A quick reaction to
Monday, December 17, 2001, 6:05:20 PM, Alan Levy wrote:
My true goal is to achieve universal access to IP communications. It is
possible, if sufficient political will is created. This requires
voices, nothing more.
Fine but this is not the only fundamental issue in development.
The digital divide solely exists due to a surprising few reasons.
While Mr. Levy's presentation of the vicious logic of telecom markets
is quite appropriate, the digital divide is of limited concern if not
considered as part of the overall social divide. It does not matter much
to be able to call emergency assistance if one cannot pay for the
treatment in the hospital and have to.
snip
[More ominously, one might conclude government does understand this, and
is willing to sacrifice generations to gain tighter control over
communications, and a subsequent power to participate in determining who
in the future will own the small number of large content producers.
This creates franchises (ie. Disney) and also generates taxes from
worldwide sources.]
This, and all the demonstration that preceded is certainly part of the
picture. But government should be considered here a shorthand for
techno-structure so much governments and big business have incestuous
relations at this time. However, it is unlikely that change could occur
in any area, much less the telecom one, as long as the overall premises
and foundations of social order will remain unchanged.
snip
Sadly, no one believes a minimum degree of access to communications, to
basic information-exchange, should be considered a basic human right.
Sadly, no one recognizes the cost for failing to share equitably such
right. Sadly, no one has made proper use of their $5.00 calculator.
Well, Mr. Levy may feel lonely but there are plenty of people and
organizations who did and act about these issues. Not least the
telecentres which he said in another message, if I got it correctly,
are not appropriate. They may not be from his perspective of universal
individual access to telecoms. But true telecentres do not seek to
provide acces to telecoms, they seek to support social transformation
efforts by the communities themselves, using telecom facilities whenever
they can be of help.
Michel Menou
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