AP Internet Growth Hindered by Digital Divide

Internet Development
Report of
Asia-Pacific 2016
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and their Challenges
Shreedeep Rayamajhi | Learn Internet Governance | Rayznews
Shreedeep@rayznews.com
February, 2017

1 | P a g e Internet Development Report of Asia Pacific 2016: Shreedeep Rayamajhi | Learn Internet
Governance |Rayznews
Contents
Abbreviation 2
Executive Summary: 3
Introduction: 4
Objectives: 5
Methodology: 6
Regional Internet Data of the World: 6
Internet Penetration rate in Asia Pacific Countries: 7
Facts about Asia-Pacific: 8
Key Internet Adoption Barriers in Asia Pacific: 9
Mobile Phone Internet User Penetration in Asia Pacific: 10
Reports and Data Published: 11
Problems and Challenges of Least Developed Countries: 15
Conclusion: 19
References: 20
Information about the Researcher: 21

Abbreviation
Asia Pacific AP
Information Communication Technology ICT
Internet Governance IG
Internet Governance Forum IGF
Least Developed Countries LDCs
Freedom of Expression FoE
Sustainable Development Goals SDGs
Gross Domestic Product GDP
United Kingdom U.K
Established Est.
Population Pop
Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP
Asia Development Bank ADB
Green House Gas GHG
International Telecommunication Union ITU
Management Information System MIS
Internet of Things IoT
Information Communication Technology for Development ICT4D
Machine-to-Machine M2M
Wireless Sensor Networks WSN
Multistakeholder Advisory Group MAG

Executive Summary:
Asia Pacific (AP) has been a major stakeholder when it comes to internet usage and new users. As we are
moving towards connecting the next billion, AP is also gearing up with its resources and infrastructure to
adjust and adopt to the forthcoming technology. With the buzz of new technologies like Internet of Things
(IoT) & 5G, Asia is struggling to adapt and migrate with a variation of tendency to lessen the gaps of net
neutrality and digital divide. The lack of cooperation and collaboration certainly seems to be a big
challenge but a major part of its economies are hit by standardization and lack of awareness issues. The
issues varies from access and communication of internet core values to gender gaps in remote and under
developed regions whereas there are issues of policy adaptation and open standards in developing and
least developed nations.
Yes, major part of the next billion is coming from AP where there are various economies that have various
internet practice and level of internet penetration rates. The key reason for people not able to connect to
Internet are structural inequalities in social living standards. It includes their level of income and education
which profoundly affects the way they process technology and its uses. Mostly likely the gender difference
and its inequality certainly put the position of women behind in AP region which is a more alarming and
cornering issue in Least Developed countries (LDCs). Many of the times, lack of infrastructure, relevant
online content and services and high relative costs of access are usually seen as major hindrances. But
majority of the countries are facing issues of policy and regulation and other adaptation issues. To be very
precise, the problem lacks within the reach of how the global world is moving towards creating new angles
of technology where the LDCs are wrongly interpreting the definition and policies.
Another aspect of its problem lies in its diversity as in most of the cases Asia-Pacific is represented in the
global hemisphere by few of the leading economies which results in lack of representation and
coordination. With such practice, the Internet governance process simply trickles down with gaps of
standardization and communication. Likewise, criminalization of Freedom of Expression (FoE) is yet
another issue which has been seen rising in LDCs where young people, journalist, leaders and activists
have been confined in the name of law.
The LDCs have no option, they follow the path of cooperation and collaboration. They are improvised of
infrastructure, policy, awareness and other standardization issue, according to the need of the developed
nation that caters the need as per their funding requirement. Some have access and some lack policy;
some have policy and some lack infrastructure. The variation of problems create a web of complexity
which are incomplete and alternating. Similarly, the role of government working as regulators leave no
option for other stakeholders to be suppressed and be victimized of externalities.
Apart from this, lack of proper leadership and capacity building in terms of Internet governance process
create a situation of chaos. The major problem in these lower economies can be listed as lack of awareness
of multistakeholder concept, awareness and capacity building and the current practice lack
standardization as a major obstacle.

