a web of importance
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7/29/2019 A Web of Importance
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Qatar today f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 362
t a g t h i s
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.
Aweb ofimportAnce
The InTerneT SocIeTy, an organISaTIon ThaT promoTeS
The open developmenT, evoluTIon, and uSe of The
InTerneT for The benefIT of all people ThroughouT
The world, recenTly held ITS arab regIonal forum,
IneT QaTar, aT carnegIe mellon unIverSITy In
educaTIon cITy.
the
b y r o r y c o e n
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7/29/2019 A Web of Importance
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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.
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