Internet Penetration &

Sustainable Development:Issues & Perspectives

Jide AweManaging Consultant, Jidaw Systems

Nigeria Internet Group ConferenceVenue: Golden Gate, Ikoyi, Lagos on Thursday, 27 August,

2015

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The Why of Internet PenetrationInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have grown in an

unprecedented way, The Internet is critical to that growth. Internet penetration indicates the percentage of Internet users in a country

Has grown and diffused rapidly across the globe, bringing significant benefits

to economies and societies

Changed the way people and organizations learn, interact, communicate and do business

Enables the harnessing of ICTs potentials Deepens the impact and capabilities of ICTFacilitates Innovation diffusion

Enables more to gain access to opportunities and benefits of IT

Global village, Global villagers

most transformative innovation of the recent past

Global reach, 24x7 availabilityCuts down barrier of distance

There are two equalizers in life: the Internet and education – John Chambers, Fmr CEO, Cisco

rapid adoption of mobile phones has led to mobile innovations

Internet Penetration: Nature & QualityUser experience - ability to access, availability, reliability, speed of access?

BB DSL, Satellite, fibre, WiMAX , LTE

“broadband within the Nigerian context is defined as an internet experience where the user can access the most demanding content in real time at a minimum speed of 1.5 Mbit/s” - NBP.

broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access - FCC

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multiple ways of connecting to the internet, such as Dial-up and Broadband.

Historically from batch, dial up, leased lines, satellite, access through cybercafés, wireless, fibre, mobile broadband

driving force behind ICT and Internet growth in Nigeria and many other African countries - is the mobile phone. Majority access the web via their phones

10% increase in broadband access correlates to 1.35% increase in GDP growth. 10% in mobile penetration can bring 4% increase in productivity. - Internet development and Internet governance in Africa, The Internet Society, May 2015But the benefits of the Internet are not yet evenly distributed

World Wide Wait?

What is Sustainable in Development?"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs.” Brundtland Report ”Our Common Future” (1987)

Sustainable Development

Environment Economy

Social/CommunityBalancing of human and social development goals

a world of conflicting needs

Socially sustainable development - meets basic needs for food, shelter, education, work, income and safe living and working conditions, fosters inclusion, social harmony, culture and development of human potential for all

Economic sustainability helps to create jobs and reduce poverty. Builds a strategic environment that enables steady organic growth, long term economic viability (cover costs, generate surplus, opportunities for development)

Environmental sustainability - ability to maintain the physical environment - human life, capabilities required to maintain the natural environment, aspects of the environment that produce renewable resources

Sustainable Development Goals2015 marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals and the start of the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015.

Internet Penetration for SDInternet is Smart Sustainable Development Infrastructure & Enabler

Intense economic competition, feeding a growing population, keeping children healthy, unequal access to scarce natural resources, rising unemployment and environmental challenges have made innovation critical for sustainable development

Innovation is required for all SD dimensions and Internet Penetration is the essential inclusion vehicle. How many physical classrooms can you build?

Smart villages not just Smart cities are key to long term sustainabilityInternet economy of new jobs and new income generation (Reduces fuel, consumption, rural-urban migration, paperless, energy efficient)

Falling oil prices, yet who benefits from oil wealth? Environmental concernsAs a finite, non renewable resource, oil dependence is unsustainable

Better, cleaner, cheaper and smarter approaches to business, governance, development needed

Innovation is only innovation if it is sustainable

Internet penetration for Sustainable Development is however not automatic

Current positions…Internet is the Smart Sustainable Development Infrastructure & Enabler

Fastest growing Telecom marketMobile phone penetration and growth rate has helped significantly

GSM active Internet subscriptions at 92,699,924 in June 2015Mobile in 13(per 100 people) in 2005 78 (per 100 people) in 2014 -ITUSubscribers 400,000 in 2001 to 148.7m in June 2015 -NCCInternet Users 4 (per 100 people) in 2005 to 43 (per 100 people) in 2014 – ITUFrom an investment of about N500 million in 2001, the industry has grown tremendously recording over $32 billion from FDI as at the end of July 2014

