The Framework for the Development
of a National Information Infrastructure in Zambia  

Paper to the National Conference on Science and Technology in Zambia 26th - 30th August 1997    

  By Halwidi Cris Munyati munyatic@coppernet.zm
Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited
Computers and Communications Network Centre
Mutondo House P O Box 20172 Kitwe, Zambia
Tel: 260-2-245036
Fax: 260-2-245734

Introduction

The Information Age

The National Information Infrastructure

Framework for the Development of a National Information Infrastructure in Zambia

Conclusion

1. INTRODUCTION

Information Technology - a definition: Information Technology is the marriage of the computer and telecommunications technologies in all aspects relating to the capture, generation, processing, transmission, storage, output of data, voice and video.

Information Technology (IT) is today the driver industry of many economies in the world. This development is highlighted by the large investments of many governments in IT infrastructure; the large number of IT companies in the high growth rate bracket; the competitive advantages of most businesses that have successfully leveraged IT; and the growth of the Internet as an medium of communication and as an information resource.

"There are those who say the lack of economic development causes poor telecommunications. I believe they have it exactly backwards. A primitive telecommunications system causes poor economic development."

- US Vice President Al Gore

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2. THE INFORMATION AGE

At different times in history, there has been different drivers of industry. The United States, for instance, points to the railroads being the growth engine a century ago, manufacturing in the postwar decades and the service industry in the 1980s. Today in both the US and the rest of the world, it is computers, software, telecommunications i.e. IT. This era is the Information Age and it is envisioned to progress well into the next millennium.

Precipitation of the Information Age?

Information has always been a vital resource in every aspect of our lives. All our whole actions - from scratching one’s ear to signing a business contract to detonating the nuclear bomb - is the end product of receipt of information and its processing. In a competitive situation anyone that receives information earlier or has more information or more processing power has an advantage. This is the model of life.

However, the invention of the computer introduced an information processor that can provide additional processing power to that of the human mind. The invention of telecommunications increased - by distance and by speed - the ability of the humans to transmit information. The combination of the two inventions increased the availability of information. However, the high cost of computers and telecommunications equipment meant that the these benefits only accumulated to wealth nations.

The invention of the microprocessor in the seventies brought the computer industry to the point of critical mass and processors could now be mass produced, thus lowering the cost. The development also made it possible them to be embedded into tools and equipment economically, effectively introducing intelligence into tools and thus increasing productivity through automation. The Information Age was then set to dawn as we see it today.

The net effect of the I-Age is:

i) productivity/person has increased multi-fold because microprocessors embedded tools have increased output through automation.

ii) availability of information has increased through databases, telecommunication, satellite television broadcasting, etc.

iii) communication through e-mail has reduced communication costs; made communication more efficient; and made it easier and convenient by transcending time zones and introducing point-to-point communication.

iv) the Internet has provided the world with an unprecedented global, real-time information resource and a super-efficient medium of communication.

v) work has been reduced to one tool - a network Point of Access such as a PC, a notebook or a workstation.

We can conclude from the five points above that IT is intellectual capital intensive with information as a raw material, information which is now readily and timely available on the Internet. The Information Age, therefore, presents Zambia’s socioeconomic situation with an unprecedented opportunity to overcome its disadvantaged position of inadequate capital resources that are demanded by industries that have before been the economic drivers. Zambia and the rest of the developing world stand to gain, but only if the opportunity is timely seized.

The true impact of the information age is still grossly understated because the traditional economic indicators track such factors as goods but not flows of information. The US government for instance up to at least 1995 measured growth in the communications industry by minutes of telephone use. What this fails to track is factors such as growth in the traffic of fax and computer messaging through better modems that employ compression. If the output of the sector is measured in terms of data transferred instead of number of minutes, the growth would be more significant than official statistics show.

My proposal through this paper is a practical plan of how this country can harness Information Technology to create, immediately, evident and sustainable socioeconomic growth. This I believe can be achieved using some of the country’s existing resources and government policies by building them into a National Information Infrastructure (NII).

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3. THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The concept of a National Information Infrastructure originates from the United States initiative to harness the information revolution and it defines the NII as a seamless web computers, databases, communications networks and consumer electronics that would put vast amounts of information at users’ fingertips. The US also envisions a Global Information Infrastructure (GII) that bridges sovereign nations NIIs and is providing leadership through its seat on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in building it.

The NII includes more than the physical facilities used to transmit, store, process and display, voice data and images. It encompasses information conduits, information providers, information appliances and information consumers: optic fibre transmission lines, microwave networks, switches, satellites, cable, broadcasters, Internet Service Providers, content providers, telephones, cameras, scanners, keyboards, fax machines, video and audio tapes, computers, printers, education, health, business, entertainment and the rest of an expansive list.

The expansive list includes government policy, supporting infrastructure and human resource, regulatory framework, legislation, standards, social responsibility and the private sector’s role.

