Global Information Summit 2000

Net Conference

Session 2 - "Electronic Commerce in the Digital Divide Era "

Digital Divide 3
From: Bradley L. Bartz (21) market share grab
(19) Takeshi Tanemura Very difficult problem. The PC home penetration is not as high in Japan and that could be one of the reasons that "digital divide" is not such a big issue here yet. The PC penetration is not high BECAUSE of NTT high-rates and lack of Japanese government use-of-power to force universal access in Japan. Lack of home penetration is the Digital Divide. I worry about Japanese children bind online, not madogiwazoku bureaucrats and corporate officers. The Japanese word "Muzokashi" is the reason foreign technology and services will be king in Japan. A distribution power-shift is about to take place in Japan. Those not aboard the Internet right now will be left in the dust. (19) Takeshi Tanemura I think it is very difficult to change the corporate culture in big companies although there are some companies trying to change. Simple corporate survival will force Internet speed changes in Japan. In the mean-time the foreign-led Japanese consumer "market share grab" is happening now.
From: Georges Fischer (22) Impediments to the Development of E-Commerce
Before going further let me react also very quickly on the impediments to the development of e-commerce, more specifically among SMEs. It seems to me that nobody really pays attention to the lack of stability of technical solutions. What can be the reaction of an SME, when facing not only the problems of defining the payback of an e-com investment, but also the fact that the solution it has adopted will quickly - at the best, change, without being sure that upgrading will be assured and free, - at the worst, just disappear, without knowing how this disappearance will be handled! On the other hand, they just want to wait until the most efficient solution will be available, instead of being the "guinea pigs" of the solution providers. Maybe these solution providers should integrate this problem in their marketing approach! Now, for the differences between Europe and US, and more specifically for "B to C", I feel that e-commerce has been the domain of start-ups in the US, whereas in Europe (and more specifically in France) it has been (or it is) heavily invested now by the traditional sellers.
From: Anthony M. Rutkowski (23) Latest strategic Internet global metrics
Biannual Strategic Note 12 Feb 2000 Center for Next Generation Internet NGI.ORGMatrix Information and Directory Services, Inc INTERNET SURVEY REACHES 72.4 MILLION INTERNET HOST LEVEL Herndon VA, USA, Austin TX. The latest results from the Internet's most basic and longest continuing measurement of its size were just released by Mark Lottor of Network Wizards via the Internet Software Consortium. The Domain Survey attempts to discover every host on the Internet by using the Domain Name System. The results were gathered during January 2000. The general data plus some charts and pointers to the source data are available at the ISC site <http://www.isc.org/ds/>. Postprocessed data is available from Matrix Information and Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS) of Austin TX, <http://www.mids.org/> Lottor's measurements show that the Internet currently consists of countless autonomous networks with 72,398,092 "advertised" connected computers (hosts) in 7 generic and 228 country and territory domains - up from 216. Because of the unknown and potentially unlimited numbers of multiuser computers and network or application gateways, it is not possible to correlate any of information with the number of end users. However, see the MIDS estimates at <http://www.mids.org> o The figure of 72.4 million hosts represents a significant new benchmark for the number of Internet hosts. The current annual growth rate now stands at 63% - continuing the accelerated growth rate begun in late 1998. o Based on the current average growth, the 100 million host level will be reached the last quarter of 2000, and 1 billion hosts in 2005. o The largest domain is COM, consisting 24.8 million hosts, and constituting 34.5 percent of all hosts, up 1.0% of all hosts from July 99. o The Internet is currently expanding at the average rate of 69 new hosts per minute and 23 new domains per minute. o Notable host trends include: Among 3-letter TLDs, strong large growth in COM and NET. 6.1 million new hosts were added under COM, and 4.4 million under NET between Jul 1999 and Jan 2000. On surprisingly large jump occurred in the INT domain, which grew 840% with the addition of 7,799 hosts. Among major countries, the most notable surprises were Italy which jumped 67% with the addition of 264,680 new hosts, Brazil which jumped 44% with 446,444 new hosts, and Mexico which jumped 81% with 404,873 new hosts. o Subsequent processing by MIDS to attribute hosts under the three letter generic domains to specific countries is in progress and MIDS will publish the results in its periodicals as usual; see <http://www.mids.org/>. Meanwhile, it is clear that substantial global growth is occurring and the new data is consistent with the approximately 60/40 percentage of US based hosts versus non-US based hosts. NEW GRAPHS This and previous strategic summaries, as well as very attractive new graphic presentations of all these values and trends can be found at: <http://www.ngi.org/trends.htm>
From: Georges Fischer (24) Digital Divide
Can I notice that we are acting as if the US and/or European countries were totally homogeneous and had homogeneous behaviours! It appears to me that, for instance for private data protection, no human person is totally rational! We all want to be AT THE SAME TIME, but to different levels, protected from spamming and intrusion AND treated like VIPs, with personal care; and this, of course, means that we have to provide some of this precious personal data! Whilst we are talking about "one to one" marketing, how come that nobody really wants to take into account this personal mix of the factors of our own contradictions? Why are we all focusing on technology and/or regulation, instead of marketing? Why not accept that the level of "self arbitration" between one's own desire of protection the same one's contradictory desire of "personal treat" will be different in the US and in Europe, different in Europe between for instance Finland and France and different in France between me and my wife !(and most probably different between me today and me next month or day!) Trying to set up the same regulations and the same approach for everybody, whatever their educational, cultural, national, "tribal" background may be, isn't that "mass selling", in total contrast with "one to one" marketing that should be the new approach? Isn't the real divide (of course we are speaking here only about "B to C") being created between those who on one hand are market and customer oriented/aware and try to really modify their marketing approach and those who have not really integrated the change e-commerce is bringing to traditional commerce?
