IGF 2014

Explore emerging regulatory strategies, challenges and best practices as developing and developed countries seek to increase and improve affordable Internet access.
Focus will be placed on: identifying mechanisms by which regulatory incentives and interventions can increase Internet accessibility and availability in rural and under-served communities; and the role of regulators in promoting competition, accelerating enabling infrastructure and informing public policy on the deployment of critical Internet facilities, including Internet Exchange Points, the Domain Name System, and mobile broadband.

At present, the global broadband industry has entered into a high-speed development stage. The growth of bandwidth requirements and optical fiber access lead to a global fiber optic network construction wave. To provide ubiquitous broadband access for users, countries around the world makes efforts to wireless broadband seamless access through a variety of means, for example, developing the LTE mobile communications technology and market. Broadband development has also led to the emerging of mobile Internet, cloud computing, Internet of things, intelligent terminal that broadband has become an important part of the strategic emerging industries and competition cores.

Broadband is helpful to promote the economic growth, and the effect is more significant for developing countries. In improving productivity, broadband will help boosting a rise of 5% in manufacturing industry, 10% increase in service industry and 20% for the information industry.

However, many developing countries still encounter lots of issues, such as weak infrastructure construction, imbalanced urban and rural development, less developed application service and original technology, pressure on saving cost. It is an urgent task to strengthen infrastructure construction and capacity building, more importantly from the design policy.

The workshop will invite multistakeholder from different angles to discuss:
(1) how developing countries carry out effective broadband network construction,
(2) what's the roles of different stakeholders in this process,
(3) how to strengthen the capacity building,
(4) how to design better policy to promoting broadband access and service,
(5) the best practice and challenges etc.

We propose a roundtable to explore the arguments for and against “zero-rating,” which refers to the practice of offering free access to certain popular online services for customers of particular mobile networks. Several major service providers have entered into arrangements with mobile network operators in a variety of countries to deliver low-data-usage, “zero-rated” versions of their services. In some cases, this means using those sites does not count against a subscriber’s data caps, while in other arrangements, users can access the service even if they do not have a data plan.

One of the main arguments in favor of zero-rating is that it brings down the cost of access to information in less developed countries. A user of Wikipedia Zero, for example, has unlimited, no-cost access everything in the online encyclopedia. Further, providing free access to popular content and services is preferable from an access-to-information perspective than no access at all, and such free access may drive demand for general-purpose mobile Internet access that can help encourage and fund investment in infrastructure.

But zero-rating can also be viewed as requiring discrimination among online content and service providers and may create skewed incentives for subscribers to access the “free” services of identified partners instead of competing services. To some advocates, such preferential treatment challenges fundamental principles of net neutrality, and may present particular development concerns by giving dominant web services an advantage over nascent local competition. Further, the hypothesis that zero-rating will lead to widespread access to a free, open, and neutral Internet is unproven.

We will use this roundtable to analyze and assess the arguments for and against the availability of zero-rated services and to engage in a focused examination of available research and gaps to be filled in this important area for development.

Network neutrality (NN) is the principle according to which Internet traffic shall be treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference regardless of its sender, recipient, type or content, so that Internet users’ freedom of choice is not restricted by favouring or disfavouring the transmission of Internet traffic associated with particular content, services, applications, or devices.

To date, several countries have implemented NN laws, while many others are scrutinising the opportunity to elaborate such legislation. Meanwhile, growing attention is paid to the question of how to finance network expansion. Certain content and applications providers have been experimenting new typology of peering agreements that require them to pay ISPs for a direct connection to their consumers (aka “sender-pays” model). While some might argue that similar arrangements are necessary to support ISPs in enhancing their network infrastructure, the obvious counter-argument is that end-users are already paying for infrastructure maintenance (and enhancement) through their broadband subscription. Furthermore, in the lack of an industrial policy aimed at steering ISPs investments towards network enhancement, it seems difficult to assess whether ISPs will, indeed, invest their revenues in the enhancement of network infrastructure.

This workshop will interrogate such questions as:
(i) how does NN relates to network enhancement?
(ii) is the market alone able to provide appropriate answers to guetentee network enhancement in accordance with the NN principle ?
(iii) how can governmental policies promote private investments in network enhancement without impinging upon the NN principle?
(iv) is there room or need for State-subsidized network infrastructures?

Copyright law has been struggling to adapt to the dynamic impact of Internet and digital technologies for some time. Originally a mechanism put in place to promote creation by ensuring fair rewards for creators, copyright laws have become, in important respects, a barrier to a strong digital economy and an impediment to promote access to knowledge and innovation. In this changing context, new beneficiaries of copyright protection, and new ways of framing copyright policy, have emerged.
This workshop considers the evolution of copyright policy and reform over the past half century, with the emergence of the Internet intensifying copyright debates and advocacy agendas. On the one hand, creators and distributors have, to a certain extent, benefited from stronger protections for their works online. On the other hand, users and consumers have more legitimacy in asking for improved access to information and culture online.
There is a greater diversity of stakeholders invested in copyright law and policy than ever before, with their own perspectives on the ultimate goals of copyright reform. In this environment, do our traditional understandings of the scope and purpose of copyright still stand?
Panelists will consider the evolution of copyright law over the past half century, and query whether our understandings of copyright law should be redefined for the World Wide Web and a sustainable Internet (Article 72, Tunis Agenda). If the answer is yes, this discussion will work towards identifying a redefined purpose of copyright, and key principles for a fully web-integrated copyright framework.