Introduction:
AP is one of the biggest economical region and shares a unique social, cultural and historical background
different from rest of the World. From the last few decades, the Asian Pacific region has gone through
considerable changes in its socio-economic status. Information Communication Technology (ICT)
encompasses the broad fields of data/information processing, transmission and communications creating
better option of connecting the world through network, and technology. With the booming of economic
development and globalization, technologies are increasingly coming up with better prospect of
opportunity and lifestyle where internet has become an essential part of everyone’s life. Though this
prospect of the industry has been creating various options but due to lack of uniformity the people living
within the AP region are struggling to keep that up. The disparity of digital rights and access to technology
and service differentiate among various groups has indefinitely created a vast gap of technology where
countries are segregated among groups of:
 Developed Countries,
 Developing Countries,
 Least Developed Countries
Another aspect of the global understanding is only a very small percentage of the population is connected
to the technology and its governance process where majority of the LDCs and developing world are
affected by exclusion rather than inclusion.
According to internet statistics, “In 2014 nearly 75% (2.1 billion) of all internet users in the world (2.8
billion) live in the top 20 countries. The remaining 25% (0.7 billion) is distributed among the other 178
countries, each representing less than 1% of total users. China, the country with most users (642 million
in 2014), represents nearly 22% of total, and has more users than the next three countries combined
(United States, India, and Japan). Among the top 20 countries, India is the one with the lowest
penetration: 19% and the highest yearly growth rate. At the opposite end of the range, United States,
Germany, France, United Kingdom (U.K.), and Canada have the highest penetration: over 80% of
population in these countries has an internet connection. An Internet User is defined as an individual who
has access to the Internet at home, via computer or mobile device.”
The AP with its diversity and limitation has not been able to adjust to the rapid technological advancement
in communication technology and the accelerated governance process of the internet ecosystem.
The technological revolution has played a key role in creating a wide spread divide in the AP region. This
divide has further open the gap where people are segregated among the ones who have the access and
information with the rest who lacks such access and information. The difference of the both has been an
issue of creating a collaborative multistakeholder model giving more focus and at the same time it can be
the tool in addressing these challenges for lessening the gaps.
Most part of this region is limited to people who have access to quality Internet and services, but is still
an issue of governance where mobilization of technology is still market driven and its standardization is
majorly an issue of public debate which is inaccessible to LDCs and developing countries.

Objectives:
The basic objective of this research is to segregate the common knowledge and practice of internet
behavior in AP region and to highlight the current internet development process of AP.
Though there are various campaigns that are running around but there has been very less work done in
terms of understanding the knowledge and acceptability of new technology. Likewise, various issues of
open standards, cost, awareness and collaboration are majorly seen as a big hurdle for access and
communication. This report deals with the basic objective of understanding the development and growth
of Internet governance process in LDCs and developing countries. The objective can be listed in following
given points:
 Finding the new trend of internet users in AP region
 Internet usage ratio
 Problems and issues of connecting the next billion
 Highlighting the issues of internet politics
 Collaborative efforts and Effectiveness of stakeholders
 Data of internet users in AP
 Local assumption and practices of IG process
 Problems and issues of internet growth and development in AP
 General trend in understanding the internet user behavior
 Social indicators for internet penetration rate
 Lower economies and their presence
According to United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries
(UN-OHRLLS), The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) represent the poorest and weakest segment of
the international community. They comprise more than 880 million people (about 12 per cent of
world population), but account for less than 2 percent of world GDP and about 1 percent of global
trade in goods. The AP has 13 Least Developed countries
1. Afghanistan
2. Bangladesh
3. Bhutan
4. Cambodia
5. Kiribati
6. Lao People’s Democratic Republic
7. Myanmar
8. Nepal
9. Solomon Islands
10. Timor-Leste
11. Tuvalu
12. Vanuatu
13. Yemen

Methodology:
This report on Internet development in AP LDCs based on both qualitative and quantitative data and
information gathered from secondary sources. Secondary sources include worldwide websites and
printed materials developed by national departments and ministries, civil societies and international
development agencies.
Regional Internet Data of the World:
Source: Internet World Stats
The regional data and numbers clearly show the current internet configuration and ecosystem. As new
technologies are evolving, the dynamics of internet is also changing and challenging the policy makers for
creating better ICT development strategy. People every day are getting online to access the internet with
various applications and mode of operation. From socializing to business to education people are
increasingly using internet and technology. The reliance of people’s lifestyle has made various application
and smartphones an immense part of their lifestyle. The use of internet access differs substantially by a
number of key demographics, including age and education.
Apart from that various social media platform and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application have
increasingly got popular as communication medium that have given all age people the freedom to
communicate beyond borders. In most of the case especially in LDCs where people have migrated for
working opportunity , various VoIP apps and social media platform are profoundly use as a great mean of
cheap communication. Likewise, Viber VoIP app made possible free calls during the national disaster of
earthquake in Nepal in 2015 which has increased its popularity and use of such application at times of
need.
WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS
JUNE 30, 2016 - Update
World Regions
Population
(2016 Est.)
Population
% of World
Internet Users
30 June 2016
Penetration
Rate (% Pop.)
Growth
2000-
2016
Table
% Users
Asia 4,052,652,889 55.2 % 1,846,212,654 45.6 % 1,515.2% 50.2 %
Europe 832,073,224 11.3 % 614,979,903 73.9 % 485.2% 16.7 %
Latin America /
Caribbean
626,119,788 8.5 % 384,751,302 61.5 % 2,029.4% 10.5 %
Africa 1,185,529,578 16.2 % 340,783,342 28.7 % 7,448.8% 9.3 %
North America 359,492,293 4.9 % 320,067,193 89.0 % 196.1% 8.7 %
Middle East 246,700,900 3.4 % 141,489,765 57.4 % 4,207.4% 3.8 %
Oceania /
Australia
37,590,820 0.5 % 27,540,654 73.3 % 261.4% 0.8 %
WORLD TOTAL 7,340,159,492 100.0 % 3,675,824,813 50.1 % 918.3% 100.0 %

