What is the Issue with the G7 principles?

Well they start off with an emphasis on competition. Nothing wrong with that you may say but people tend to read hidden agendas into things.

The Developing World would have preferred principles such as:

1. Open democracy, equality of opportunity, universal access to information & education, right to privacy
2. Diversity of content, promoting a range of cultures and languages
3. Balance between private and public investment with public sector as catalyst
4. Social development with labour and environmental standards
5. Economic growth & development, with employment creation, especially small and micro enterprises
6. Co-operation of all countries and social sectors
7. Intellectual property rights, standards and regulations should reduce inequalities
8. Dynamic competition should be promoted in support of these principles

The principles will be implemented by:

• Empowering each country to develop it's own vision
• Country-specific content and applications
• Citizen access to government and other information
• Investment in education, training, skills transfer, especially in developing countries
• Promoting processes and mechanisms for participative public policy formulation
• Co-operation in research and development, encouraging innovation and excellence
• Interoperability and protection of intellectual property in a way that empowers developers worldwide
• Global co-operation through international and regional institutions

The problem is just that it is not clear if the G7 principles support the development of developing countries.

When they talk of their own countries then the catalytic role of the state is much at the forefront. In his latest report to congress, Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Fiscal Year 1997 NTIA Appropriations, at the very same time as the ISAD conference, made the following points [14]:

NTIA's programs focus on three major priorities: (1) promoting competition and opening markets, both domestic and global; (2) managing federal spectrum use; and (3) promoting universal access and affordable telecommunications services for all Americans.

ISAD and international relations are only mentioned under the heading of competition:

The NTIA played a key role in the ISAD conference as ``a strong advocate for competitive markets globally in bilateral, multilateral and regional negotiations. ... This conference is designed to integrate participation from developing countries in the G7 program for building the global information society''.

Through its role in international standard setting, NTIA promotes U.S. business entry into foreign markets.

By helping to open international markets to U.S. industries, and promoting international standards that enhance the competitiveness of U.S. firms overseas, NTIA is working to ensure that the United States remains a world leader in the telecommunications and information revolution.

When Irving talks about the domestic front the clear ``catalytic role of the state'' as mentioned above in the developing world principles comes to the fore:

On the policy front, NTIA has been in the forefront of efforts to redefine universal service to telecommunications services to ensure that rural Americans have access to the same new services being offered in urban and suburban America. ... In the recent report, "Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the `Have Nots' in Rural and Urban America", NTIA documented the relatively low penetration of telephone connections and computer and modem ownership in rural and inner city communities.

In a 1996 filing with the FCC, we recommended that the Commission set a national subscribership goal for the year 2000 to ensure that the telephone penetration level for all segments of society will be at least equal to the national average existing as of November 1996. In addition, we believe that schools, libraries, and other `` community access centers,'' should be expeditiously connected to the NII as an integral part of making access to advanced telecommunications and information services more readily available. As the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is implemented, NTIA will continue to be a strong advocate for rural and underserved Americans, undertaking research, filing comments with the FCC, and participating in a variety of fora to ensure that these communities have access to these services, and the opportunities they provide, at reasonable rates.

In addition to promoting access in domestic and international policymaking, NTIA seeks to address these disparities by funding projects that can help make the information age accessible to all Americans, regardless of where they live, how large their incomes are, or how much schooling they have attained. NTIA's Telecommunications Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) provides matching grants to schools, libraries, hospitals, state and local governments and other non-profit entities.

Why is it that these very same people could not apply this very clear thinking on priorities that arise for development when talking to the developing world? It must be a strange and wilful blindness that afflicts them.