Ambassador David A. Gross, United States (US) Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State was in Singapore recently as a guest of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) as part of its Distinguished Infocomm Speaker (DIS) series.
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Ambassador David Gross(left with Mr Chan Yeng Kit, CEO of the IDA) from the United States Department of State touched on a wide range of ICT-related topics, including new trends and policies that have developed over the past few years
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Speaking at the at the Raffles Hotel on 6 February 2007, Ambassador Gross shared that the ability to excel and adapt in a changing world will give tremendous comparative advantages, especially as the pace of change in the world promises to increase. "An enormously important characteristic of the people of both Singapore and the United States is our embrace of change - not for change's sake, but rather because of the better life such change potentially offers to all of our people," he added.
Ambassador Gross also said that he has found that trends in Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) that affect the United States are not unique. They affect all countries. The differentiating factor he has found is the response to each trend and he believes that ICT trends will lead to a common set of expectations among users around the world.
The trends that he has noticed cover areas of:
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Technology convergence;
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Policy convergence;
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The exponential impact of innovation;
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Price reductions;
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Interactive services and complementary products and as subset of this, user empowerment and self-expression.
Technology convergence is providing the world with mobile phones that receive television transmissions and cable television services that offer high speed Internet access. Additionally Ambassador Gross commented that many of the old voice carriers have gone into the television and video services business. With the convergence of technologies, the real challenge is about how much converged functionality can actually be built into one device on the hardware side and how the consumer will interface with all those functions.
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Members from the audience posed questions to Ambassador Gross, asking his opinions on how changing trends and technologies will affect Asia businesses and countries
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This trend of technology convergence has led to policy convergence as well, where regulators must look for ways to create an environment that encourages innovation and infrastructure investment. By doing so, they are able to best protect the interests of consumers. According to the Ambassador, they have found in the U.S. that rapid convergence in technology has strained the existing legal and regulatory structures. "Unprecedented market changes have demonstrated that what worked in the past may not be the right approach today. In the United States, we have made considerable changes to our approach, working to establish a less-regulated environment that can adapt more quickly to market changes."
According to Ambassador Gross, the Internet is the greatest facilitator for freedom of expression and innovation in the world today and the United States recognises the importance of the free flow of information and ideas on the Internet to economic development, as well as its influence in facilitating greater social and political debate.
Increased access to the Internet allows citizens to express ideas and opinions more freely, encourages the expansion of democracy and accountable government, lowers the cost of doing business, creates new jobs, and expands the provision of education, health, and government services. This is where a government's efforts taken to make its country a "knowledge hub" improved its chances of success of encouraging the free flow of information and freedom of expression. When that occurs, the exponential impact of innovation will also take place, according to Ambassador Gross.
Price reduction has allowed more people to connect to the Internet and each other more cheaply than ever before. Changes in price have allowed more people access to information and to stay connected with loved ones anywhere in the world. "The implications of this revolution in affordability and availability are truly profound - economically, socially and politically," said Ambassador Gross.
User interactive services and complementary products and the complementary trend toward user empowerment and self-expression, younger generations are embracing things like personal video, online gaming, blogging, or dating services. People are using ICT services not only to make distance less relevant, but also to create new virtual environments and new means of self-expression. For this reason, Ambassador Gross says that a great many people now view the Internet with its interactive nature almost as real space, but with the capability for personal expression - this provides interesting opportunities for economic gains, social benefits and political involvement.
Ambassador Gross said that he sees the trend of converging expectations of people coming about because the growth in ICT connectivity has allowed all of the world's users to learn about and to experience the best and the worst of the policies and practices of various governments. He added that new technologies have opened the door to remarkable innovations; and opportunities abound for all of us to advance in the global marketplace and in our human endeavours.
"I believe the achievements are greatest when the freedom to innovate and freedom of access to information are unhampered," he concluded.
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