ICT as a part of Chile´sStrategy for Development:Present Issues and Challenges

Carlos Álvarez V.Deputy Minister of EconomyGovernment Coordinator for ICTCHILE

m a r c h / 2 0 0 5

2

General Facts about Chile

• 15 million inhabitants

• GDP growth (2004): 5.9%

• Income per capita (PPP): US$ 9,992

• Unemployment rate (February 2005): 7.5%.

• Competitiveness ranking (WEF):22

• Income Distribution: Q5/Q1=15.

• Tax collection (% of GNP): 18%

3

(Jun/2004)

(2003)

• More than 4,1 million people have access to Internet (29%).• Half of computers in households are connected to the Internet

(12,6% of households), 48% of them to Broadband.

• 3.3 Mill Basic Telephony Lines (20.6% penetration)

• 8.4 Mill Mobile Phones (52.8% penetration)

– 42.7 Mill Text Messages per Month, 2.3 national calls per day

• Internet Connections (in thousands):

– 437 Dial Up

– 473 Broadband:• 50.0% ADSL

• 43.6% Cable Modem

• 6.4 % Other

Some figures on ICT Access

Sources: CASEN, 2003 (National Socio Economic Characterization Survey), SUBTEL, IDC.

(Dec/2004)

5

International Comparison

Source: World Economic Forum

The Networked Readiness Index (2003-2004)

3,453,573,673,763,803,944,014,07

4,604,644,685,075,23

5,50

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00

5,00

6,00

Sco

re

C H I

L E

32 of

102

6

E-Government readiness index

Source: United Nations

0,890,91 0,86 0,84 0,82

0,68 0,68 0,660,62 0,60 0,59 0,58 0,57 0,56

0,00

0,10

0,20

0,30

0,40

0,50

0,60

0,70

0,80

0,90

1,00

Estad

os U

nidos

Reino

Unid

o

Corea

Canad

á

Finlan

dia

Chile

Isra

elIta

lia

Repúb

lica

Checa

Méx

ico

Argen

tina

Españ

a

Brasil

Gre

cia

Countries

Sco

re

In 2004 Chile was ranked in position 22 among 191 countries.

8

In 1990, Chile recovered democracy after 17 years of General Pinochet's dictatorship. A new coallition called Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia came into office with a program having as main priorities:

– Sustainable Economic Growth– Equality and Social Inclusion– Deepening of Democracy

Policy: Strategic Objectives

9

The Gains of Democracy

• The Chilean economy has sustained a 5.5% average growth between 1990 and 2004, more than duplicating its per capita income.

• The percentage of population living below the poverty line dropped from 40% to 17% during the same period.

• Three presidential and four parliamentary elections have taken place since 1989 under completely normal conditions; several laws have corrected the authoritarian bias in the Constitution and the different powers of state operate without any major obstacles.

10

• An efficient State Oriented to Address Citizens’ Needs

• An economy integrated into the world

• A highly dynamic service sector

• An equitable nation

• A nation prepared for the future

ICT & Strategic Objectives

11

First Steps: from 1990 to 1997

Three pioneering initiatives were key in the inclusion of ICT in government’s agenda:

• Deregulation of the Telecommunications MarketThe early introduction of competition allowed users to benefit from multiple providers and lower connectivity rate. Maintaining technological neutrality has been key to allow multiple services to appear.

• The ENLACES Project (Education)The early introduction of ICT to the classroom, even before the advent of Internet, transformed the landscape of possibilities for education and revealed the necessity of ICT literacy.

• Network of Universities (REUNA)The first email network built by Universities, rapidly surpassed the borders of the Academia to become a necessity for growing parts of the population.

12

ICT in the Agenda: 1998 - 2003

• A Presidential Commission outlined the elements of an ICT Agenda (1999)This commission gathered relevant players from a variety of sectors of society and produced an action plan containing 12 initiatives on: strengthening the Enlaces Program, starting up the infocenter network, electronic signature, access costs, public procurement, among others.

• President Lagos gave great emphasis to ICT (2000)“This new age demands the integration of Chile to the Internet revolution…” (Presidential Address to the Nation, 2000). A digital policy started to consolidate and the institutional development began.

13

Key Achievements (2002)

• Enlaces Program: 80% of school population with access to internet.

