Millennium International Limited
Applied Intelligent Systems
Digital Economy (ICT) Governance Management Systems
Universal Access to Broadband
As of January 2021 there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide - 59.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion) accessed the internet via mobile devices (Statista).
Access to Broadband Networks constitute the building blocks of the Digital Economy ecosystem. Network structure is intimately linked to flows of resources across the network that in turn modify the network architecture itself. (Fricker, et al. 2017). The Digital Economy is a metaphor for the evolution of complex systems evolving towards integration of governance, economic, ecological, social and human systems.
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Digital Economy Networks represent a higher octave in how Governance models for economic and social development operate. Today, those of us who carry a mobile device are part of the Digital Economy to a greater or lesser degree.
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And yet, the old access paradox, so-called "divide," still applies: universality of access, the democratisation of access to the ICT tools provided through high-speed broadband internet: Extending the perimeter of high-speed internet access to include people and communities who are on the margins or who cannot afford the types of modern hardware to remain current and connected. Low-cost, reliable, and high-speed access remains a challenge for the 41 percent of the population have no internet access (Universal Access to Digital Services -Disparte & Tillemann 2020).
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The OECD proposes the Digital Integrated Policy Framework that includes seven interrelated dimensions: access, use, innovation, jobs, society, trust and market openness.
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Our analytical modelling solution starts with diagnosis through GAP ANALYSIS tools to determine the access stress points, that can be highlighted through our GIS platform, thus enhancing the understanding and assessment of a nation's network ecosystem, optimising policy design and regulatory interventions - towards Good Governance.
The Sustainability and Resilience Development Challenge
The “Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: "Our Common Future,” known as the Brundtland report, introduced the term sustainability in the lexicon of international debate as central objective of many global initiatives, most notably the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, sustainable development refers to development which meets our current needs without hindering the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Resilience is defined at the Stockholm Resilience Center as “the capacity of a system, to deal with change and continue to develop.”
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Complex Systems, like the Digital Economy, are defined by its topology, constantly adjusting, which in turn defines the degree of access adaptability by members of the community within the system. Where someone is in the system determines the quality and quantity of interactions, such as information, knowledge, and therefore one's ability to interact and transact within and with other systems, i.e., government, organisations, humans, allowing (in a non-constrained open system) the individual's expression and optimisation of his/her talent and that of the community or nation.
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Network systems are dynamic with distinct qualities: open, nonlinear, emergent, spontaneous, adaptable, exaptable and with constant feedback loops.
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Universality of access to these critical systems, not just for mere survival (access to drinking water, for example), enhances development, are at the heart of the UN's SDGs.
Policy must constantly address universality of access. Other governance systems, such as Regulatory, are designed to ensure the Policy aims hold. Policy design must be driven by understanding the interactions and aspirations within the members in the system (i.e., citizens) and guided by Expertise.
Yet, even a well-designed system has its stress points.
This constant tension has to be addressed continuously in order to allow the system to evolve and to ensure universality of access is sustainable and resilient.
Critical Technologies
Millennium Research Project
Critical technologies deriving from AI and quantum computing* - are defined as “current and emerging technologies with the capacity to significantly enhance or pose risk to national interests.”
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* IBM's designed next generation computing using qubits (2-state quantum algorithms)
The COVID-19 Governance Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for effective Governance and the role that multilateral institutions and governments play. Policy models have been designed specifically to respond and control the inevitable market distortions of lockdowns and reduced mobility by financially supporting distressed individuals and businesses. The implications on global trade are today present, as we near two years into this unprecedented crisis.
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While there have been a variety of economic policy measures addressing trade, taxes, loan guarantees and cash injections support for businesses, the efforts of the past decade in supporting universal access to high-speed broadband connectivity around the world must be counted as one of the factors that have attenuated even more adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis measures.
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Many around the world have been able to communicate, trade, transact, telework, study, and socialise online, through a variety of platforms - even from a smartphone. ACCESS to ICTs and high-speed internet is the quiet hero. It now highlights the need to continue to advance towards digital inclusion to the remaining of the global community.
"The coronavirus pandemic has shined a spotlight on equity issues in communications policy. As policymakers turn their attention to digital equity, they can build upon community-driven digital equity initiatives that have been developed in the past decade."
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John B. Horrigan & Jorge Reina Schement
Broadband as Civic Infrastructure: Community Empowerment, Equity, and a Digital New Deal - 2021