WITSA: ICT infrastructure in developing countries imperative

Information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure acts like a powerful magnet for business opportunities and other economic benefits.

For this reason, the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) advised ICT leaders of developing countries and emerging economies that such infrastructure be made a top priority.

WITSA chairman Dato' Dan E. Khoo said people must exert their influence on their respective governments about the benefits of building out the ICT infrastructure through pro-competitive market policies and sound investments.

"Putting in place a comprehensive ICT infrastructure must be ranked highly among national development priorities in the developing and emerging worlds," said Khoo in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Global Public Policy Summit (GPPS 2009) in Bermuda.

GPPS is a WITSA event that brings together executives and policy makers for the purpose of assessing policies that determine the global ICT development and adoption.

Enabler of industries

Khoo emphasised that long-term solutions for economic growth relies on ICT development and adoption, which could drive an economy towards transformative growth, enhance industry efficiency and output, and offer society greater access to opportunities for improving the quality of life.

He said: "As an industry, ICT has the potential to build lucrative businesses and create new jobs. It is essential to the development of a knowledge economy that offers value-added products and services to the world."

Noting that ICT acts as "an enabler of other industries", Khoo reminded the audience of the capability of ICT to raise productivity and efficiency in all economic sectors. "Industries that leverage ICT tend to achieve much higher growth rates than those that don't," he stressed.

The WITSA chairman explained that ICT as a development stimulus "transforms our lives for the better through such ways as extending accessibility to education, revolutionising community networking, enhancing healthcare services, improving public safety, extending opportunity distribution, promoting culture and leisure and other components of the quality of life."

ICT can help users seize the short-term opportunities arising from arbitrage and medium-term ones through aggregation and the reduction of imbalances, Khoo also said.

Formed in 1978, the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) is a consortium of ICT industry association members from nearly 70 economies around the world. Its members represent more than 90 per cent of the global ICT market.