• Access Rates set on Incumbent Telephony Operator facilitate rise of Internet Connections.

• Universal Access Program on Telecommunications expanded to include internet access

• Electronic Document and Electronic Signature Law passed (2002)

• Internal Revenue Service Platform • Public Procurement Platform • Trámitefácil

15

Digital Agenda

2004-2006 Plan of Action, that includes 34 initiatives, developed by the Digital Action Group (GAD) and where more than 170 people collaborated during ten months.

16

Digital Agenda - Components (1/3)

• Widely Available AccessBuilding a nation-wide broadband infrastructure, to be accessed from homes, the workplace or from the infocenter and cyber-cafe networks.

– Provide connectivity for Schools and Infocenters (community access points).– Regulation to reduce Internet access rates and increase broadband

connectivity.– Encourage private sector to offer cheaper ‘connectivity packages’.

• Education and TrainingIncrease human capital through a digitally literate population, and a workforce ICT qualified at least to the user level.

– Digital literacy campaign.– Encourage the certification of ICT skills.

17

Digital Agenda - Components (2/3)

• On Line GovernmentTransit from an informational to a transactional on-line government, to increase efficiency and transparency.

– Integrated platform for electronic services (Back Office Integration).– Providing broadband connectivity and services for the Health Sector.

• Digital Development for BusinessesPromote connectivity and ICT-based services associated to management improvement, increase in sales (goods and services), as well as incorporating transactional schemes (B2B and B2C).

– Massive adoption of the electronic invoice.– On line operation and simplification of 80 transactions with government of

key importance for the business community.

18

Digital Agenda - Components (3/3)

• Take-off of the ICT IndustryGenerate a critical mass of ICT companies able to compete internationally.

– Certification of the ICT industry.– Promotion of ICT research and development.– High tech attraction program

• Legal FrameworkGenerate a modern legal framework to facilitate the development of information society, in a way that liberties are guaranteed, and democracy, transparency, access to knowledge and culture, the rights of creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, workers and consumers are protected.

– E-Trade consumer rights.– Legislation associated to Intellectual property.

19

• Government Coordinator of ICT policies (CIO).

• Coordination of horizontal projects through a board with

participation of agencies top executives.

• Unified planning and budget allocation process (with

Finance Ministry).

• Grupo de Acción Digital play a role in continuous

evaluation of projects advancement.

• Establishment of standards committee.

• Establishment of network of CIOs of Government

Agencies.

Organizational innovations

21

The Challenges Ahead (1)

• The clash between innovation and the ‘traditional ways of doing things’.

• Human Capital is key - formal training that has in mind the great opportunities that lie in service off-shoring is essential.

• Competing internationally requires compliance with internationally accepted quality and service standards.

• E-Government services can create great value for citizens, if strong steps are taken to facilitate interoperability among government agencies. This represents both technical and political challenges.

22

The Challenges Ahead (2)

• Constant revision of goals to keep up with the pace of innovation.

• Consolidate government’s ICT agenda in a more permanent institutional way.

• Maintaining ICT as an instrument for a national strategy, embedded in the ‘regular agenda’, which for Chile means: growth, equality and the deepening of democracy.

Thank You for your Attention

Carlos Álvarez V.Deputy Minister of EconomyGovernment Coordinator for ICTCHILE

m a r c h / 2 0 0 5

Láminas en Reserva

25

Telecoms Regulatory Framework

• Freedom of enterprise• All telecoms companies are private• No restrictions to foreign investment• Regulatory authorities cannot inhibit private-

sector initiatives regulation applies only under specific market

conditions (according to the Telecoms Law); concessions are granted free of charge (contest

instead of auctions); no limitations to license granting, unless spectrum

is limited; vertical integration is allowed

26

Telecomunications Milestones

1977 1982 1987 1994 1997 1998 1999

General Telecomm. Law (GTL)

Ammendment to GTL: Rates Setting

Procedure

Ammendments to GTL:* LD Competetition* Telecom. Development Fund.* Incumbent Rates Decree

Mobile Service Rates DecreeConsumer Protection Statute

Incumbent Rates Decree

1995

Liberalisation

Privatisation

Long distance Multicarrier

Universal Access Programme

Calling Party Pays

SUBTEL

27

• A Portal for Government Procurement: ChileCompra

• Enlaces Program, connecting and equipping Schools

• TramiteFacil, an entry point for government services.

e-Government Examples

28

• As of Oct/2004:

– Nearly 90,000 vendors and suppliers offering services through the platform.

