Consolidating external ICT environment

Above all else, it's about getting everyone plugged in. It is important to run initiatives to make sure no one is left unconnected to the Internet through no fault of their own.

Whether it be that they never had a chance to learn how to use a computer, or whether they never really thought it was worth the cost of having one or to use one that is available in the city centre, it is important that the mission of inclusion hands to just about everyone the key to get in.

But what happens once everyone does get in? Will there be enough room for everyone? The disappointment of a new Internet convert who goes through the huge effort of trying it out for the first time and finding there is no room after all for him or her, must cause irrecoverable damage.

Much is said about the fact that Internet has made our island status and the size of our own home market irrelevant. The potential for growth, it is said, is immeasurable.

But to use Internet to defeat the physical barriers that have always held us back, some more physical barriers need to be defeated. Internet needs to be carried over physically to Malta through physical infrastructure that wires us with the rest of the world. It is not all in the air.

The seas must still be crossed by a well maintained road of fibre optic cable that is wide enough for all the new traffic that decides to go through it. Preferably, there should be more than one road. Traffic jams on the one we have are not unheard of and the consequences of a complete breakdown on the single route we all have to go through would be unimaginable.

The other physical reality we have to face up to is the fact that, however connected, we are politically and technologically with the rest of the world there are market realities conditioned by the small size of the population.

The rules of open competition and market freedom for operators in the telecommunications business are by all means desirable and beneficial.

However, special care must be taken, perhaps even more than in larger markets in other countries, to keep religiously by those rules. Any rough elbowing by one, or worse, a group of operators, against the others is bound to have irreparable costs to the consumer before anything much can be done about it.

The Maltese, ever aware of one of the scarcest and most precious resource in a sea-locked, dry island, have an uncanny saying: do not pollute the water from which you must drink. This would sound almost obvious, except that when there is very little water, competition for it is tough and can at times become mean.

There is very little water which we all must make the best of, and the market and physical realities of our countries are there to stay. There is of course much that can be done for all these competitors and players in the business to pull on the same rope and work in their collective interest, and more importantly in our view, in the interest of their consumers.

Working together we should be able to regulate ourselves to reduce waste of resources to increase the supply in terms of space on the digital road that connects us with the rest of the word: above all, invest in a future where all Maltese find their own space in the information society.

The physical limitations are by no means insurmountable. What would be insurmountable, are the consequences of not having dealt effectively with these limitations even at this early stage.

Government and the telecommunications and Internet industries must work together to make sure that when the rest of the Maltese knock on the digital door they can truly enjoy a complete online experience.

This is one of the 13 objectives of the National ICT Strategy for the coming three years. Anyone wishing to learn more can download a complete copy of the strategy from www.miti.gov.mt