Internet Penetration rate in Asia Pacific Countries:
Source: Internet Live Stats
The Data clearly shows the exponential trend of LDCs which are currently trying to evolve but with limited
resources and infrastructure, they are struggling to adopt to the technological revolution.
Though development and growth has been phenomenal as compared to the last decade but on the same
there has been an issue of acceptance of open standards in LDCs. The lack of knowledge and technical
support has created barriers for such countries in adoption of standardization in internet governance
process which not only effective the nation at individual level but it has a drastic effect in the overall
internet ecosystem.
S.No Country Internet Users
(2016)
Penetration
(% of Pop)
Population
(2016)
Non-Users
(internetless)
1 China 721,434,547 52.2 % 1,382,323,332 660,888,785
2 India 462,124,989 34.8 % 1,326,801,576 864,676,587
3 Japan 115,111,595 91.1 % 126,323,715 11,212,120
4 Indonesia 53,236,719 20.4 % 260,581,100 207,344,381
5 Viet Nam 49,063,762 52 % 94,444,200 45,380,438
6 Mongolia 1,069,693 35.6 % 3,006,444 1,936,751
7 Philippines 44,478,808 43.5 % 102,250,133 57,771,325
8 South Korea 43,274,132 85.7 % 50,503,933 7,229,801
9 Pakistan 34,342,400 17.8 % 192,826,502 158,484,102
10 Thailand 29,078,158 42.7 % 68,146,609 39,068,451
11 Papua New Guinea 906,695 11.7 % 7,776,115 6,869,420
12 Malaysia 21,090,777 68.6 % 30,751,602 9,660,825
13 Australia 20,679,490 85.1 % 24,309,330 3,629,840
14 Sri Lanka 6,087,164 29.3 % 20,810,816 14,723,652
15 Maldives 198,071 53.6 % 369,812 171,741
16 Samoa 56,373 29 % 194,523 138,150
17 Tonga 49,822 46.6 % 106,915 57,093
18 Sao Tome and Principe 49,686 25.6 % 194,390 144,704
19 Marshall Islands 10,709 20.2 % 53,069 42,360
20 Afghanistan 2,279,167 6.8 % 33,369,945 31,090,778
21 Bangladesh 21,439,070 13.2 % 162,910,864 141,471,794
22 Bhutan 289,177 36.9 % 784,103 494,926
23 Cambodia 1,756,824 11.1 % 15,827,241 14,070,417
24 Kiribati 14,724 12.9 % 114,405 99,681
25 Laos 1,087,567 15.7 % 6,918,367 5,830,800
26 Myanmar 1,353,649 2.5 % 54,363,426 53,009,777
27 Nepal 4,962,323 17.2 % 28,850,717 23,888,394
28 Solomon Islands 58,423 9.8 % 594,934 536,511
29 Timor-Leste 14,030 1.2 % 1,211,245 1,197,215
30 Vanuatu 82,764 30.6 % 270,470 187,706

Facts about Asia-Pacific:
 In Asia and the Pacific, 330 million people still live in less than $1.90 a day.
 Roughly 300 million people in Asia and the Pacific live without safe drinking water.
 Nine in ten people now have access to electricity in Asia and the Pacific.
Other Key Facts:
 Approximately 1.2 billion people in Asia and the Pacific are below the poverty line of $3.10 (2011
PPP) a day.
 About 1.5 billion lack access to proper sanitation.
 Broadband internet subscriptions increased in 45 out of 47 reporting economies between 2000 and
2015, but 58% of the region’s population remains unconnected to the internet.
 The GDP share of manufacturing increased in 16 out of 48 ADB member countries from 2000 to
2015.
 In nearly three-quarters of the economies of Asia and Pacific, the service sector accounts for more
than 50% of GDP based on latest data.
 Asia and the Pacific generated two-fifths of global GDP (in 2011 purchasing power parity terms) in
2015.
 There are remarkable disparities across economies: In 2011 purchasing power parity terms,
Singapore’s per capita GDP is 44 times that of Solomon Islands.
 The region accounts for roughly 45% of global energy use according to latest available data.
 Over the past decade, the region’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew faster than the global
average.
 Government spending on health as a percentage of GDP has increased in about two-thirds of the
region’s economies since 2000.
 The average number of days required to start a business in developing Asia and the Pacific declined
from 45 days in 2005 to 20 days in 2015.
Source: ADB

