International Telecommunication Union 1 ITU Broadband Project Lao PDR National Broadband Policy Industry Workshop 16 th August 2013 Vientiane Matthew O’Rourke Partner, Incyte Consulting (ITU Expert )

2 Agenda 1. Our purpose and objectives 2. Why focus on broadband? 3. Methodology 4. Expected outcomes 5. Project timeline 6. Some key issues 7. Next steps and discussion questions

International Telecommunication Union 3 1. Our purpose and objectives

The primary purpose of the broadband plan YES  To increase availability of broadband for the Lao people  To improve the affordability of broadband for the Lao people  To enable the Lao people to make use of broadband NO  To give Ministries faster internet access  This may be a secondary benefit, but they are not the primary goal  To improve Ministries’ IT resources and IT equipment 4

A whole-of-government initiative  This is a Government plan  It is not just the MPT’s plan  All Ministries need to be involved!  Many Ministries will likely have responsibilities and targets under the Plan 5

International Telecommunication Union 6 2. Why focus on broadband?

7 Broadband is important for economic development  For every increase of 10 percentage points in broadband penetration, there is an incremental increase in economic growth of 1.38 percentage points  That is almost double the economic growth achieved from increases in mobile penetration

8 The broadband path to economic development

9 Better broadband = more employment

10 Broadband is also important for social development  Broadband can help strength community bonds  Instead of conflicting with people’s community ties, broadband can enhance those ties and complement personal and telephone interactions  The result is a richer experience with the community

Broadband offers considerable development potential for Lao  Broadband is an enabler for other policy goals  Health  Education  Agriculture  Culture  Gender equality  Millennium Development Goals 11

International Telecommunication Union Methodology

13 Stages in developing a Broadband Policy and Strategic Plan

14 Stage 1: Analysing the IDI  ICT Development Index measures:  relative level and evolution of national ICT developments  progress in both developed and developing countries  the digital divide  the national development potential of ICTs based on available capabilities and skills

The three stages in the evolution towards an information society 15

Asia Pacific Regional IDI ranking

Lao’s scores on the key IDI components Measure IDI index Access index Use index Skills index4.35 Price index Fixed subscribers per 100 inhabitants1.7 Mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants International internet bandwidth (bits/user)2,3042,048 % of households with computer % of households with internet service Adult literacy rate72.7

18 Stage 2: Interviewing Stakeholders  Our focus this week  We have spoken with many stakeholders already including:  Telecoms operators / ISPs  Ministry of Education  Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry  Ministry of Industry and Commerce  Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism  Ministry of Public Health  Ministry of Planning and Investment  Ministry of Public Works and transport  Ministry of Energy and Mining

19 Stage 3: Data Collection  Another task we have focused on this week  We are seeking a significant amount of data and other information  Including perspectives, ideas and aspirations  The National Broadband Plan needs to be evidence-based and realistic  You are invited to me with further information, questions and ideas!

20 Stage 4: Draft Broadband Policy and Plan  ITU Expert with prepare an initial draft of a National Broadband Plan  All inputs into that process will be considered (and are welcome!)  But the policy and plan may be selective and focus on particular higher order priorities

21 Reflect the uniqueness of Lao  We appreciate that Lao faces a unique collection of issues that includes  International capacity issues  National backbone infrastructure  Active role of Government  Electrification issues  Affordability issues  Language and localisation of content  All developing economies face challenges in their efforts to expand broadband  The experiences of other developing economies can provide ideas and lessons for Lao

Different policies are needed for different stages of market development 22  As broadband penetration in Lao is still below 16%, the focus of the current planning period needs to be on promotion.  Subsequent plans can focus on regulation and universalisation.

Policies must address all aspects of the broadband ecosystem  It is necessary to consider the entire broadband supply chain and tailor policy initiatives to each element  This helps identify the roles that government must fulfill  i.e. both supply- and demand-side  To foster broadband markets, governments today need to move beyond their traditional “push” role focused on supply-side growth in ICT infrastructure  This requires a shift away from the development models used for telephones  The traditional USO approach is thus not suited to the expansion of broadband. 23

Policy initiatives designed for the current stage of market development in Lao Well designed policy initiatives targeting each element in the ecosystem can help foster the development of the broadband market 24

25 Stage 5: Public Consultation  Public consultation is important:  For new ideas  For improvements to the policy and associated plan  For accuracy and realism  For legitimacy  For ownership and buy-in

26 Stage 6: Finalise Policy and Plan  This is a matter for the planning and approvals process in Lao  The final product will be Lao ’s— not the ITU’s  Wide ownership within Lao is essential  Highest level approval and commitment is necessary  MPT is coordinating, but all Ministries will need to be involved in implementation

International Telecommunication Union Expected Outcomes

28 Outcomes  The formal deliverables are clear:  Draft National Broadband Policy and Plan for Lao  Implementation Guidelines  The project needs to do the following as well:  Facilitate leadership, ownership and accountability  Establish a cooperative framework  Mobilise resources  Generate momentum  Achieve buy-in and momentum for the next stages

The Plan will have wide coverage  Supply-side factors  Infrastructure access and availability  Demand-side factors  Affordability (of services and customer equipment)  ICT literacy  Applications (content)  Absorptive capacity of the economy  Macroeconomic conditions (e.g. inflation)  Supportive business environment  Human capital  Administrative infrastructure for broadband  E.g. high-level committee of Ministries and operators 29

30 Consistent with ASEAN ICT Master Plan 6 PILLARS 1. Economic Transformation 2. People Empowerment & Engagement 3. Innovation 4. Infrastructure Development 5. Human Capital development 6. Bridging the Digital Divide

International Telecommunication Union Project Timeline

Indicative project timeline 32

International Telecommunication Union Some key issues (from this week’s discussions)

Some of the key issues / challenges (1)  Past initiatives have focused on supply-side / infrastructure issues; demand-side factors have not sufficiently addressed  Centralisation of international access via LANIC has led to concerns about quality of service and cost  There are also concerns about the quality (capacity) of, and cost of access to, the national backbone network  Arrangements for infrastructure sharing (particularly with other utility networks) could be improved in the national interest 34

Some of the key issues / challenges (2)  Local content, and localisation of content, particularly significant  Related challenge of ensuring customer equipment can accommodate Lao language  The coordination of the many different government initiatives could be better  Coordination and information sharing across Ministries  Greater transparency  Changing regulatory environment may complicate implementation context  WTO commitments  Plans for licence migration  Potential USO policy 35

International Telecommunication Union Next Steps and discussion questions

37 Next steps  This week was essentially information-seeking  After this week we will:  Confirm additional information that is required or has been promised  Provide additional questions that arise from our review of the information collected during the Mission  Seek responses through the coordinating agency of the Ministry  Your next formal opportunity to contribute will be the public consultation process  So please use today’s opportunity to share your views and ideas  You are also welcome to discuss further with MPT or me at any time

Discussion questions (1) ① How should broadband be defined?  By reference to a minimum bandwidth or to characteristic (e.g. always on, high-speed internet access) ① What specific policy initiatives would you like to see in the broadband plan?  Subsidies, community access points, education and training, eGovernment, eHealth, regulatory reforms . 38

Discussion questions (2) ③ What targets and aspirations would you like to see in the broadband plan?  E.g. penetration rates, number of schools connected, training qualifications achieved, etc ③ What arrangements are needed to coordinate implementation?  E.g. committees (if so, what membership), public reporting requirements, a “national broadband ambassador” 39

International Telecommunication Union 40 Lao PDR National Broadband Policy Matthew O’Rourke Partner, Incyte Consulting (ITU Expert )