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discussions ocused on the importance o

connecting with regional Internet commu-

nities throughout the region. The InternetSociety believes that local conditions re-

quire local solutions ocusing on specic re-

gional needs, assisted and inormed by the

technical expertise and policy experience o

leading Internet community experts. Tay-

lor Reynolds, a senior economist with the

OECD (Organisation or Economic Cooper-

ation and Development), spoke about why a

robust Internet, based on an open and col-

laborative development model, spurs inno-

vation and economic growth. Qatar Today

got some o his insights into how the Inter-

net could help develop Qatars economy.

How important is the Internet to diver-

sify Qatars economy by 2030?

Any attempts to diversiy the Qatari econo-

my should consider the role o the Internet.

The Internet is becoming a core economic

inrastructure in countries around the

world. A recent study by the OECD ound

that up to 13% o the entire value created by

businesses in the United States in 2011 was

based on Internet-related activities, and

that percentage is growing. All sectors o

the economy are touched by the Internet so

a robust, ast and open network will help lay

a oundation or supporting other sectors o

the economy.

Would it be advisable to provide free

Internet connectivity or at least heavily

subsidise it?

Free access to the Internet certainly re-duces a signicant barrier (cost) to Internet

adoption. But it also has some unintended

consequences related to innovation. A com-

petitive market or the delivery o broad-

band services orces providers to reduce

prices and, more importantly, to introduce

new services in order to attract customers.

These innovations bring value to custom-

ers. When there is only one Internet ser-

vice provider (ISP) in a community, there

is less pressure to innovate and this aects

customers. The approach typically used in

OECD countries is to oster a competitive

market or broadband, at either the inra-structure or the service level, and then pro-

vide targeted subsidies to those who cannot

aord broadband, so they can buy it in the

market. This helps extend broadband to all

but requires Internet operators to compete

or customers via innovation and price.

You spoke about an open Internet

being crucial to an economys devel-

opment. Is there talk of reducing the

openness that we now enjoy?

Recently there have been proposals put or-

ward to alter the undamental structure o

the Internet by changing the way networks

exchange trac with each other. Some

telecommunication companies would

like apply the old model or international

phone calls to the Internet. This could

have negative consequences or websites

such as the not-or-prot Khan Academy(www.khanacademy.org) that streams ree

educational videos around the world. Sites

such as the Khan Academy would likely be

orced to cut o access altogether to coun-

tries where they are orced to pay a tax or

each o the educational videos they deliver

(based on the amount o data they trans-

er). This is a solution that makes everyone

worse o, including those imposing the tax,

because Internet use could drastically all.

There are also discussions currently under-

way about whether ISPs should be able to

selectively block access to sites, or govern-

ments to limit access to services providedover the Internet.

Comparative advantage and Internet

can give a country a competitive edge.

If every country is using the Internet,

then how can they gain this compara-

tive advantage? Its not like agriculture,

where only certain climates are condu-

cive to certain crops. You spoke about

France producing cheese, for example.

The Internet can be run anywhere, any

time.

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InTerneT for The benefIT of all people ThroughouT

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f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 Qatar today 63

t a g t h i s

Internet access is available in nearly all

countries o the world, but certain geo-

graphic areas are clearly hubs or Internet

and media companies. Silicon Valley in the

United States and London in the United

Kingdom are examples o these innovative

hubs. Government policymakers are all in-

terested in developing an Internet ecosys-

tem that attracts companies because it isone o the ew sectors o the economy that

is predicted to keep growing over the next

ew decades, as more objects are connected

to the Internet and as we nd better ways

to inuse Internet connectivity into various

aspects o business, society and our lives.

Qatar is in the enviable position o having

the plan to convert itsel into a knowledge

hub and it has the resources to do it quickly.

How can a country like Qatar gain a

comparative advantage in this space?

Qatar has a nearly unique opportunity to

gain a comparative advantage in this area,rst with its investments in network inra-

structure. Fibre optic networks represent

the uture o high-capacity Internet con-

nectivity, and a national bre-to-the-home

network is the goal o many countries, but

currently out o reach or most. Only Japan

and Korea are coming close to approaching

this goal, and this will provide them with

the most advanced domestic networks in

the world. The Qatari governments plan to

extend bre connectivity to all throughout

the country ensures that Qatar is a global

leader along with Japan and Korea in termso domestic inrastructure. This domestic

inrastructure serves as a oundation or at-

tracting companies and innovation that will

provide services throughout the world. Qa-

tar has long been known as an international

trading hub so this transition in terms o

the Internet is clearly within reach.

Can you give examples of where coun-

tries raised taxes on Internet usage and

innovation dropped?

Recently, the government o Ghana intro-

duced a new tax on all incoming interna-

tional telephone calls. The tax was only ap-plied to calls coming rom abroad and was

meant to raise revenue. But the results were

not what the government planned. The tax

hit the Diaspora the hardest and they sig-

nicantly reduced their calls back home

to amily and riends. The government o

Pakistan proposed the same and, as a result,

costs o calling Pakistan went up. The gov-

ernment suspended its taxation as a result.

While this is an example rom telephony,

the same principle would apply to the In-

ternet. Policies that directly or indirectly

discourage use eventually stife innovation.

What do you know about Qatar s QNBN

(National Broadband Network)? How

modern will this be, and how do you see

it propelling an economy like Qatars?

The inormation I have on the QNBN isth-

ings I have read on its website. The act

that the network is a bre-to-the-premises

network that will reach 95% o households/

businesses means that it will be among the

most advanced in the world. The network

will certainly provide Qatar with an impres-sive and important oundation or becom-

ing a knowledge-based economy. However,

the network alone will not guarantee that

Qatar can attract rms, investment and in-

novation. Policymakers must also ocus on

creating a pool o well-educated workers

and a business environment that supports

innovative thinking, competition, creativi-

ty, business creation and entrepreneurship.

Is a world-class Internet infrastructure

crucial to Qatars development?

Inrastructure is always one o the key ac-

tors supporting economic growth and de-velopment, and our increasingly inorma-

tion-intensive economies will require ast

and robust connectivity. Countries such as

Qatar, that invest in new bre networks, are

laying a oundation or communications or

probably the next 50 years. Qatars ability to

und the massive rollout certainly positions

it with a certain comparative advantage.

Firms based in Qatar will be able to deliver

services domestically that are just not pos-

sible in countries with less-advanced net-

works. This potential helps attract innova-

tive rms that could use Qatar as a test bedor global products, in much the same way

Korea attracts high-tech rms today. Then

these rms could use Qatar as a base or de-

livering global inormation services.

If you had one piece of advice for the

Qatari government with respect to the

Internet, what would it be?

Qatars goal o creating a knowledge-based

economy will depend on pulling together

dierent elements to support a fourishing

ecosystem. These elements range rom in-

rastructure to skills to business develop-

ment. Policymakers oten ocus on ways topromote digital content industries domes-

tically, but the Internet economy also ex-

tends beyond the digital realm to all other

businesses that can operate more ecient-

ly and extend their reach by leveraging the

power o the Internet and communication

technologies. Governments should there-

ore try to use ICT to make doing business

in their country easier. Qatar seems to have

the vision and resources to pull all these el-

ements together so it is vital now that they

ocus on the implementation

Qatar has a nearly uniQue

opportunity to gain a

comparative advantage in this

area, first with its

investments in network

infrastructure.