I NTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
TELECOMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT BUREAU
Document 58-E
19 February 1998
Original: English
WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE (WTDC-98)
Valletta, Malta, 23 March - 1 April 1998
For action
Agenda item: 3.1
PLENARY MEETING
Canada
CIDA'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH ASIA
CIDA and the ITU
CIDA recognizes the role that telecommunications plays in international development. From its past
experience in projects undertaken over the past 20 years in Africa, Asia and South America, CIDA
has developed its own approach to telecommunications development and now places heavy emphasis
on the concept of capacity development.
In many ways this CIDA approach reflects on the priorities of the first World Telecommunication
Conference and its Buenos Aires Declaration of March 1994. This paper presents an approach and a
concept to telecommunications development that is being pursued by CIDA, by the ITU and also by
many other development agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Finally, it
attempts to compare some of the priorities of CIDA in South Asia with those of the ITU as
established under the guidelines of the Buenos Aires Declaration.
The priorities of the ITU for much of this decade (1990's), were established under the guiding
principles of this Buenos Aires Declaration. This Declaration indicated the agreement amongst all the
members that, telecommunications has a key role to play in fuelling the economic development, and
that it is an important component of the information society. While many countries have made
significant progress towards closing the "information gap", other countries will need to redouble
their efforts to ensure that they do not fall even further behind. While requirements for
telecommunications development are vast, individual governments need now to concentrate their
efforts on establishing the appropriate policy and regulatory structures and an environment that
fosters liberalization, private investment and competition, compatible with their national development
goals. This Declaration, at the same time, highlighted support for improved services to unserved and
underserved areas, for the purpose of integrated rural development. Human resource development
was seen as being essential to the efficient operation and management of any telecommunication
network. The Buenos Aires Action Plan, adopted by the Conference, set out a programme of
development emphasizing cooperation between all the 187 plus Members of ITU.
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Background
It took a long time for telecommunications services to move from the status of a "luxury" item to
what is now considered "a key engine of development". To be effective, telecommunications services
must become widespread and readily available at an affordable price. Reaching this goal, is expensive
and complex - certainly much too costly and complex for most developing country governments (the
traditional purveyors of the telecommunications infrastructure) to manage on their own. It is also far
too expensive for any aid agencies or donors to fund. The prevailing wisdom therefore, maintains
that the provision of telecommunications services will be greatly enhanced by the participation of the
private sector, operating in a competitive mode.
Such liberalization of the telecommunications sector, however, is not a panacea or a guarantee of
success. Long-term viability of the sector depends on a positive climate of investment and growth,
and on an indigenous national capacity to sustain the development effort. In many developing
countries the capacity for strategic policy-making, and for the continued operation and maintenance
of infrastructure services, is weak.
Recognition of these broader and more complex factors has brought about a critical change in the
development assistance perspectives of major donors. Aid has therefore, moved from the level of
"projects" that addressed specific needs of hunger, education, technology transfer, etc. to a level that
is more encompassing, strategic, lasting, and in the final analysis, more substantive. At CIDA we
refer to this approach as capacity development - the building of human, organizational and
institutional capabilities within recipient countries to successfully sustain a development effort. We
see capacity development as an inherent, integral and necessary component of any infrastructure
development effort.
"Canada in the World" (1995), the Canadian Government statement on Canadian Foreign Policy,
identifies infrastructure services as a programme priority for Canadian Official Development
Assistance, and emphasizes a need to:
... help developing countries to deliver environmentally sound infrastructure services, with an
emphasis on poorer groups and capacity building...
This policy statement further recognizes information and communications as one of the four main
infrastructure groupings (the others being energy; transportation; and water, irrigation and
sanitation).
Guiding principles for capacity development
CIDA's guiding principles for capacity development address the essential capabilities necessary for
the success of sustained infrastructure development. These principles aim to:
•
strengthen the competence of public sector agencies in the effective and accountable
exercise of power;
•
coordinate macro-economic, institutional, policy, and programme support, and to promote
private sector and community participation and, competition;
•
provide policy and regulatory mechanisms that ensure universal access to services, affording
special consideration to gender equity, and the limited financial resources and needs of the
poor; and,
•
ensure environmental soundness and sustainability.
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In addition, Canadian priorities and programming options require CIDA to coordinate its
development assistance with other key development agencies and players. CIDA shares many
common approaches to infrastructure capacity development with aid agencies such as the World
Bank and the Regional Development Banks. It will continue to work together with these
organizations as partners to maintain agency to agency coordination, inter-agency learning, and, to
increase the effectiveness of aid by avoiding duplication.
In keeping within the framework of "Canada in the World", Canadian capabilities will be fully
integrated into the programming of telecommunications development. Canadian strengths, whether
emanating from non-governmental organizations, universities, the public or private sectors, are
abundant across all infrastructure areas, and represent essential assistance for CIDA to draw on for
infrastructure related capacity building in the developing world.
Commitment to reform
In many developing countries, the financial and resource requirements for telecommunications
development in the coming years are daunting. Given the current climate of government fiscal
restraints in both donor and recipient countries, it is imperative that the private sector play a more
substantive role in the delivery of telecommunications services. For this to occur, an enabling
environment must be created, one designed to generate the correct investment incentives, and also to
provide for the efficient and equitable development of the sector. Government commitment to stable
economic and social environments and to important policy reforms that promote infrastructure
development is essential to this process. In response, CIDA will then give priority to assistance in the
design and the practical implementation of the reforms.