– Nearly 750 public agencies and localgovernments procuring through the system.

• Nearly 300,000 purchasing offers uploaded to the portal during 2004 by public agencies.

• A law on administrative contracts and services supply (2003) has helped to spread the practice throughout the public sector.

• This practice contributes to government transparency and efficiency.

• It has helped to “level the playing field” so that providers from different areas compete on an equal footing to offer services to government.

A Portal for Procurement

29

Connecting and Equipping Schools

• Network of 8.900 public supported schools (85%)

95% of public schools population has access to ICT

– 2003 rural schools

– 4,680 schools with access to Internet (1,600 to broadband)

– 98,000 teachers trained (80%)

• A portal for Content: EducarChile - www.educarchile.cl– 28.000 daily visits y 6 million monthly (May/2004)

– Latin American Educational Network of

Portals

• 1,100 schools and 368 public libraries

open to communities.

30

Transactions with Government

• An entry point to government services.

• It provides direct access to nearly 220 online transactions, provides 340 different downloadable forms and gives information on another 1,550 government services.

• In operation since May/2001.

• Nearly 3,000 visits daily.

• It has been recognized as one of the 5 best e-Government products around the world (World Summit on the Information Society, 2003).

31

30,6

46,1

62,6

72,2

78,7

35,1

49,5

63,9

79,1

86,6

40,0

59,7

75,1

88,288,9

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

90,0

2001 2002 2003

Percentage of SMEs with Internet Access

US$70 Th -US$296 Th

US$296 Th -US$740 Th

US$740 Th -US$1,478 Th

US$1,478 Th- US$2,217ThUS$2,217 Th- US$2,956Th

39% 43% 49%

Access to ICT: Businesses

Source: INE, CORFO.

32

• Government support: • To provide broadband to more than 75% of the poorest students at

schools• To facilitate Internet access in rural areas using the Telecommunications

Development Fund • To stimulate the development of Infocenters as service centers

• Regulation to reduce Internet access costs and increase broadband connectivity:• 900.000 household • 150.000 enterprises

• Private coordination to establish:• Attractive connectivity support• Attractive PC y software support

1. Widely Available Access

33

• Digital Literacy– 320.000 digitally literate persons in 2004 and 500.000 in

2005

• “Enlaces” Nationwide Schools’ Network:– to reach an average of 30 students per computer in 2006– Integration of ICT into curricula

• Training– 400.000 students will have undergone ICT training

• Certification– International Computer Drive License (ICDL) certification for

high school students and workers

2. Education and training

34

• 300 online transactions with government • Integrated Platform of electronic services

• Route 5D :Broadband digital network for the public

sector

• Health: Digital network for the public health sector,

electronic medical appointment and electronic sick

leave

• To support the development and implementation of

municipal and regional e-government

3. Online Government

35

• Massive adoption of electronic invoice

• Consolidation and expansion of the use of Chilean Government Procurement Portal: Chilecompra

• Simplification and online installation of 80 business transactions

• Development of means of payment for e-trade and consolidation of Payments Portal of the Government

• Increased adaptation of ICT Promotion Instruments:

– Quality certification programs including ICT

– E-commerce Good Practice Certification (PROIT)

4. Digital Development for Business

36

• Certification of ICT Industry (ISO 9000 or CMM ): – To date more than 30 companies are in process of

certification– In 2006, 70% of ICT Associations’ companies

• To develop new ICT technologies for sectors with competitive advantages – i.g. Traceability agenda (Food industry)

• Increased promotion of ICT research and development (R&D).– Wireless Technology Innovation solutions contest– Innovation consortium of companies and Universities

• Promotion of the ICT industry export process– 2006 ICT promotion Export program

5. ICT Industry Take-off

37

5. ICT Industry Take-off

• High Tech attraction program– Valparaiso technological building– ICT Development Center at Valparaiso

• ICT Industry financing– Creation of a new venture capital fund

38

• To stimulate the use of electronic document and electronic

signature

• Implementation of electronic invoicing

• E-trade consumer rights

• Updating of legislation for protecting intellectual property

6. Legal Framework