Workshop Agenda:
1. 5 min theme introduction and presentation of the main issues (Ellen Broad - IFLA)
2. 10 min for each speaker to answer the proposed questions
3. 25 for public debate

Governance problem/question/challenged to be addressed.
This workshop discusses the technologies and policies needed to enable access for the next five billion. It will cover some of the most promising Internet technologies and the areas where they should be deployed. For instance, the workshop will discuss the need for wireless platforms in rural markets and other areas that will benefit greatly from a high degree of shared infrastructure, particularly with an electrical powering solution. It will also discuss the need, over time, for fiber-based networks to gradually fill across the network, migrating from the core to the edge.
Along with those technologies, a certain set of policies (many of which may not require laws) can facilitate the prompt and efficient deployment of broadband infrastructure. These policies include (1) promoting shared infrastructure, (2) liberalizing spectrum policy, (3) facilitating access and interconnection through Internet exchange points (“IXPs”), (4) creating an ecosystem that stimulates demand for broadband (and associated innovation, entrepreneurship, and technical experimentation), and (5) sharing information and discussing best practices among parties with common interests within geographical regions.

While lack of appropriate laws, inefficient implementation of the laws and lack of available financial resources can delay investment in fibre optic, there are other reasons that can be added to the list of impediments when it comes to some regions. Sanctions, political decisions, war, geographical condition, to name a few are the impediments that some regions are facing. However, while the regional needs are different there might be some commonalities among them and sharing these solutions may be to the benefit of policy makers. This workshop focusses on different regions such as Europe, Middle East, Pacific and Africa and addresses the following questions in order to provide policy solutions for facilitating access to the Internet through fiber optic: What investment indicators should be considered to encourage the investment in fiber optic? What policies should be in place for decision makers to make investment in fiber optic high on the agenda? What is the role of different stakeholder groups in making effective policies for investing in fiber optic? Which global policy shaping venus are available to discuss this ? What are the different regional and national best practices?

The Alliance for Affordable Internet’s Affordability Index of 2013 shows that the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than 5 percent of average monthly income is far from attainable at present. In the 46 developing countries A4AI studied, the cost of entry-level broadband exceeds on average 40 percent of monthly income for people living on $2/day, and in many countries exceeds 80 percent or even 100 percent of monthly income.

Technological solutions to this challenge are progressing apace, but the best technologies in the world will be rendered useless if policies and regulations governing access keep prices artificially high. Drawing upon the expertise of A4AI’s 55+ diverse members, this proposed workshop will explore and debate concrete policy examples that are designed to enhance affordability in emerging and developing countries and invite perspectives from diverse actors. What is working, what isn’t and how do we adapt some universal lessons and apply these to unique jurisdictions?

The workshop will also spur debate by sharing interim research results of the Affordability Index 2014. We hope that participants will help to shape the discourse and A4AI’s current and future policy recommendations towards greater access for the billions – three in five people globally - that are yet to be connected by broadband.

With the digital Data in volumes expanding beyond the petabyte and exabyte levels, open data and data publishing are rapidly advanced. The Big Data has changed and will continue change the styles of peoples, as well as the data-driven research and economics. There is an urgent need for decision makers, academics, civil societies and private sectors to work together closely to improve the existed governance system in the world in order to make the data-driven research and economy efficient.

The workshop will focus on the following issues in the discussions: (1) How the integrated governance mechanisms could enhance the data publishing actively and efficiently? (2) What international governance system could benefit Property ID for worldwide data publishing?(3) What are the government responsibilities and how to play its governance role in open data and data publishing?(4)What are the academic responsibilities and how to play its governance role in open data and data publishing?(5) What are the private sector responsibilities and how to play its governance role in open data and data publishing?(6) How government, academic and private sectors could work together in open data and data publishing?

There are one billion people with disability globally of which 80% live in developing countries according to the World Health Organisation. In many cases, they are the forgotten billion in terms of digital inclusion policies.

This workshop is designed to identify and discuss the key policy drivers to overcome the barriers to participation in the digital economy by people with disability. 2014 is a pivotal year for Internet governance with NETmundial and the transition of the stewardship of the IANA functions. The multistakeholder model is a key part of these Internet governance discussions.

However, if a substantial stakeholder group is forgotten, then do we have a real multistakeholder model?

This workshop will bring together representatives from key international organisations to discuss and debate what the barriers and challenges are but most importantly, how to break through these barriers to bring about significant policy change and to move towards a more inclusive multistakeholder model.

Through this gradual change, people with disability will in future have more opportunities for education, employment and participation through increased accessibility to and affordability of the Internet.

The participants in the workshop will be key representatives from the Internet Society, NETmundial, ICANN, ITU and W3C together with representatives from developing countries.

Inter-governmental and international organisations will bring a high-level perspective on developments and future plans. This will be balanced with reports of actual user issues in India and Pacific Island countries.


Agenda:
Introduction of topic
Introduction of panel members
5-minute key points provided by each panel member
Focused discussion on strategies to involve disability representatives as stakeholders in Internet governance policy development
Summary and suggested actions