ROLE OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATIONS IN SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT:
OUR EXPERIENCE
Sandro M. Radicella
Aeronomy and Radiopropagation
Laboratory
Technological innovation
Technological innovation is essential for
human development.
From the printing press to the computer,
people have devised tools for facilitating
learning and communication.
Technology is not inherently good or bad,
the outcome depends on how it is used.
Information and
communications technology
 Information and communications technology
(ICT) involves innovations in microelectronics,
computing (hardware and software), telecommunications and opto-electronics —microprocessors,semiconductors, fibre optics.
 These innovations enable the processing and
storage of enormous amounts of
information,along with rapid distribution of
information through communication networks.
The role of ICT
 It is accepted that telecommunication is a basic
infrastructure necessary for economic and social
development of a country.
 This is even becoming more strong than ever as
information related economic activities are
growing.
 Information and communications technology may
be described as the support of the central
nervous system of complex societies,
transmitting and processing information and
commands among the various parts of such
societies.
 Internet plays a fundamental function in ICT role
Benefits from ICT
Information and communications technology
carries on high promise both in human and
economic terms.
Benefits could be obtained in:
 Education
 Job training
 Health care
 Food security
 Environment management
 Government efficiency
And specifically in Science and Technology:
 Speed up dissemination of scientific results
world-wide through scientific knowledge
sharing and exchange
 Allows to set up of Virtual Labs for
communications and remote instrument control
Rapid evolution of ICT
 Predictions indicate the doubling of computing
power every 18 –24 months and the doubling of
communications power every 6 months. Both are
accompanied by huge reductions in costs and
massive increases in speed and quantity.
 In 2001 more information can be sent over
a single cable in a second than in 1997 was sent
over the entire Internet in a month.
Trends of ICT
Internet growth in developing
and emerging countries
The digital devide
The distribution of Internet
users show uneven
distribution in the world.
Connecting a major portion of
the population is a challenge
in developing regions .
Limitations are the outdated
public telephone network
and the arbitrary high cost of
the services.
To beat this problem,
solutions based on the most
advanced techniques but with
accessible costs have to be
devised. Radio technology
represents in many cases the
solution.
The Internet users distribution
Hope for the future
ICT and collaborative research
and innovation
 Thanks to ICT scientific research and innovation
—the original networked communication between
universities that allowed the birth of the
Internet —is increasingly collaborative between
institutions and countries.
 From 1995 –97, scientists in the United States
coauthored articles with scientists from 173 other
countries;scientists in Brazil with 114,in Kenya
with 81,in Algeria 59.13
A Premise for Action at the
Abdus Salam ICTP
The growth of the ICT poses the challenge of
providing developing countries with an adequate
way to be linked with the rest of the world to avoid
the risk of being cut out from main stream of
information flow.
The academic community is the obvious starting
point for these efforts that will permeate to the rest of
society.
It is recognized that the underlying problem is the
lack of sufficient well qualified human resources
able to handle the new systems and technologies.
The action at the Centre
•
•
This premise motivated the Abdus Salam
ICTP to carry out Intensive Training Activities
for participants from developing countries and
to establish a Programme of Training and
System Development on Networking and
Radiocommunications with the collaboration
of the United Nations University.
Both radio technology and computer
networking have been used to help building up
the ability of academic institutions in
developing countries to access ICT
Training Activities
(milestones)
•
1989 -1st College on Theoretical and Experimental
Radiopropagation Physics ( first of a series of biannual Colleges
on the same topic)
•
1991-2nd College on Theoretical and Experimental
Radiopropagation Physics ( with scientific and financial support
from URSI)
•
1993-3rd College on Theoretical and Experimental
Radiopropagation Physics ( first with financial support from URSI
and ITU/BDT)
•
1993 to 1996- Activities cosponsored with ITU/BDT
•
1997- ICTP-URSI-ITU/BDT Workshop on the use of Radio for
digital communications in developing countries
•
1998- 1st ICTP-URSI-ITU/BDT School on the use of Radio for
digital communications in developing countries ( its 5th yearly
edition in 2002)
The new Programme
The objective of the Programme of Training and
System Development on Networking and
Radiocommunications was to provide technical
assistance and training to academic and
scientific institutions in developing countries
requesting help to establish small area computer
networks and their connection to the Internet,
either directly or through national networks.
Main Projects in Africa
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pilot project: computer network for education and research at
the Obafemi Awolowo University of Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Successfully
completed by June 1996, with the use of spread spectrum radio
technology.
Intensive Training, in Trieste, with support of the World Bank, of
26 academic network managers and 16 network engineers
representing 26 Nigerian Universities, December 1996.
Follow up training activity for the NUNet of Nigeria in Ile-Ife and
Abuja, Nigeria, 6 - 27 October 1997. Staff from all the 40 Nigerian
Universities were trained in computer networking with the use of
radio links.
Workshop on the use of Radio for Computer Networking at the
University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 31 August - 11 September
1998. Supported also by the United Nations University (UNU) ,
the University of Cape Coast (UCC), and other local
organisations. A basic Radiocommunications Training
Laboratory has been implemented at the University of Cape
Coast for this purpose.
Training Activity on Networking and Radiocommunications in
Trieste,14 September- 4 December 1998,supported also by the
United Nations University . Participants were 14 scientists from
Nigeria (7), Morocco (3), Angola (1), Senegal (1), Cote d’Ivoire (1),
Projects in Romania
1.
2.
Pilot project for the establishment of a full Internet Connectivity
between the National Institute for Material Physics located at the
Magurele Physics Platform and the node of the Polytechnic
University of Bucharest, Romania , successfully carried out
during July 1997.
Seminar on Networking and Radiocommunication carried out in
Bucharest,Romania, 13-17 December 1999, co-Organized with
the University of Bucharest (CREDIS) and financed by the World
Bank.
Other activities
Since 2000 the group has been involved in
Training Activities and Technical Advise in the
use of radio for computer networking in
Benin, Peru, Romania, Sudan and
Venezuela.
The group created also the S&T Collaborium
Initiative.
Thank you for your attention