PBS 50x15 Panel Tackles Global Technology Issues and Socioeconomic Myths
11/4/2005

AUSTIN, Texas — The Internet's ability to fundamentally transform people's lives is so universally understood that debate over the importance of connecting people in high-growth markets has long since evolved into debate over how best to do it. This fundamental shift in thinking took center stage on June 24, as Austin PBS affiliate KLRU hosted the sixth and final installment in its 2005 Distinguished Speaker Series called "50x15: A Global Commitment."

The discussion about how best to leverage technology to solve socioeconomic challenges faced by developing regions of the world focused specifically on three topics: rural vs. urban solutions; cell phones vs. PCs as ideal form factors; and the pros and cons of leveraging existing western solutions in high-growth markets. The panel included moderator David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor, Internet and Technology, Fortune Magazine; A. Richard Newton, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley; Teresa Peters, Executive Director of Bridges.org; Theogene Rudasingwa, former Chief of Staff to the president of Rwanda and former Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States; and Hector Ruiz, Chairman, President and CEO of AMD and architect of the company's 50x15 initiative.

A. Richard Newton	Teresa Peters
Theogene Rudasingwa	Hector Ruiz

The Rural Assumption
A key tenet of many digital inclusion initiatives today is a commitment to deliver technology solutions and Internet access to people living in rural and remote areas within high-growth markets. Although western organizations often assume this is the best way to proceed, it took only a few minutes of debate for the KLRU panelists to reject this notion.

Early in the discussion, Teresa Peters, who recently relocated back to the U.S. after living in South Africa, framed the debate in a manner that likely surprised many in the audience. "I don't like money being spent in rural areas," she asserted. "Let's fix it in the cities." Peters, along with Theogene Rudasingwa, explained that western companies and organizations often build their digital inclusion efforts around the faulty assumption that most metropolitan areas are more technologically self-sufficient than their rural counterparts simply because they are cities. "There are more poor people in the cities," Peters explained. "If you can fix it there, where you can concentrate your efforts and where you face fewer external challenges, then you can take it out to the rural areas. That's a better model."

The panelists' message to U.S. business, government and social leaders was twofold: Focus your efforts squarely on large metropolitan areas where the vast majority of people in high-growth markets live and where connecting people to the Internet can do the most good; and leverage your success in metropolitan areas to expand digital inclusion efforts to people in more remote places.

Cell Phones Vs. PCs
The discussion turned to an evaluation of the most promising solutions and form factors available to bridge the global digital divide. Panelists quickly fell into one of two camps — those who favored the cell phone as the best hope for connecting the remaining 85 percent of the world to the Internet, and those who believe focusing on a single device is too limiting. This debate is becoming more prominent in the wider world of digital inclusion, where some areas by necessity will require a wireless approach due to a lack of landline infrastructure and reliable power.

The divergence of opinion was highlighted poignantly midway through the discussion when A. Richard Newton asked his fellow panelists and members of the audience to choose either a cell phone or a PC if they could use only one device for the rest of their lives. "For me, it's a no-brainer," Newton said. "There is no question that the cell phone represents the most important era in technology. The Internet is a connector of people. That's where the value (of a cell phone) is."

While everyone on the panel agreed that the cell phone is an important component in any digital inclusion initiative, AMD President and CEO, Hector Ruiz ultimately unified the panelists around the idea that the type of platform is less important than the ability to connect people to the Internet, and through that, to each other. Ruiz suggested that an ecosystem model leveraging an array of devices represents the best overall approach to bridging the global digital divide.

"The thing we cannot forget is that in places like Jamaica, you don't need to have cell phones because they have laid copper cables," Ruiz said. "The opposite is true in Africa. They have nothing on the ground and the easiest way to connect them would be by cell phone. We have learned to not try and sell people what they don't need. We focus on getting them a solution best suited to their needs. The real advantage is the connection."

Tailored Vs. Existing Solutions
Despite individual biases toward specific solutions, all five members of the panel agreed that shoehorning existing western products into various global markets carries some risks.

Ruiz described a recent scene that remains all too common: "In one of the countries we are working with on 50x15, the government was convinced that elementary schools needed computers capable of playing dynamic video. Where in the world did they get that idea? Well, because some well-meaning salesman from a western computer company thought…it gave him better margins. That's not going to work."

Over the course of the debate, the panelists' passion for doing it right — even as they occasionally disagreed on precisely what that looked like — underscored the reality of the situation organizations face as they strive to connect the world to the Internet. Each country and region requires a unique and tailored approach that gives people the technological tools they need to confront the challenges they face on their own.

As panelist Theogene Rudaswinga noted, "The problem of solving poverty in Africa can't come from a charity. It's got to be a totally self-driven process of people getting hands on their own problems and solving them. And technology is a powerful tool in that journey."