Key Internet Adoption Barriers in Asia Pacific:
Although Asian economy boomed in the last two decades but there are cultural, social and economic
barriers in developing and least developed economies. The infrastructure, Policy, and other social issues
like gender, digital divide, & other open standards issues are still a question of concern. A very low
percentage of people in remote area have access and comparing it with women than it’s negligible. The
social and the cultural aspect of lack of awareness of gender digital divide and women who are involved
with ICT services certainly make a huge impact of how and where the ICT revolution is going throughout
the AP region.
Similarly, the ITU, Connecting the Un-connected states the Africa and Asia-Pacific are still faced with
most significant challenges in overcoming Internet adoption barriers. Africa still faces challenges in
relation to all Internet adoption barriers, including affordability and relevance, capability and
infrastructure. Africa is the region with the highest rural population at 62%. It also shows the lowest
levels of income and education as well as the highest Internet usage gender gap. Asia-Pacific also still
faces significant Internet adoption barriers. The key barriers are relevance, infrastructure (particularly in
rural areas and island nations) and affordability/low income. Moreover, Asia-Pacific has a relatively large
gender gap. While at the country level there is very high variability in the data for a range of ICT
indicators, women fare poorly across almost all regions and development levels: the GSMA estimates
that 1.7 billion women in low- and middle income countries do not own mobile phones and women are
on average 14% less likely than men to own a mobile phone. In terms of access, women are 50% less
likely than men in the same age group and at similar education and income levels to be connected to the
Internet than men. The key socio-economic drivers of Internet access for women are education and age.
In terms of use, women are half as likely to speak out online and a third less likely to look for work than
men. In this regard, the A4AI Affordability Report highlights lack of know-how and technical literacy, as
well as the high costs to connect as the key reasons for not being online for women who live in urban
areas. The MIS 2016 Report highlights a persistent gender gap in relation to Internet use, which is
largest and has widened between 2013 and 2016 in Africa (from 20.7% to 23%) and the Arab States
(from 19.2% to 20%).

Mobile Phone Internet User Penetration in Asia Pacific:
This statistic gives information on the mobile internet penetration in AP from 2014 to 2019. In 2015,
49.8 percent of mobile phone users accessed the internet from their mobile phone. This figure is
expected to grow to 57.2 percent in 2018.
Source: © Statista 2017
Mobile broadband connections accounted for 45% of the total connections base in Asia Pacific by the
end of 2015, a figure forecast to rise to 70% by 2020. There has been a dramatic shift in the technology
splits from 2010 (when 2G accounted for well over 80% of connections) to 2015, when the share of
2G has reduced to 55%. 4G is forecast to more than double its share of connections to 37% by 2020,
as operators continue to invest in 4G network build-outs and subscribers migrate to higher speed
networks. The number of smartphone connections in Asia Pacific totaled 1.7 billion at the end of 2015,
accounting for 45% of total connections in the region. China, India and Indonesia have been the main
drivers of growth, helping the region double its overall smartphone base over the last two years.
The region will add a further 1.3 billion smartphone connections by 2020, reaching a total of more
than 3 billion, or two-thirds of the region’s total connections base by that date.
Source: GSMA

Reports and Data Published:
Internet has become one of the most powerful medium of communication and networking. Within 2017
we will be connecting the 4 billion but still in major parts of the world, internet and its rights are majorly
limited within people of developed nations only. There is a huge confusion about internet rights and
core values where in major part of AP region lacks standardization and human rights issues top the
chart. Whether you talk about policy making and leadership still today the voices of diversity are
marginalized and are out of reach due to many reasons. Some of the international organizations
working in the field of core issues of research have highlighted few of the issues below:
The Broadband Catalyzing Sustainable Development report launched by the Broadband
Commission for Sustainable Development on 15 September 2016 states that global broadband
connectivity shows strong growth, with 300 million more people connected in 2016 than in 2015,
putting the number of people online by the end of 2016 to 3.5 billion. However, more than half the
world’s population (some 3.9 billion people) remains offline. The report highlights that offline
populations, who are now found in more remote, rural areas, consist disproportionately of poorer,
minority, less educated, and often female, members of society. The report traces the progress
made towards achieving the Broadband Commission’s targets for broadband. Progress has been
mixed. There has been good progress made towards the first target on National Broadband Plans
and policy-making and also on the affordability of broadband access (second target). The
Commission’s target 3 on household Internet access and 4 on Internet access in Least Developed
Countries will be achieved outside of the original time frame. Regrettably, there is a retrogression
for the fifth target calling for gender equality in access to broadband Internet. The overall Internet
user gender gap grew by 1% between 2013 and 2016, with still 202 million fewer women than men
owning a mobile phone in 2016.
The report also explores promising new uses and applications of ICTs for development (ICT4D),
including mobile, satellite, the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivity
and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). This serves as a reminder that new technologies and
broadband can play a vital role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Focusing on the development of the ICT sector and the possibilities the World Bank released its
annual World Development Report (WDR) 2016 -“Digital Dividends”. The report basically highlights
how the Internet can be a force for development, especially for the poor in developing countries.
While the report documents many profound and transformational effects of digital technology, it
finds that the broader benefits have fallen short and are unevenly distributed.
The report argues that to ensure that everyone benefits, technology adoption will not be enough.
Countries will need to address the “analogue components”, for example by strengthening
regulations enabling firms to connect and compete, adapting worker’s skills to the demands of the
new economy, and ensuring that institutions are accountable.

