[afnog] Re: Request for input: The Working Group on InternetGovernance

[Brian Candler]

On Tue, Nov 16, 2004 at 09:38:04PM +0100, Robert.Shaw at itu.int wrote:
> > Not that I want ITU to get its fingers into anything with 
> > "Internet" written on it - it sets a bad precedent.
> 
> huh? The vast majority of ITU standards activity has been 
> "Internet" related for many years.

Ah, hello ITU person! Guess I need to watch what I say :-)

To me, one of the key drivers behind the rollout of the Internet was the
prohibitive cost of traditional telephony - and that in turn was primarily
due to the monopolistic policies of telecommunications companies, under the
umbrella of the ITU.

ISPs saw an opportunity to become the resellers for wholesale telco
bandwidth, in a form which had neither a call-setup fee nor a long-distance
related component. The telcos didn't know what happened, and are still
scrabbling to catch up.

ISPs (especially many in Africa) have had to fight long, hard battles
against the ITU's closed shop. I personally have worked in a developing
country which had a monopoly telco, and seen first hand the real hardship it
caused to ordinary people.

I'm sure the ITU technical committees do good work, and I would not
disparage that. But I believe it will take a long, long time for the policy
legacy to be forgotten.

Regards,

Brian.