Guest Columnist: Henoch Aguiar
Henoch Aguiar was Secretary of Communications of Argentina and advisor to the Communications Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, the General Secretariat of the Presidency, and the Secretariat of Public Information. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Telecommunications Commission. Considered one of the leading experts in legal matters related to the telecommunications sector in Latin America, he is currently a tenured professor of Law at the University of Buenos Aires and founder of the law firm Aguiar & Asociados. His Twitter account is @henochaguiar.
I am fascinated by a short video, “From the Atom to the Universe,” which I highly recommend. The first image shows a smiling girl. The camera zooms out rapidly, kilometers, light-years, until it reaches 10 billion light-years away, from the planets and galaxies to the deepest structure of the universe. It seems that from there, we can understand everything.
The camera reverses. We return to the girl. This time, from her retina, we travel to the infinitesimal. We see her cells, chromosomes, DNA, polymers, and the nucleus of an atom. A universe similar to the astronomical one opens up in reverse: protons, neutrons, and quarks, a trillionth of a meter.
The tiny is as complex as the entire universe. This video has much to do with our telecommunications, connectivity, and digital inclusion perspective.
From the nineties until recently, we maintained a telescopic view of our Teleco Land. Laws, regulations, and spectrum auctions were enough to model that vast universe. Politics and national laws were responsible for meeting goals and achieving universal access. Provinces and municipalities, at subnational levels, did little or nothing. At most, they did not obstruct the installation of antennas or the laying of networks.
Landline telephony lost its reign. Its dynasty, with 19% worldwide teledensity in 2005, barely scrapes 12% today. The king is dead; long live the king. Mobile phones reach 106% of the population. Nine mobile phones are available for every landline, with superior coverage. That is what the telescopic image tells us.
But, but, but… if we look through the microscope, dramatic differences appear. The smooth statistical aggregates cover deep wells of inequality. No matter how advanced, every city, even New York, has its own digital Harlem. Just a few kilometers from hyper-connected cores with FTTH, neighborhoods or towns are 20 years behind in connectivity.
I do not underestimate national regulation at all. It is essential and must be modern, informed, anticipatory, quick to react, constantly regenerating competition and openness to new technologies. It is the basic condition, the rule of the game. If the playing field were tilted, if there were no control over fouls and penalties, the microscope would be useless.
Perhaps we thought that these macro rules were sufficient, combined with some global initiatives to develop new backbones, connect schools, and create digital access centers for greater inclusion. But digital exclusion persists, stubbornly. Some areas still have only 3G connectivity. Internet services cannot and do not exceed 20 Mbps.
Now, yes, we need to study digital disease under a microscope to diagnose that reality that cannot be seen from the national capital or the provincial governments. The map of our digital ailments must be drawn in reverse, from the bottom up. We need to provide tools and work with every mayor and every local official. We must all understand what is happening to us and be responsible for the connectivity leap, the investment plan, and digital inclusion so that our populations are not left behind.
It is not from government offices that we can understand each neighborhood, the countless towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and each tourist, rural, or mountain area. However, their future is at stake. Without the internet, there will be no new jobs, no young people staying, and no tourism. Without the internet, it is the chronicle of a death foretold.
To prevent this, we must change the methodology. It will not be resolved from the heights of the ivory tower where national policies are analyzed. A bottom-up planning approach is necessary. From the highest power, mayors and neighborhood councils must be empowered.
The first thing to share is a common belief, a new mission: highlighting the importance of connectivity for each human group. Every mayor, councilor, journalist, teacher, and parent in a community dreams of the internet reaching at least where electricity arrives. And when it does not, install solar panels and satellite antennas. No citizen is left without access to the Knowledge Society as a fundamental goal.
Planning begins with a local diagnosis of digital ailments. Knowing which neighborhoods and locations have poor or no connection, identifying them on the map, block by block, knowing how each school connects (or, rather, how each student does), each clinic, police station, or cultural center, each house, seeing if the connection in inns, businesses, or craft centers is sufficient, and detecting public places without available WiFi.
Perhaps it seems like too much detail. But the hunger for the internet and the possibilities for life flourishing or being stifled are about real people. We need to learn to use the microscope of our digital needs.
Bottom-up planning has a huge advantage. It makes all stakeholders aware of real needs. It does not sweep the problems under the rug. Synergies emerge as diagnoses from a region or an entire province are aggregated. The necessary effort is measured. An intelligent use of available resources is made, avoiding duplication and overlooking needs.
This creates a dynamic exchange table where everyone contributes. The municipality that wants to modernize updates its ordinances, provides land for network nodes or towers. Small providers can collaborate to share new FTTH networks, each maintaining its initial clients. Or agree with national operators to maintain and upgrade their local ADSL networks in exchange for better wholesale connectivity. Incentives from Universal Service Funds can help develop networks or backbones where market limitations would otherwise prevent them.
A new philosophy for national connectivity development, uniting traditional rivals, is necessary to save inclusion, look with pride and hope at the future ahead, and avoid stagnation.
No Montagues and Capulets. Public-private agreements that embody subsidiarity, complementing rather than replacing one another. Accepting needs, capabilities, and mutual constraints.
From the Telescope to the Microscope. A philosophy that respects all actors in the digital ecosystem. That begins in each municipality, incorporates the presence and plans of smaller providers, and encourages (or regulates) the shared use of electrical poles. Small, medium, and large providers, aware of the challenges, should explore what common ventures can be mutually beneficial.
Without an accurate diagnosis, there is nothing to discuss.
Collective thinking cannot occur without a regional exchange and agreement platform, zone by zone, to share findings.
This time, politics must convene and facilitate the search for solutions—without imposing but understanding, synthesizing, articulating, and promoting the joint development of stakeholders.
It is more than a State policy. It is the creation of a Co-Development Policy for Society, a shared strategy, and a common goal for the good of all.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author’s responsibility and do not necessarily represent the official opinion of this blog.