Transformative impact on the economy and society

Growth of an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, creating jobs for Nigerians. Building cashless, e-commerce, online shops, rise of social media consumption, development of mobile apps and bloggers, e-newspapers, startups, e-payment, online advertising

Challenges…Various obstacles affecting Internet Economy & Sustainable Development

Societal Divides Beyond the urban-rich, Rural, the disadvantaged are outside the digital and internet loop and are unable to reap the economic benefits of InternetLow e-commerce, digital literacy, youth capacity building in rural areas

Low visibility for Sustainable Development matters

Low awareness of sustainable development issues. Not mainstreamed into national plans

Service and Broadband concerns Quality of service issues, expensive Internet access. Power supply, Broadband penetration only rose from 6 per cent in 2013 to 10 per cent in June, 2015 – NCC, FMCT

Nigeria lags behind several African countries in ICT growth

Ranking 133rd in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ICT Development Index (IDI) 2014 report

The National Broadband Plan (NBP)Bridge the Country's broadband infrastructure gap and launch it towards achieving its broadband penetration targets: from 6% to 30% by 2018

Focus AreasEnabling Nationwide Broadband Infrastructure through a mix of Fibre Optic and wireless Broadband Networks - seven commercial infrastructure companies (Infracos) will roll out fibre optic networksIncentives to encourage network development and infrastructure sharing in rural areas, through subsidies and public private partnerships, Universal Service Fund subsidiesDraft Critical National Infrastructure Protection ActClear Policies and address multiple taxation and regulation - “Smart State” Initiative in partnership with state governmentsDrive Demand through Digital Advocacy, Literacy and InclusionOptimise Spectrum Allocation –Reallocation strategy to drive the effective utilization of spectra

Aims to minimize unnecessary environmental impact and explore Opportunities for Broadband in Smart Grid and Environment

Way Forward - Environmental

Ensure implementation of recommendations on Environmental practices in the NBP

Green IT advocacy - using computers and IT resources in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way. Reduce waste, save moneyEnergy, Papers, obsolete tech, reduce power consumption

Use ICT to promote sustainable development concepts and practices especially social and environmental sustainability

Celebrate ICT and Environment champions with outstanding impact

Way Forward - EconomicIT penetration in the rural areas –promote digital literacy and tech specialist skills development as well as the development of relevant IT tools that address local needs. Local language content

Incentives as stated in NBP should be used to attract funding, investment and ICT players to invest in the rural areas

Put IT security measures in place, pay attention to Child Online ProtectionCybercrime law should be implemented and the Critical Infrastructure bill should be enacted into law

iDEA (Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator) centers should be setup to foster and support IT youth entrepreneurship in the rural areas

Smart villages - leverage latest ICT capabilities

Way Forward - SocialAddress the gender gap with initiatives that ensure women are not left behind

Adopt Multistakeholder approach in generating innovation and working towards sustainable development

Gather data and statistics to measure progress

NBP: Strong commitment required from highest levels of Federal and State governmentsContinuous stakeholder engagement requiredStrong monitoring, evaluation and reporting on targets and recommending/implementing corrective action, where requiredMainstreaming of sustainable development issues

Better understanding and appreciation of sustainable development is required at all levels

Enthronement of merit – go against nepotism, corruption, etc

Mobile has a major role to play. Inexpensive mobile phones

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Conclusion**** No matter how well defined targets on their own will not result in the desired levels of Internet penetration and sustainable development.

**** Internet Penetration and Sustainable development challenges are huge but there are also significant opportunities

“Despite the progress seen in several developing countries, there remains huge untapped potential in the 4 billion people not yet online in the developing world”. -ITU 2014 IDI Report. Too many people are offline.

**** Investment in Internet penetration is fundamental to supporting ICT uptake and innovation. Just as it is essential for achieving sustainable development

**** There are no silver bullets. Focus on substance is required**** Fresh, Innovative thinking supported by well thought through policies is needed not just for Internet Penetration but in all spheres

Sustainable Development Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Sustainable development is about cleaner, smarter and long term development and is the only way forward for a growing economy

Thank You

Jide Awe