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BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) - Tech giants such as Google (GOOGL.O), Meta (FB.O) and Netflix (NFLX.O) may have to bear some of the cost of Europe's telecoms network, Europe's digital chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday, following EU telecoms operators' complaints."I think there is an issue that we need to consider with a lot of focus, and that is the issue of fair contribution to telecommunication networks," Vestager told a news conference.

further galvanize China’s ambitions to develop supply chains independent of U.S. technology.

China’s overall exports to Russia fell 27% in value from February to March, official trade data show.

China’s exports of tech products to Russia fell sharply in March from February, with shipments of laptops declining more than 40%, smartphones down by nearly two-thirds and exports of telecom base stations down 98%, according to the most recently available Chinese government trade data.

The anger that China directed against ASPI was based on the detailed work of the cyber centre and the facts it revealed about Chinese policy and behaviour:

Data centres are taking root in Africa

Google is now challenging China in the cable domain. Google’s Equiano subsea internet cable landed in Togo this month.

In May 2020, China Mobile, together with seven other partners, announced the creation of the 37,000 km “2Africa” cable to connect Africa with the Middle East. The cable is to surround the African continent, with landings in 16 countries, and will underpin the growth of 5G and broadband access for hundreds of millions of people. This arc of communications is an important emerging component in China’s strategy in Africa, as it links up with emerging telecoms, tied to data centers, especially for the Horn of Africa.

China’s most recent addition is a contract to establish a data center for the government in Senegal. The Senegalese state IT agency is working closely with Huawei to create the largest data center in West Africa.

"I think the door is still open, and it really depends on the ability of each player to see niches and opportunities that have never been exploited," says Iginio Gagliardone.

African countries received little support from Western governments for technology infrastructure. While the donors spoke about the importance of internet access in development, they were less prepared to provide aid for digital infrastructure, according to Nairobi-based Gagliardone.

Table 1: Technology business ecosystem, referencing a simplified Open Systems Interconnection model

The Chinese government has also built more than half of Africa’s wireless sites with 200,000 km of optical fibre and set up high-speed mobile broadband networks providing internet access to 6 million households.

Chinese telecommunications provider Huawei has constructed up to 70 per cent of Africa’s 4G base stations.

Chinese companies can offer services and products at a fraction of the cost of theirWestern counterparts because of the abundance of labour and low paying salaries.For example, China has an annual turnout of two million engineering graduates, whileFrance has 300 000 and Germany just 100 000. However, average annual salaries ofengineers in China only amount to US$19 000 per year as opposed to roughly US$110000 in Germany and France. Likewise, Chinese labourers work 50 hours on averageper week, whereas French and German labourers work 38 hours.

Huawei has begun to establish regional training centers in African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Tunisia, Angola and Guinea. By August 2004, Huawei had invested more than $10 million dollars into its Nigerian training center. Recently, Huawei opened a new training facility in South Africa, its fifth training center on the continent. There is a sixth center currently being built in Angola. The company now provides training for up to 2,000 people annually. Such local investments by Huawei help bolster the local economy with job creation and localized management while improving the company’s image in the eyes of local consumers, businesses and potential partners.

Nowhere is Huawei’s presence and strategy more evident than in Africa, a continent it entered for the first time in 1998,

Huawei segments the telecom equipment industry into three major categories: Internet switches, fixed line networks and wireless networks. “Huawei is currently the number three global company in wireless networks and number two in fixed line and switches,”

future of the links between people and nature

Humanity depends directly on the output of nature; thus, this decline will affect us, just as it does the other species with which we share this world.

scientists have been raising calls for societal changes that will reduce our impacts on nature.

In Theory of Change, by contrast, the group begins not with its intervention but with its long-term goal and outcomes and then works backward (in time) toward the earliest changes that need to occur. Only when the pathway has been developed is it time to consider which interventions will best produce the outcomes in the pathway.

If-Then statement: If this is done, Then these are the anticipated results.

Change processes are no longer seen as linear, but as having many feedback loops that need to be understood.

This has led to new areas of work, such as linking the Theory of Change approach to systems thinking and complexity.

hypothesized that a key reason complex programs are so difficult to evaluate is that the assumptions that inspire them are poorly articulated.

The short-lived climate-impacting substances include methane, ozone and aerosols, which remain in the atmosphere for far less time than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Switzerland wants to partially achieve its greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030 with reductions abroad

The Paris Agreement is the first global climate agreement that obliges all states to implement concrete measures to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, depending on their responsibility and capacity

They only apply to industrialized countries – developing countries are only required to compile an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions.

meet annually at the Conference of the Parties (COP).

greenhouse gas emissions.

the impact of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Imagine an Africa without boundaries

While political interest from ou

National and regional leaders must enhance collaboration and coordination around strengthening regional data governance, sharing mechanisms and experiences for best practices in regulating the digital space, and committing more to multilateral frameworks for data governance

he regional-led approach

eight African countries have ratified the Malabo Convention,4 the regional-led approach for data protection and cybercrime law.