From: Bruno Lanvin (25) Developing countries left out of the new economy?
We are here in Bangkok in the middle of UNCTAD X, and this hectic time leaves me litle time to participate as much as I would like to in this debate. Participants may find the attached( http://www.unctad.org/ecommerce) of interest: it is the text of the press release prepared for the launching of UNCTAD's new book and CD-ROM on 'Electronic Commerce and Development' (16 February 2000). I am pleased to provide an 'advanced copy' to this forum. All comments are welcome.
From: Anthony M. Rutkowski (26) Developing countries left out of the new economy?
The Internet is by definition a means for allowing autonomous hosts to share resources. Thus, the number of actual discovered hosts and the growth in their number provides a fundamental metric of "involvement" in the associated Internet economy. The following table is a snapshot of the distribution of the Internet today and its growth over the past year, by region and by current annual growth rate. About a quarter of the COM and EDU domains exist outside the US, and about half of the country domains allow registrations outside their borders, so the figures contain these ambiguities. Clearly, however, many developing countries are experiencing the same degree of growth, or greater, as most developed countries. This can be seen rather vividly in the associated graphs. Powerpoint: http://www.ngi.org/trends/trends-200002.zip html: http://www.ngi.org/trends/trends-200002/index.htm The differences that exist are less between developed and developing countries, than between nations with different kinds of policies and practices. You can measure it in near real time.
From: Izumi Aizu (27) Developing countries left out of the new economy?
Dear Bruno, thank you for sharing this interesting and valuable information. Yesterday's newspaper reported that the main subject of G7-8-9? Summit this summer in Okinawa will be around IT Revolution and Digital Divide. While you are now working at UNCTAD X, there will be another meeting in Kuala Lumpur in Mar 7-10, Global Knowledge II, also focusing on IT and development. As the world leaders are getting more and more aware of the potential of e-conomy, we need to raise more awareness of the side issues, or the real issues, I guess. Ikeda-san(Nobuo Ikeda) rightly said that increasing return will hopefully solve the increasing gap problem, there is no guarantee that that will happen automatically, I think.
From: Georges Fischer (28) Developing countries left out of the new economy?
Dear Bruno, thank you for your message; I totally share its content,as in the previous on line discussion I did raise also this point! Let me just add two points as usual, I specify that we are mainly talking about the "B to B" world : - from our experience in the Worldchambers Network (www.worldchambers.com) I can confirm what I said last year : a lot of developing countries are jumping in the Internet era much quicker than the developed western countries. Of course, this jump may be done through intermediary bodies (like Chambers of commerce, but also like Trade Points); but the trend is real! - on the other hand, trust and confidence issues seem always to be more important for contacts with developing country companies than with companies from US and/or Europe. Thus, what seems necessary (and we begun to do that and will be even further developed with the TrustInfo initiative, validating label on the existence and the objective information about a given company) is to implement the tools which will allow our companies to avoid mistrust reactions when faced with a proposal coming from the developing world. Of course, there are other issues to be considered to obtain real equality, like free access and cost issues.
From: Jim Johnson (29) ‚loderator-Japan and Developing Countries
Bruno Lanvin of UNCTAD is having the most profound and consistent impact on bringing developing countries up to speed in the global e-commerce world. His work is an example even for many industrialized countries that are still struggling with policy and economic interest barriers that are keeping them from overcoming the digital divide. Are there parallels between the circumstances in developing countries, both positive and negative, and what is happening in Japan? Jane Smith Patterson has pointed, appropriately, to the work of the National Governors' Assn on finding reasonable ways for governments to tax online commerce. The coalition of corporate representatives who also participate in the Advisory Commission, with the governors, have a new proposal, as well which recognizes the need for governments to tax commercial transactions, but argues for a way to do this without impairing the growth of e-commerce. Is taxation of the Internet an issue in Japan, for purposes of the Nikkei Conference? What do you think?
From: Anthony M. Rutkowski (30) ‚loderator-Japan and Developing Countries
(29) Jim Johnson Jane Smith Patterson has pointed, appropriately, to the work of the National Governors' Assn on finding reasonable ways for governments to tax online commerce. The coalition of corporate representatives who also participate in the Advisory Commission, with the governors, have a new proposal, as well which recognizes the need for governments to tax commercial transactions, but argues for a way to do this without impairing the growth of e-commerce. I think it would be fairer to point out that the NGA is one of an array of organizations with somewhat divergent views that are exploring the options - most of which are collaborating under the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce headed by Virginia Gov. John Gilmore. The Commission's current issues and policy options paper can be found at http://www.ecommercecommission.org/document/issuesPO.pdf The Commission's web site generally contains a wealth of material on this subject.What do you think? return to Digital Divide ‚Q@to Digital Divide ‚S