet etc.) represents 41 per cent of the region’s monthly average income compared to less than 5% for OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. • Network operators suffer from gaps in networking skills and knowledge, regulatory barriers and bottlenecks, and operational constraints that hamper their ability to grow and sustain efficient and reliable access networks.

13. The gap

16. Capacity • African universities are crucial to the future development of the Internet on the continent in two ways. • Firstly, they contain one of the largest groups of existing and potential users: today’s student user is tomorrow’s future decision-maker. • Secondly, universities should be generators of content that will be used by the same students to increase their knowledge and skills. • The Kenyan Government and Google have both said they want to provide free Internet connectivity to students.

17. Capacity • The “World Universities' ranking on the Web” provides a ranking of over 4,000 universities worldwide based upon four “content” metrics. • The premier league globally (top 100) is almost entirely composed of US institutions, with only a sprinkling of European institutions. But the separate African Top 100 contains more surprises. • Against fierce global competition, the top 5 South African universities (also top 5 in the Africa Top 100) are the University of Cape Town (349); Rhodes University (624), Stellenbosch (653), University of Pretoria (686) and University of Witwatersrand (703). • This is not just a plus for South Africa in terms of its own ability to create knowledge through academic content but must be something that may attract students from across Africa in greater numbers.

18. Infrastructure • SANREN’s will connect to the European Commission’s Géant network in Europe, and to other research networks such as Internet2’s Abilene network in the USA, the Australian AARNet and the TEIN2 network in the Far East, as well as to networks and/or institutions in neighbouring countries. • SANReN will enter into inter-connection agreements with a number of research and education networks e.g.UbuntuNet, Mozambique’s MoRENET and other parts of the world.

19. Catalysing Internet Development in Africa • ISOC African Development Programs – Current Activities • 3 Program Areas: • Interconnection and Exchange Points • Lowering costs, facilitating connectivity by making traffic exchange more efficient and key infrastructures more robust • Technical Capacity Development • Delivering first-world skills and knowledge to enhance Internet growth, efficiency, and stability • Enhancing Policy and Regulatory Environments • Addressing barriers and roadblocks preventing growth and investment

20. 1) Interconnection and Internet Exchange Points • A robust, reliable, and cost effective Internet depends on the efficient exchange of data. • Africa is challenged by poor national and regional interconnection, and constrained international connectivity in many countries, making the basics of traffic exchange difficult and costly. • Internet exchange points (IXPs) create a hub where traffic can be exchanged locally and directly between ISPs and other networks. • Lowering costs, • Improving service quality, • Providing resilience, and • Catalysing local content and service development • Many countries in Africa either lack IXPs or have inadequately functioning ones.

21. Interconnection and IXP Program • Consists of 4 complementary activities to improve traffic exchange and connectivity in Africa • Routing and IXP Skills Development • New IXP Development • Implementing Value Added IXP Services • Creating a Community of Practice • Regional Peering and Internet Exchange Forum

22. 2010 African IXP Program Targets • Routing and IXP Skills Development • 5-day training workshops to improve functionality at existing IXPs. • New IXP Implementations • Helping local communities launch new IXPs where they currently do not exist. • In 2010, ISOC has been assisting Sierra Leone, Senegal, Kenya – Mombassa, and Lesotho, among others

23. 2010 African IXP Program Targets • Implementing Value Added IXP Services • Additional services can be located at IXPs to bolster national infrastructure • Trouble shooting and synchronization tools, and Internet “directory” copies, for example. • African Peering and Internet Exchange Forum • Aim is to promote discussion on African regional interconnection issues and opportunities, best practice exchange, and a culture of collaboration. • Currently scheduled for August 2010 in Kenya. • ISOC South Africa attendance would be welcomed!

24. 2) Technical Capacity Development • Africa needs skilled human resources to build, grow, and sustain infrastructure. • Opportunities for formal technical education are extremely limited and the necessary skills in very short supply. • Our Technical Capacity Building Program has 3 main components: • In-country technical training workshops • Training University IT professionals on campus networking and design • Developing women Internet engineers in Africa

25. Technical Capacity Development 2010 • In-country Technical Training Workshops • Partners with local technical professionals to host Internet skills development and training workshops. • Creates greater local ownership in education, • Requires local project plan to replicate at least twice annually • Modular curriculum, 5-day courses ranging from basic to advanced skills. 20 – 25 individuals each session. • 2010 Targets: Repeat trainings in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, and Congo-Brazzaville. Inaugural events in Malawi, Djibouti, Congo-Kinshasa and Mali. • Last week, ISOC conducted a “train the trainers” workshop at AfNOG in Rwanda to grow its base of trainers.