According to the human rights group Freedom House, Global Online Freedom 2016, it has been on a
steady decline over the past six years. Two-thirds of all internet users “live in countries where criticism
of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship.” The organization’s researchers
also found dramatic growth in the number of countries that “required private companies or internet
users to restrict or delete web content dealing with political, religious, or social issues”.
Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year.
 Two-thirds of all internet users — 67 percent — live in countries where criticism of the
government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship.
 Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests
based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 percent of all internet users live in
countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely “liking” content
on Facebook.
 Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which
can spread information quickly and securely.
The Internet Society has come out with its latest edition of Global Internet Report 2016 which focuses
on the evolution and growth of the Internet. It specifically highlights large-scale data breaches,
uncertainties about the use of our data, cybercrime, surveillance and other online threats are eroding
trust on the Internet. According to the report, "An instructive parallel can be drawn with efforts to
increase automobile safety over the past 50 years. With the advancement of Internet of Things (IoT)
Autonomous cars will, of course, be controlled by a computer, and have communications built-in to
communicate with the owner, and possibly with other vehicles for safety. As a result, of course, the
computer can be hacked remotely, as already seen with the Chrysler Jeep. This can lead to a significant
breach of data about the location and activities of drivers, not to mention the possibility of one or
more cars being hacked and taken over. More broadly, many of our recommendations are valid for
preventing or mitigating breaches of the full range Internet of Things devices. Not just for the data they
are gathering with their sensors, but also for a security breach leading to personal or public safety
risks, with autonomous cars a leading example of the risks. As such, we encourage the application of
the findings of our report to the relevant issues arising from the Internet"

IGF 2016 Attendance & Program Statistics: The Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance
Forum (IGF 2016) took place in Jalisco, Mexico, from 6 to 9 December 2016. The meeting was
attended by more than 2 000 onsite participants, from 123 countries, representing all stakeholder
groups and regions. 45 remote hubs were organized around the world, with 2 000 stakeholders
participating online. The largest number of online participants came from the following countries:
United States, Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil, India, Cuba, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Tunisia and
Argentina.
According to ITU, CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED, “To-date, 53% of the world’s population is still
not using the Internet4. Research undertaken by ITU into the online and offline population shows
that four-fifths of the offline population are located in Asia-Pacific and in Africa. While absolute
numbers of offline individuals at a regional level show that Asia-Pacific bears the lion’s share, it is
Africa that exhibits the greatest connectivity shortfall when examining the proportion of population
that is not online. When grouping countries by their level of development5, the greatest connectivity
shortfall is exhibited in Least Developed Countries (“LDCs”), where 85% of
the population is still offline set against only 22% in Developed Countries.”

The potential use of ICTs in remote, low income communities creating better opportunity has always been
prioritized in various development plans and projects. The basic problem that has been seen is
technology-enabled 'solutions' are those that are imported and 'made to fit' into what are often much
more challenging environments. The social economical status and the effectivness of local resource and
knowldeged have been ignored where issues of human rights, gender equality and internet core values
challenge the operation, creating gaps of governance process.
The localization of internet goveranace process needs to be incorporated from developing basic core
values to establishing social equatiable values of gender equality to creating better value for human
growth and development. Each step has to be coordinated considering the larger picture of the global
development rather than showcasing a weak plan of compomised set of goals.
The focus on skills development and awareness has to be more concentrated where it needs to be
prioritized with local intervention and knowledge development process. Migration of foreign expertise
and knowledge without the adaptation process simply creates gaps and misinterpretation. These gaps can
harvest extreme externalities which can be further developed into issues of alarming course of
technological divide.
AP region has been very vulnerable in terms of disaster and diversity. The prospect of creating and
developing set of values for the proper growth and development has been a continuous work in view of
adaptation and discourse of policy and open standards that are just passed on without priority of
mitigation process. But the limitation of using foreign set of value is not a wise idea. To understand Asia
we need Asian set of value and Asian leaders to rise with the core issues and problems. Internet
governance process demands the different set of understanding and research for the diversity and beliefs
we have. Even during 2016 the world saw a Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as
authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Criminalization
of FoE has been a major issues where LDCs and Developing countries are still struggling to accept values
of open standards.
Yes, technology can be a solution but we need proper core values to guide us and leadership to drive
technology through the road of development and growth. With all the economical difference we need a
collaborative approach of creating better understanding of technology and its uses.
The current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes the importance of integrating economic,
social and environmental within a comprehensive global approach which needs collaboration from all
sides. The Goals provide a unique opportunity for enhancing the role of ICTs leveraging the gaps creating
better means of empowerment and leadership opportunity among various stakeholders and agencies in
the region.
The prospect of LDCs are more significant in every terms of benefiting from the SDGs intervention where
we have already seen the issues of affordable and universal access to ICTs and broadband connectivity.
This needs to be driven by local resources and knowledge grooming at grassroots level.

