DOT Force : Final Report of Team 2: Access and Connectivity
Canada 01 July 2002
 
The implementation team of the Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) dealing with Action Point 2, to improve connectivity, increase access and lower costs, presented its final report to the G8 summit in Kananaskis (Canada) from 25 – 28 June 2002. Created in the fourth quarter of 2000, the DOT Force set for itself certain Action Points, and within an Implementation Framework established a team for each point (see [ilink=http://www.ictdevagenda.org/frame.php?dir=07&sd=10&sid=1&id=49]DOT Force and the Genoa Plan of Action[endilink]).

‘Achievements:

The Access and Connectivity team concentrated on projects that have the greatest potential for least developed countries. The team believes that newer projects that are open to multi-donor input and support might have more potential for development impact. The Access and Connectivity team is committed to launching three new projects:

1) Telecentre Helpdesk: A joint IDRC-IICD project that will work to facilitate and catalyse the sharing and exchange of skills by telecentre operators from the public, private and non-profit sectors.

2) Community Access Centres Network (ADEN): The objectives are to lower the cost of internet by raising the IP demand and encourage the better use of the international bandwidth. The main geographic focus of this project is French-speaking Africa.

3) Catalysing Access to ICT's in Africa (CATIA): CATIA has several objectives including support for key organizations influencing regulatory policy in the telecommunications and Internet sectors and CATIA will also encourage private/public partnership activities that facilitate low cost Internet access opportunities across Africa.’

Resources:

The full text of the final report of Team 2 is published by DOT Force at http://www.dotforce.org

The members of Team 2 were:

Chairs:
- Government of France
- International Development Research Centre

Members:
- Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation
- European Commission
- Government of Canada
- Government of Japan
- Government of Senegal
- Government of South Africa
- Government of the United Kingdom
- IICD, Netherlands
- Thomson Multimedia
- UN ICT Task Force
- VECAM
- SR Telecom, Inc.