26. Technical Capacity Development 2010 • Developing women Internet engineers in Africa • Women IT professionals face additional hurdles to learn and advance their skills. • Women-focused technical trainings encourage participants to ask more questions, share knowledge, and network with peers. • Curriculum covers a mixture of basic and advanced networking topics over 5-days. • 2010 Targets: Conduct 4th Annual African women’s training, in cooperation with local partners. 25 – 30 participants. • Develop project and resourcing plan to grow the work towards women’s ICT leadership development.

27. 3) Enhancing Policy and Regulatory Environments • Regulatory impediments to internetworking, onerous licensing requirements, and other regulatory and policy factors can slow or prevent Internet growth. • Steep challenges still remain in Africa. In addition to specific barriers, decision processes often omit consultations with industry and other stakeholders. • ISOC engages in many international and regional forums, including in Africa, to promote sound government decisions concerning the Internet, educate regulators and policymakers on Internet issues, and provide briefings and topical papers for guidance. • Interconnection has been a key area of engagement. We would welcome perspectives from ISOC South Africa on advancing interconnection in the continent.

28. ICT4D and Applied Internet Development • ISOC has been involved in applied Internet projects for many years including through: • Wireless network implementations in underserved communities and developing country universities • Chapter-based projects and our “Community Grants” programmes • ISOC will be working to grow its activities in ICT4D and applied ICT projects going forward, including through • New partnerships with NGOs • Engagements with Development Agencies/Foundations • Stronger partnerships with local ISOC Chapters and members

29. Africa-EU Partnership • Africa-EU Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space, the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) and the Consolidated Plan of Action for the African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE). • The 2 projects in the ICT theme are the "African Internet Exchange System", focused on enhancing internet deployment and use in Africa, and "Africa Connect" to extend the reach of the European research and education high-speed network GEANT to Sub-Saharan Africa. • The Joint Expert Group, JEG8, 8th Africa-EU Strategic Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space, is a multi-stakeholder expert group.

30. African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy ARAPKE • Economies of the Internet • Management of Internet resources • Regional co-operation for development and interconnection of broadband • Universal access to reach the unreachable • Build IXPs • Infrastructure – OSS, eSignature, security, affordability • Economies – cyber security, local content • JEG 8 Joint Expert Group • HIPPSA – harmonisation policy • ACP call early 2011 EU20m

31. S&T cooperation between the EU and sub-Saharan Africa on ICT • EU Framework Programme FP7 • the EU Member States have earmarked a total of €9.1 billion for funding ICT research over the duration of FP7.

32. EU Framework Programmes • http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html • Content of calls • 4.1 Challenge 1: Pervasive and Trustworthy Network and Service Infrastructures • The 'Future Internet' is emerging globally as a federating research theme. • Objective ICT-2009.1.1: The Network of the Future • Objective ICT-2009.1.4: Trustworthy ICT • 4.10 Contribution of the ICT Theme to Public-Private Partnerships for R&D in the European Economic Recovery Plan31 • The Recovery Plan proposed by the Commission on 26 November 2008 includes public private partnerships for research and development in three areas. The initiatives will be implemented through a series of coordinated calls between the relevant FP7 themes, reflecting research roadmaps and priorities established by the relevant industrial partners.

33. Trust and Security • 08.04.2008 - Viviane Reding announces the RISEPTIS Advisory Board • Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, European Commission announced the creation of a high-level advisory board named RISEPTIS (Research and Innovation for SEcurity, Privacy and Trustworthiness in the Information Society). The main mission of RISEPTIS will be to provide visionary guidance on policy and research challenges in the field of security and trust in the Information Society. RISEPTIS is supported by the FP7 Coordination Action Think-Trust. • The members of RISEPTIS Advisory Board • RISEPTIS - Terms of Reference

34. Way Forward • Building Communities of Practice • Bottom up approach but with top down alignment • Aligning ISOC with MDGs and African priorities • AU-EU Strategic Partnerships • Africa Connect and African IXPs • Participation in EU Framework Programmes • Other donor funded initiatives

35. For more information about this initiative contact: Chris Morris Senior Manager, Access and Development Initiatives +27828929349 morris@isoc.org ISOC Headquarters Internet Society 1775 Wiehle Avenue Suite 201 Reston, VA 20190-5108 Tel: +1-703-439-2120 Fax: +1-703-326-9881 ISOC EMEA Internet Society 15, Galerie Jean-Malbuisson CH-1204 Genvea Switzerland Tel: +41 22 807 1444 Fax: +41 22 807 1445