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4. THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN ZAMBIA

Albeit inadequate and in most cases using outdated technology, components of the NII in the form of semaphore services, infrastructure and policies are already in place in Zambia. This allows the building of the NII to start immediately. Every component must be developed and integrated under a deliberate national effort and common vision.

Agenda for Action:

  Policy and Steering
In the in immediate term, a nationally constituted NII Task Force should be put together to articulate the vision and provide leadership in the building of the NII. Its constitution should be drawn largely from the IT industry, but it must also include representatives from such sectors as private business, education, health, media, government, regulatory and professional bodies. In the longer term the task force would give way to a NII Council.

  Telecommunications Infrastructure

• Existing Infrastructure: most of Zambia’s telecommunications infrastructure remains under the monopoly of the state-owned ZAMTEL. The voice network is outstripped by demand and the quality of the service is poor; the infrastructure is inadequate for data or video. In order to utilise this existing infrastructure under the NII, privatisation of ZAMTEL should be made priority. Further, to privatise the company by region would encourage greater participation and competitiveness, with the offshoots of lower costs and greater efficiency. This would also address government concerns about the neglect of rural areas under the private sector.

• Investment in New Infrastructure: this should be encouraged by giving all incentives possible. Government should not expect to reap from the building blocks of an NII. The back leveled status of our communications technology should be taken advantage of by skipping whole generations of technology. Installation of an analogue cellular telephone system today, for instance, is a step backward that the NII Framework would not permit. Existing infrastructure such as the power grid network should be utilised to carry fibre optic cables. Zambia should use its membership of regional organisations such as SADC to lobby cooperative efforts in new areas of development such as launching communication satellites to service the region.

• Liberalisation and Deregulation: the NII‘s success depends on a liberalised and deregulated communications industry with a strong overseer body such as the Communications Authority (CA). The CA currently lacks strength. The CA should be given capacity by giving it more autonomy and seeking foreign expertise if need be. Such significant measures were taken to get the Zambia Revenue Authority up and running. It gives us a precedent that worked.

• Public Network Service: the lack of a public data service has led to a proliferation of private data networks by such institutions as the banks and ZCCM. The private sector should be encouraged to operate a public data service to let both the banks and the mines concentrate on core business. Existing private networks should considered for pooling into a public one. Alternatively private institutions with excess network capacity should be given incentives to offer the excess to the public or to schools and hospitals.

• Information Appliances (end-user devices): The information conduits have to be complemented by information appliances at the consumer end of the chain. To jump-start the NII, information appliances such as PCs, telephones handsets, satellite decoders, television sets, computer accessories, printers, cameras, etc. should abound the population. The proven way to achieve this is, as we saw happen to the transport sector following the demise of UBZ, an exemption of duty for a predetermined period. In the long term incentives for local assembly/manufacture of information appliances should be offered.

• Education and Training

The level of IT literacy in Zambia is very low. This is primarily due to the lack of IT curriculum in schools and colleges. While a few private schools have introduced computer studies, both universities are struggling to maintain IT curriculum. Many schools can hardly find funds for basic requirements such window panes, desks and books. In the case of IT, apart from the required investment in equipment the country does not have the required numbers of qualified IT teachers and lecturers as few qualified IT professionals are swallowed by industry.

The training of IT in schools is an important aspect of the development of the NII as it would churn out into industry an IT literate population. The IT curriculum at UNZA and CBU should not be allowed to die. It should be made possible for IT professionals in industry to be utilised to fill the gap in the numbers in schools and colleges. Similarly, to address the lack of equipment in schools, IT holiday camps where students can camp for a few weeks during holidays and undergo intensive IT training should be given serious consideration. This would produce higher literacy than the proliferation of introductory courses offered by many institutions and companies.

Industry, being the ultimate beneficiary of an IT literate work force should be encouraged to finance IT education. An immediately available source of revenue that could be used to finance IT education is that collected from levying the use of .zm Internet domain, a national asset currently accumulating revenue for other beneficiaries.

•   Open Standards

In order to achieve the desired ubiquity of the NII and the seamless integration required of the component conduits, appliances, providers and consumers of information, open standards (i.e. device and platform independent) should be adopted. The Zambian NII should adopt Internet based communications protocols and standards and make this its stand on the ITU for the basis of the GII.

Zambian professional and standards bodies should be strengthened to enhance quality and conformance.

•   Government’s Role

Government’s role is critical to the success of the building of an NII, as legislation and policies will have formulated within the framework our the vision of the NII. However, government must be won over and take leadership of building Zambia’s national information infrastructure. We should take a leaf from the United States where leadership for building the NII is provided by no less than President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

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5. CONCLUSION

• The NII should be steered to benefit the country’s priorities of health, education and the economy. Education for instance can immediately benefit from distance and lifelong learning; health from research and remote consultancy; and business from electronic commerce and timely business information.

• The NII can also be utilised to enhance democratic principals by empowering the population through interactive electronic communication and the provision of greater access to government information.

• Embracing IT through an NII gives Zambia as sure a goal as with Kalusha Bwalya unmarked in the 18-area!

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