Problems and Challenges of Least Developed Countries:
More than half of the planet’s population lives in AP and six of the 10 largest countries of the world are in
the AP region. Most importantly the region is playing an increasingly imperative role in the global economy
of innovation and technology. But when we look at internet development and cooperation the growth
and development fluctuates drastically according to countries. It’s high time when we move towards
identifying the key indicators and work towards development and collaboration. During the research we
identified few of the things that has been challenging AP leaders in voicing their issues and representation
of LDCs. This includes wide range of issues from social economical to cultural to political to utilization
resources to technology to policy which are more dependent upon economy and their practices. The
major challenges are listed below:
1. Diversity: AP has a wide variety of people, culture and economy that range hugely upon its
demographic and its territory. The different people practice different set of cultural values and
traditions which result in lack of understanding and interpretations. Standardization is a major
problem especially in terms of human rights and other technical issues. Diversity comes as a
challenges in terms of language and core values where there are issues of acceptance of open
standards and policies.
2. Gender issue: In AP region there is a huge gender gap where Women’s connectivity even to the
available ICT services, facilities and infrastructure is mediated by various factors, which include
their social and economic positions geographical locations. Gender perspective in ICT sector is a
major challenge as there are growing concerns about deeper and wider exclusion of women in
this region with further growth of the industry. Similarly, Women have relatively little ownership
and decision-making authority in ICT sector. Women are underrepresented in decision making
positions.
3. Lack of Infrastructure: As mentioned above, being the biggest and having the most of the
population in the region. AP has a wide variety of terrain which has issues of poverty and open
standards. The governing countries follow their own set of laws and policies. Most of these
economies are economically challenged where basic infrastructure at times is a question of
priority. Apart from this most of the countries in the AP are struggling to adopt the new
technology due to their high cost and ambition. The technologies have been passed on but the
relative knowledge and core values are struggling to facilitate the national internet governance
process.
4. Cost of internet: Cost of Internet has been a major cause of how and why the reach has been so
limited in AP. In most of the cases mobile internet are very expensive and their quality of service
and data flow is highly questionable. It’s either very costly or very questionable of monopoly
situation. Broadband has a limited reach and expanding but it has its cost with all the resources
and technology used.
5. Cyber Security and Extremism: Cyber security and Extremism may seem to be different topic but
looking at the current vulnerability and situation, Asia Pacific needs focused awareness program
in context of how we are planning to deal with such issues. As the LDCs and Developing countries
are vulnerable to policy and other counter mechanism they are prune to issues of falling prey to
Extremism. Technology of today is not only has lessen the barriers of communication and

geography but on the same it also poses a huge threat of issues of discrimination and cyber
terrorism.
6. Awareness at various level: When we talk about awareness, there is a vast level of knowledge
and expertise required not just from technical point of view but from local level. Awareness
campaigns have been running since past few years but it lacks focus in terms of how it penetrates
people and their living attitude. Reality is awareness campaigns are just limited to reports and
videos where the projects sustainability is majorly compromised. The campaigns are targeted to
focused group which limits the reach and cooperation. AP has become a ground for developing
organization as a funding field in both ways of earning and spending funds.
7. Low representation of minority groups: When it comes to representation most of the times the
fellowships and memberships are prioritized by developing nations representatives and mostly
upon networks. A great deal of politics goes around for promoting few people involved in the
internet organization who travel in the name of developing world. These people are frequent
common face who rule in major civil society organization and Internet community organization.
Another aspect of the game is in most of the regional forum, Asia is represented by developed
and developing states where the least developed nation have no voice
8. Criminalization of FoE: Social media is evolving as the next biggest thing of the century. All age
people and groups use it in various ways to express themselves. Some use it personally, some
professionally and some use it just for the sake of it. No matter how people use social media, its
popularity is growing due to its accessibility, openness and flexibility. In such scenario
Criminalization of freedom of expression is yet another problem that is evolving and is an issue of
study and discussion. Especially in developing countries and LDCs due to lack proper policies and
mechanism, the law is being misinterpreted in creating various unwanted situations. Law can be
used in and against where manipulation and understandability plays a crucial role in maintaining
standardization. Standardization of basic core values of society has been chartered by various
international laws in securing basic rights of every individual which cannot be contested.
9. Internet Politics and Network: Internet of toady has fully grown to an opportunity and with the
booming prospect. The community level organization which are working towards developing next
generation leaders are more focused towards saving their own candidates for coming position
and in the name of multistakeholder process selected people are given the opportunity
highlighting favoritism and nepotism. The concept of Multistakeholderism has simply been used
by powerful people who fails to cooperate and collaborate the issues of transparency and
accountability at national and regional level.
10. Developed Mentality: This is more of a common problem in the Internet Governance Process
where the developed world fails to see the remaining. It is a simple attitude of generalizing the
situation and looking at the whole Asia within the parameter of standard value. With the diversity
and range of economies, we have variety of issues, within the same country and different opinions
and set of standards and belief. Most of the ICT-driven economic and social changes privilege
people who are already in better position. Most of the economic growth has been uneven and
concentrated in urban location within the countries.