Institutions charged with regulating data governance have not evolved with the dynamic needs and peculiarities of the digital space.

Implementation remains a challenge

power and knowledge asymmetry between platform firms and mostly small and resource-constrained African countries.

Notably, the data governance framework tends to show more emphasis on fostering safeguards (e.g., data protection, privacy), and less focus on enablers (e.g., data portability, localization)—but both efforts are crucial.

100Developing an effective data governance framework to deliver African digital potentials

data, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives5

Developing and managing secure digital solutions requires extensive knowledge across issues like data privacy and security, interoperability standards, franchise management, biometric tokenization, device security, and more.

ensuring the digitAl economy is An inclusive economy

Climate change’s economic implications raise essential questions about how African countries might strengthen their economies in an age dominated by technology. By expanding access to digital technologies, African nations will empower the poor with access to information, job opportunities, and services that will improve their lives.15With a growing youth population and an ever-expanding workforce, investments in technology and technological infrastructure lay the foundations for economic growth. Such investments and developments could improve access to inclusive financing, modernize the agricultural sector, and improve healthcare systems. Technology poses new opportunities and possibilities for women’s inclusion and advancement. For example, in the agricultural sector, African women are utilizing technology and technological innovations to improve agricultural processes and, in turn, improve livelihoods.16 Women and girls cannot and should not be left behind. (See the viewpoint on page 56 for boosting opportunities for women and girls in STEM.)

We cannot forget that 578 million people in Africa still lack energy access—cutting them off from educational opportunities and the entire digital economy

Sub-Saharan Africa

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It also requires DIRCO to streamline its processes with a specific emphasis on improving its digital environment through its Digital Strategy. The department intends to improve organisational functioning, particularly through a process of digital transformation and automating some processes to improve effectiveness. The department recognises that ICT is the foundation of an effective department. Through a process of digital transformation, the department can utilise it as an avenue to positively respond to the fiscal constraint and innovate and improvise, and yet still be effective in what it does

or digital cellular networks, the Internet of Things, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI),

highlight the importance of capacity-building,

to the Council’s understanding of the evolving landscape

With respect to our second signature event, I want to add that peace and security has been completely transformed by digital technology, for better or for worse. We know how these tools can be abused to spread disinformation, restrict access to information, and deny human rights, but we also see opportunities to use digital technologies to do tremendous good. Digital tools can help to identify emerging threats. They can protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and reconnect and reunite displaced peoples with their families. They have prosecutors collect evidence to build cases for war crimes, and they connect refugees to host families and employment opportunities, and they help us better prepare peacekeepers to deploy in the field and improve our ability to engage different stakeholders in peace talks.

the role of the use of digital technologies in maintaining international peace and security.

a spotlight to conflict as a driver of food insecurity

whole-of-government and

Greater investment in physical and human capital is needed to improve data governance, specialized analytical and data secu-rity skills, as well as data literacy of the general public.

Work toward an integrated national data system (INDS).

The more data are reused, the greater is the risk of data misuse.

economic policies on competition, trade, and tax for platform businesses

Marginalized people need better representation in data systems, greater access to modern data infrastructure, and the skills to benefit from it

end to exclude poor people, and statistical capacity and data literacy remain limited in poor countries.

Changing frameworks.

Changing mindsets.

harmonizing definitions, standards, and classifi-cations—that is, ensuring interoperability across data—enhances the realization of synergies across different data sources

for closer international cooperation to harmonize regulations and coor-dinate policies

he public good.

ngage in dialogue

lower-income countries are too often disadvantaged, lacking as they often do the infrastructure and skills to capture data and turn them into value, the institutional and regulatory frame-works to create trust in data systems, and the scale and agency to participate equitably in global data markets and their governance.

Legal and regulatory frameworks for data are incomplete, with gaps in critical safeguards (such as cybersecurity, data protection, and cross-border data flows) and a shortage of measures to enable data shar-ing (such as open licensing and interoperability). Even where nascent data governance frameworks exist, a dearth of institutions with the requisite administrative capacity, decision-making autonomy, and financial resources constrains their effective implementation and enforcement.

what kind of governance arrangements are needed to support the generation and use of data in a safe, ethical, and secure way,

how can data better advance development objectives?

The Data Transfer Project was launched in 2018 to create an open-source, service-to-service data portability platform so that all individuals across the web could easily move their data between online service providers whenever they want.

Big Tech (Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter) formed the Data Transfer Project for an “open-source, service-to-service data portability platform such that consumers could easily move their data between online service providers whenever they want.”

Therefore, consumer education on the different ways that their data is being used is essential. While funding for such education is usually borne by government, multilaterals, and foundations for digital public good, we are seeing the private sector stepping up to join force.