Telecommunications sector development priorities
One of the important lessons CIDA has learnt is that in sectoral development there is a hierarchy of
intervention levels. Successful change at one level is contingent on conditions being met at a higher,
more strategic level. Typically, the first of these levels addresses the creation of an enabling
environment that includes sector reform measures in the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks,
towards the development of an environment for private sector participation in the financing,
provision and delivery of telecommunication services. At the second level, CIDA intervention strives
for the development of human and institutional capability to ensure the efficient and equitable
provision of services. The requirements are for education, training, skills development and for the
formation of independent and empowered, and yet accountable and knowledge-rich institutions in
the sector. The focus at the first two levels is on capacity development.
A possible third level, the enhancement of the physical stock, is the last level of CIDA's programming
strategy. Actions at the first two levels should result in the provision of the needed physical stock.
There may, however, be situations where, especially in the case of least developed countries, there
are no reasonable and demonstrable economic means to provide vitally required services. For
example, in rural and remote areas of poorer developing countries, low demands and limited paying
capacity for telecommunications services often translate to low investment incentives for
infrastructure building. In such cases, extra assistance may be warranted.
Telecommunications capacity building initiatives in India and Bangladesh
Canada itself has developed a very advanced telecommunications infrastructure, and its
telecommunications skills are widely sought after. CIDA is currently developing a programme of
assistance based on these skills.
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In India, CIDA's overall objectives for its Indian telecommunications development programme are
ambitious: the liberalization and expansion of telecommunications services and the promotion of
private entrepreneurship with a view to providing a balanced role for the public and private sectors.
CIDA is therefore, proceeding to hold discussions with the Government of India and with other
organizations to:
–
support the establishment of a fair and effective regulatory environment, through the
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), as well as in related areas such
as spectrum management and standards;
–
co-finance (with the Asian Development Bank) the training of personnel for the TRAI (in
line with CIDA's strategy of cooperation with multilateral financing agencies);
–
help with the establishment of a Centre for Telecom Policy Studies at the Indian Institute of
Management (Ahmedabad); to contribute to the development of strategies and policies in
support of the modernization of the telecommunications sector in India;
–
assist the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) in an operations initiative to improve
and expand cost effective telecommunications services in rural and most deprived areas,
together with the potential applications of information technology in the education, health,
and government and business services fields;
–
provide institutional support for futures studies and R&D capacity development for the
telecommunications industry, including an assessment of industry interest in and support for
telecommunications related research.
The telecommunications component of a CIDA private sector facilitation project will also consider
the needs of consumers for telecommunications services.
In Bangladesh, the Government of Bangladesh is carrying out a programme to introduce a new
Telecommunications Act; operationalize its regulatory agency, and, increase private sector
participation and competition in the telecommunications sector under a suitable regulatory
framework.
The World Bank is supporting the Government of Bangladesh in this venture.
CIDA has been requested to provide some expert advisory services for the initial stages of this
project, and to assist Bangladesh's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to:
–
develop and articulate a strategic vision for telecommunications;
–
develop and assist in the implementation of a sector policy; and,
–
assist with immediate priority issues such as interconnection, tariffs and other regulatory
matters.
Conclusion
It is useful to highlight CIDA's involvement in the telecommunications infrastructure programme in
Bangladesh as an example of multilateral agency cooperation. The World Bank is designing a project
to support the Government of Bangladesh to implement a comprehensive telecommunications sector
reform programme. While the World Bank completes the approval process for its larger project,
CIDA will provide expert advisory services to support the initiatives of the Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications. Pending the realization of the CIDA technical assistance, the Asian
Development Bank provided the services of a consultant for the short term. Such cooperation
between agencies is key to effective, efficient and timely assistance to support the requirements of
developing countries.
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CIDA's experience has shown that sustainable development is promoted when indigenous capacity
development occurs. Thus, capacity development has been recognized as an essential element for
sustained effective telecommunications development. To summarize, this approach encompasses
training and institution strengthening in policy, regulatory affairs and operations and services, as well
as the promotion of private sector participation, leading to better services to the ultimate client, the
consumer.
It is noteworthy that almost all of CIDA's assistance to India and Bangladesh in the
telecommunications sector is for capacity building. CIDA has come a long way in its
conceptualization and practice of development assistance. It has come to recognize capacity
development as one of its more powerful concepts in its portfolio of development tools.
Proposal
Recommendation:
CAN/58/3
The ITU needs to consider that it has an important role to play in promoting multilateral donor
cooperation in the telecommunications sector.
It is therefore recommended that the ITU undertake the regular collection and publication of
information on donor activities in telecommunications development thereby, promoting the more
efficient use of the decreasing amount of resources that are available in this field. It is emphasized
that capacity development be given priority when undertaking such an exercise.
Contact:
Les Breiner
Tel.: (819) 997 1418
Fax.: (819) 953 3350
email: Les_Breiner@acdi-cida.gc.ca
NOTE 1 - Infrastructure services are defined as the flow of services provided by physical
infrastructures that help to promote social and economic development, safeguard health and improve
the quality of life. They are deemed essential for the reduction of poverty. Indeed access to even
minimal infrastructure services is one of the essential criteria for determining well being.
NOTE 2 - ITU estimates that "close to US$ 150 billion will be required between 1997 and the turn
of the century to finance the expansion of fixed line networks in lower income developing countries
in the Asia Pacific Region" (Asia Pacific Telecommunications Indicators, 1997).
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