11. Lack of effective awareness program: From the past and present a lot of awareness programs
have been running. The programs are limited within the project period till the time it is funded.
As soon as the funding is over things stop. This has been a major issues especially regarding the
sustainability and impact. The funding organization are also more report focused and the projects
are also funding focused so it simply works to create a limitation within the community.
12. Role of Government: Technology has always been a big challenge for the Governments of AP as
the region is working towards finding solution for stable economy. The government has to be
more focused and strategic about the new technology, its investment and impacts. Though there
has been significant development and awareness campaign but in majority of the countries of the
AP the government simply plays the role of a regulator which at times hinders the overall process
of internet Governance. As such it should be strengthening the overall governance process by
playing the facilitating role where it simply creates obstruction in the name of social welfare. The
transitions of role of government from regulator to facilitator is significant in creating a true
multistakeholder environment where values and peoples voices can be addressed.
13. Role of Media: The new technologies are more efficient and smart in terms of reaching people
within the shortest time, media still has a defining role to disseminate information and
communications among the public in developing and least developed countries. The new
technologies are possibilities of allowing interesting social opportunities from peer
communications, easy content management and dissemination, storage, low-cost reproduction,
manipulation and distribution of information but the role of tradition media are also immense
due to its reach and collaboration of social development and geographic territory. Especially in
AP where majority of the population is illiterate and Poverty strives as huge concern, the role and
objective of Media is very strong. Media has always been a definite stakeholder in terms of society
and public policy. Its scope and objectives are not just limited to its work periphery but it acts as
an immense part of society that is responsible for creating better values of social welfare and
development. Looking at its growth from traditional approach to the current use of technology,
media has been very comfortable in terms of migration and adaptation but when it comes to
leading the issues and problems of internet governance, media slides back in a lame role of
providing support for the dialogue process.
14. Multistakeholderism, its interpretation and adaptation: AP is a big region with various
economies. Open standards has always been a great challenge where it is interpreted in the
desired way. Similarly, multistakeholder also has its own ways of interpretation. Especially in AP
region multistakeholder is a coordinated effort of selecting multiple stakeholders without the
freedom and acceptance of open call and transparency. A major challenge is Multistakeholder
also represent transparency and open system which is hugely compromised at times.
15. Report Mentality: This is one of the major problem of the development community where
funding are done for various capacity building, awareness and further other organization but with
the limitation of time and strategic direction internet community organization are limited to
reports and updates. The program or project runs till the time there is funding and as soon as the
funds are cut off, everything stops.

16. Limitation of network and collaboration: The internet events and world works with the dynamics
of network communication. If you do not have the right channel then even a right person in left
behind. It’s a very sad situation but various user groups and communities are establish to promote
self-ideologies and strategies. Looking at bigger picture even in the IGF process the participation
and limitation of MAG membership from least developed countries has been to a minimum.
17. Cooperation and collaboration of internet organizations: Looking at the current funding capacity
of internet organization it seems very hard how and why, the target group of people are not being
reached or why the awareness programs are not successful. The recent SDGs and other funding
options are working individually which results in major of the funding option available for only
one issues or most of the organization are working in the same field. More collaboration and
cooperation is required in a regional and strategic option where there needs to be a map and
goals needs to be set up.
18. Internet still governed by technical community: Still today in most parts of the Asian Pacific
countries internet is still considered to be managed within the technological community only.
There seems to be no scope for open standards and highlights a limitation of public governance
in the name of cooperation and collaboration. The limitation of collaboration and cooperation
creates a very narrow path for standardization and collaboration.
19. Lack of standardization and identification of internet core values: Standardization is a major
challenge in lower economies and their adaptation process. There is a big gaps in adaptation of
internet core values and these economies are adapting new technologies creating a situation of
vulnerability and chaos.
20. Lack of transparency and accountability: Multistakeholder has been the key word for the Internet
Governance process but the basic core values of Multistakeholderism are transparency and
accountability. One thing we have to understand is multistakeholderism is a process that is driven
by the transparency and accountability. No matter how multistakeholder a process is if there is
no transparency and accountability, it’s not a multistakeholder process.

