This is just one more example of how things are structured AGAINST development (by which I mean equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity)... and anyone who raises a voice is labelled anarchic or some other convenient socio-eco-political pejorative.
This graph refers to status quo in interconnectivity, whereas I am relating here an episode in the fight for wireless spectrum in broadcasting. However, I think that both broadcasting and interconnectivity could do with freeing up of spectrum. This should particularly be encouraged in developing countries, because the situation regarding frequency usage is so different from the paradigm of the North. Last week at the AMARC conference I tried to have the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters endorse an appeal for freeing up frequencies from excessive regulation, that certain low cost technologies, such as low power FM, can use without creating global problems in interference. The main objections? One: that freeing frequencies from regulation (that's not what I said, I asked for local governance in such matters) is anarchic (sic). Two: that the current governance of frequency usage is an international agreement going back years, it works, and we should not propose any change that 'they' will defeat as 'being anarchic' (which seems to say that if it ain't broke, don't fix it - but it is broke. Many countries have citizenry who are denied the use of this incredibly low cost medium of local communication and information dissemination, one that even illiterate people can manage with minimal (or no) assistance). The final solution? The Kathmandu Declaration, February 2003, now includes a clause that reads: "We call for regulation of frequency spectra for community radio such that it favors the development of this medium for the use of local communities." It really in my opinion does not say much more than the status quo. But still, it can be used as one more flag to wave when local government policies are being discussed, and hopefully totally repressive governments will find it easier to accept than asking for radical change in the right of their citizens to information. To further amplify the reasoning behind each phrase: We call for the... : AMARC is a recognised international body supporting the use of community radio in the development of civil societies. ..regulation of frequency spectra... : current status is to manage frequencies at the central level. Except for advanced countries like Germany, this is just about universal. There is no justification for this situation in the use of public FM bands, where signal propagation phenomenon is completely local. ..the development of this medium... : current broadcast technology (pretty well 50 years old) is almost totally North centric and not suited for many parts of the third world. .. for the use of local communities. : This is to avoid the tendency to hand out this frequency band excessively to commercial, religious or political pressure interests. The AMARC Kathmandu Declaration goes on to say (rather verbosely, I fear), with regard to WSIS: "We therefore urge all the participants in the WSIS process, particularly the government of Tunisia which will host the second assembly, to recognize and support the role of community media in providing spaces for people's voices to be heard in the formulation and implementation of national, regional and international policies on information and communication technologies and in the construction of an information society which is globalized for the many rather than the few. Further, this approach must extend beyond the WSIS into the foreseeable future." At 3:06 PM +0100 05/03/2003, Richard Gerster wrote: > We invite you to have a look at our new graph at the homepage > <http://www.gersterconsulting.ch/fs/fs_news_graph.html> on our latest > graph: The Intercontinental Detours of Internal African Phone Calls > > Do you know? African telephone companies annually pay USD400 million to > European and North American providers for internal African connections. > We examine a phone call from Benin (Porto Novo) to Nigeria (Lagos) and > compare it to an international phone call of similar distance from > Switzerland (Geneva) to France (Lyon). Our graph is a contribution in > view of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, > December 10 - 12, 2003, and in Tunis in 2005. The graph can be > downloaded in English and German. -- Vickram ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
