Message-ID: <0011AC3E.C21305@unrisd.org> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 09:46:30 +0200 From: Christian Wilwohl <mailto:WilWohl@UNRISD.ORG> Subject: Re: UNDP PROPOSAL, INTERNET AND THE POOR To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
Hello everyone,
I am new to this list. What I read in Mr. Hameed's comments this
morning has prompted me to respond with this.
There are also many intelligent young women in developing countries
who could benefit from education and these new technologies.
Thanks,
Christian Wilwohl
mailto:wilwohl@unrisd.org
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: UNDP PROPOSAL, INTERNET AND THE POOR
Author: "M. A. Hameed" <mailto:mah@BRAIN.NET.PK> at INTERNET
Date: 19/7/99 12:07 PM
Development essentially means helping the poor to improve their income and
living conditions. Telephone is one of the most useful services for the
purpose. In Pakistan, several hundred thousand wireless phones are being
installed in the rural areas by private companies, in collaboration with the
state telecom monopoly.
Besides many social advantages, the phones will help the farmers in getting
market information, ordering supplies, making deals. But they will be
confined to the nearest towns because long distance calls will not be
affordable. Now, if the Internet is made easily affordable, in accordance
with the UNDP proposal, the same farmers through the same phones will get
access to useful information from around the world. Take the example of
cotton, one of the main crops of Pakistan. On Internet, the farmers can find
out the crop's worldwide prospects and make their decisions. Then there are
cottage industries, whose products are exported by the middle men. If the
producers in villages and small towns can sell directly to foreign
importers, their income will obviously rise.
So, the point is that low-cost Internet will benefit the poorest also and
raise their income and awareness of the world. It will also bring distance
education to their door. There are many bright young men in less developed
areas who can then get knowledge and education even though they may not get
admission in the best universities of their own country.
Best regards,
Muhammad Abd al-Hameed
GPO Box 109, Lahore, Pakistan 54000
-----Original Message-----
From: Kai Schraml [mailto:mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 1999 3:29 AM
To: 'Renewable News Network'; 'mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net'; 'M. A. Hameed'
Cc: 'mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU'
Subject: RE: UNDP proposal on taxing Internet
Dear Devel-L,
I think we have a communication breakdown, or my point was missed
altogether. It may in fact be the aspiring middle class that is aspiring to
far too great material wealth and resource utilization. And in fact, the
whole point is that there are still so many without access to the bare
necessities of clean water, secure food, personal security, basic health
care, and proper shelter.
I have no desire to "furnish" any aspiring middle class with anything,
except information on how to reduce their resource utilization and why it is
important to the sustainability of everyone's life. And also the opportunity
to become active in the battle to promote some of the principles to others.
Indeed the internet is an effective tool for this type of discussion, but
our responsibility is to the poorest first, and then to others.
Kai Schraml
Kai Schraml
Work Info:
PO Box 25
Colfax, WA 99111
509 981 3245 phone
509 332 4411 alt phone
509 332 5375 fax
mailto:teams@targetearth.org
Home info
720 NE Thatuna Rd
Pullman, WA 99163
509 332 7231 phone
mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Renewable News Network [SMTP:mailto:rnn@rnn.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 1999 9:10 AM
To: Kai Schraml; mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net; M. A. Hameed
Cc: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
Subject: Re: UNDP proposal on taxing Internet
Is there no aspiring middle class? Would you hazard to guess the growth
or share figures on other electronic appliances, devices?
On Sat, 17 Jul 1999, M. A. Hameed wrote:
> Kai,
> When we speak of "one billion people living off one dollar per day," we
may
> as well talk of such basic necessities as clean drinking water, which is
not
> available to most of them in developing countries. Internet, by
definition,
> can be used only with a phone and most developing countries have a phone
> density of just one or two percent.
>
> The people who have phones can also afford to buy personal computers. What
> they need are low-cost connections, when Internet charges are as much as
one
> dollar per hour! If the international leased circuits are paid for and the
> charges for domestic circuits are based on actual costs of the telecom
> companies (plus a reasonable margin of profit), the Internet will
certainly
> become affordable for most people.
>
> Best regards,
> Muhammad Abd al-Hameed
> GPO Box 109, Lahore, Pakistan 54000
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kai Schraml [mailto:mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Friday, July 16, 1999 10:50 PM
> To: 'M. A. Hameed'
> Subject: RE: UNDP proposal on taxing Internet
>
> One billion people live off less than a dollar a day... I highly doubt
they
> will be buying a computer anytime soon. What outlet and phone line do you
> expect them to plug into?
>
> Kai Schraml
>
> Kai Schraml
> Target Earth International
> "Serving the Earth, Serving the Poor"
> www.targetearth.org
>
> Work Info:
> PO Box 25
> Colfax, WA 99111
> 509 981 3245 phone
> 509 332 4411 alt phone
> 509 332 5375 fax
> mailto:teams@targetearth.org
>
> Home info
> 720 NE Thatuna Rd
> Pullman, WA 99163
> 509 332 7231 phone
> mailto:thekaiser@earthlink.net
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: M. A. Hameed [SMTP:mailto:mah@BRAIN.NET.PK]
> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 7:25 AM
> To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
> Subject: UNDP proposal on taxing Internet
>
> The UNDP suggestion about tax on information via Internet has a parallel
> right in the US. As required by the Federal Telecommunications Commission,
> the phone companies pay money into a fund to meet "the universal service
> obligation." The fund is used for providing telecom services in rural
parts
> of the country.
> In the context of Internet, all Internet service providers in the top
> richest countries should pay a small percentage of their total annual
> revenue to the UNDP. The fund should be used to pay for the international
> leased circuits of the Internet service providers in the less developed
> countries. The money will ultimately come back to the rich countries
because
> the international circuits are mostly owned by their own multinational
> telecom companies. But it will promote tremendously the use of Internet in
> the less developed countries.
> The payment should, however, be subject to the condition that the national
> telecom companies in the relevant developing countries will charge only
cost
> plus rates for the domestic circuits and local connectivity, and not the
> usually exorbitant monopoly prices.
> The result of the plan will be the availability of Internet at a very low
> cost to the users in the developing countries. There will be the one-time
> cost of a basic personal computer but that will not be much of a problem
for
> most users.
>
> Best regards,
> Muhammad Abd al-Hameed
> GPO Box 109, Lahore, Pakistan 54000
>