Conclusion:
The next billion is certainly joining the internet and its coming from the AP region. With this reality we
have to accept that still today the vast majority of populations are still deprived of basic rights. Given the
absence of basic infrastructure, cheaper technology, knowledge, ICT skills and dominance of English as
medium of navigation and content, a significant portion of peoples in the AP are deprived of their internet
rights. These obstacles pose more hinder for people living in LDCs particularly in rural areas in term of
reaping benefiting from ICTs since they are more likely to be facing challenges of education and gender.
Even when they are literate they lack necessary literacy and hold lesser economic power to be engaged
in ICT related professions and occupations.
The recommendation are listed below:
1. Further aggressive awareness & capacity campaigns are needed in terms of least developing
countries of AP Region
2. Developing nation and contemporary economies need to be segregated and separated from
lower economies
3. Problems and issues of minority groups and least developed nation needs to be highlighted
with effective promotion of knowledge, awareness and opportunity
4. More fellowship in context of Internet governance forum (IGF) should be granted to lower
economies
5. Internet organization needs to focus better strategic and policy aspects for least developed
countries
6. Various internet governance process and mechanism needs to target specific groups
7. Effective planning and research need to be set-up for AP region
8. Social media intervention are highly recommended
9. Better research and surveys are required
10. Multistakeholder and Open standards integration for LDCs and Developing states
11. SDGs needs an open and collaborative approach for technological sharing and development
12. Open internet governance process like Internet Governance Forum needs strategic
intervention for LDCs in AP region
13. The growing trend of awareness of extremism and online security of countering cyber
terrorism needs specific planning and strategies
A multistakeholder environment means not just the encouragement of equality, cooperation and
collaboration but on the same it focuses better integration of safeguarding people’s rights and
responsibilities with a globalized economy and participation. Technology should be adopted not just as a
limitation, but to provide the most appropriate governance solution. If you compare and look at the
current numbers and trends in AP, over one billion people live in extreme poverty, and 75 percent of these
are in rural areas where they have no access to basic facilities and rights.
Within Asia, 40 percent of the population lives with incomes below US$2 per day. In this context, the
reach and access of people living below the poverty line and their rights are not just subjected to questions
but it highlights the current governance process of how we can integrate to create a better governance
process. Multistakeholder or representation of such groups can be an effective possibility of growth and
development where Internet represents a new age of development and growth.

References:
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annualreport2016.pdf
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http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2016-attendance-programme-statistics
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https://digitalwatch.giplatform.org/processes/sustainable-development-goals
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WDR2016Overview-ENGLISH-WebResBox-394840B-OUO-9.pdf
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wnload
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net/freedom-net-2016
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tech/news/nepal-earthquake-viber-re-opens-free-call-service-after-country-hit-by-another-
tremor-10245115.html
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http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Mobile Internet Usage Trends in Asia-Pacific. (2016, February). Retrieved from Internet Society :
https://www.internetsociety.org/sites/default/files/Mobile%20Internet%20Usage%20Trends%2
0in%20Asia-Pacific.pdf
Philbeck, I. (2017). CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED Working together to achieve. Davos Annual
Meeting 2017.
Rayamajhi, S. (2015, November). Developing nation and their challenges. Retrieved from
http://www.shreedeeprayamajhi.com.np/2015/11/developing-nation-and-their-challenges.html
Rayamajhi, S. (2016, December). Role of Media in Internet Governance Process. Retrieved from
Rayznews: http://www.rayznews.com/role-of-media-in-internet-governance-process/
Sanja Kelly, M. T. (2016). Freedom on the Net 2016. Retrieved from
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2016

Society, I. (2015, 06). The Internet and Sustainable . Retrieved from
https://www.internetsociety.org/sites/default/files/ISOC-ICTs-SDGs-201506-1.pdf
Society, I. (2016, November). Retrieved from Global Internet Report :
https://www.internetsociety.org/globalinternetreport/
Statista. (n.d.). Mobile Penetration Data Prediction . Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/201232/forecast-of-mobile-internet-penetration-in-asia-
pacific/
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users-by-country/
UNDP. (2016). Retrieved from Human Development Index Report 2016:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/national-human-development-report-2016
Information about the Researcher:
Shreedeep Rayamajhi
Link: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shreedeep_Rayamajhi_(activist)
Email: shreedeep@rayznews.com | rayamajhishreedeep@gmail.com
Website: http://www.internetgovernancediplomacy.blogspot.com/
Learn Internet Governance (Learn IG)
Link: http://learninternetgovernance.blogspot.com/
Learn Internet Governance is a Collaborative Community Development Program (CCDP) which focuses
on using local resources, knowledge and best practice to reach out to the public. It is an open knowledge
sharing platform creating better learning opportunity.
Rayznews
Link: http://www.rayznews.com/
RayZnews is an Internet Organization based in Nepal that lobbies the un-heard voices of people and
caters a wide variety of news happening globally. We believe in featuring or highlighting stories and
voices against censorship, impunity, injustice, human rights, FoE issues, Gender Equality, Digital rights,
open standard etc. Our mission is to raise awareness and to help people understand their digital rights
in highlighting DIGITAL EQUALITY wherever necessary.
http://www.rayznews.com/documents-research-paper/

AP Internet Growth Hindered by Digital Divide

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