Implement proportional risk and accountability frameworks:

Establish a self-regulating organization (SRO) to improve data policy relevance and enforcement:

the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Africa

Thus, hybrid format of physical interactions and online meetings seem to be the best approach for diplomatic engagements.

First, it multiplies and amplifies the number of voices and interests involved in international policymaking. Second, it accelerates and frees the dissemination of information—accurate or not—about any issue or event. Third, it enables traditional diplomatic services to be delivered faster and more cost effectively.

establishing a data privacy act and a national cybersecurity plan

the Smart Africa Alliance

science parks and technology hubs to encourage innovation.

Prioritizing the growth of labor-intensive industries is particularly important for ensuring employment among Africa’s growing youth population.

Governments should protect intellectual property (IP) rights to stimulate the generation of new innovations and technologies.

Currently, South America and Africa combined are responsible for less than 5 percent of the total global R&D spent, despite having more than 20 percent of the world’s population. Indeed, Africa itself falls short of the 1.7 percent R&D global average, with many African countries only investing 0.42 percent of their total GDP.

The literacy of Africa’s workforce should be increased in a range of soft and hard skills to be flexible and dynamic: Public and private institutions should partner with universities to develop effective continuing and executive education programs. Digital literacy skills can be enhanced by the development of future-ready curricula that creates a culture that encourages lifelong learning. African states should also create or accelerate the development of engineering and business schools, as well as technical vocational colleges to support industrial growth and create models of training based on the changing needs of the private sector.

Gaps in internet access prevent citizens from accessing the full scope of internet services; slow economic growth; limit Africa’s potential to trade and interact with the world; and lead to inaccurate, biased data collection

the unique global policy momentum that has led to unlocking barriers to technology and innovation during the pandemic provides further evidence that governments can play a key policy role not only in enabling technological innovation

Digitalisation: Digitalisation involves the integration of digital tech-nologies in society, government and business. Digitalisation comprises a wide range of digital applications, such as new communication technologies, robotics, cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and 3D printing. It also permeates other areas of our day-to-day lives, in some cases fundamentally altering them

Switzerland has a great deal of credibility in sub-Saharan Africa. It was never a colonial power, and its neutrality and humanitarian tradition are valued and anchored in the region’s consciousness. Switzerland intends to seize more opportunities and work with the region as a partner to help it tackle the challenges it faces. It is therefore compiling a strategy for cooperation with Africa.

Digitalisation

As a trade-oriented, medium-sized economy, Switzerland is reliant on the open markets, legal certainty and predictability of a rules-based global economic system.

Core mission

Tech4Good:

Systematically including the topics digitalisation/new technologies in bilateral and multilateral political dia-logue.

Stepping up exchanges between African tech hubs and International Geneva, especially on the involvement of African actors (governments, private sector, the scien-tific community, civil society) in the field of international digital governance

Switzerland fosters the potential of a new generationof university graduates who have been educated abroad

to African tech hubs.

the lion economies

With a view to strengthening the position of International Geneva as a global centre for digital governance and other issues of the future, the Federal Council seeks to encourage the participation of business, the scientific community and other non-governmental actors in relevant international forums. African stakeholders in particular should increasingly be able to participate in discussions on digital governance. There is potential in intensified exchanges between emerging African tech-hubs and Inter-national Geneva. Capacity-building is an important means of providing support. Collaboration with multilateral organ-isations such as the AU and the IOF presents opportunities for comprehensive approaches. The potential of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)31 set up by Switzerland in 2014, should also be harnessed.

o create innovative and inclusive financial services for African societies

to minimise cyber risks, particularly with regard to data management, cybercrime, cyberattacks and cyber espionage, the financing of terrorism, surveillance as well as disinformation.

nclusive access

potentially exacerbating inequality and dependency, for example in relation to jobs or the use of data. This is why digital self-determination should be paramount in the application of technology.

n relation to jobs or the use of data.

Firstly, it involves the use of digital tools in international cooperation projects and programmes to achieve devel-opment goals more effectively and quickly. Digital applications drive development-related and humanitarian innovations worldwide. Switzerland’s commitment to harnessing the full potential of new technologies in combating poverty is summarised under the term Tech4Good.

nternational cooperation continues to play a key role, in line with the International Cooperation Strategy 2021–2024. However, sub-Saharan Africa is also becoming increasingly important for other policy areas, such as foreign economic and finance policy, digital foreign policy, science diplomacy and multilateralism. The Federal Council wishes to support this development and also strengthen ties with International Geneva.

a migration perspective. Many new opportunities are also emerging for Africa. Secondly, Switzerland has well-established ties with sub-Saharan Africa in view of its geographical proximity, cultural richness and economic potential.

a whole-of-government approach

Switzerland plays an active role in training and upskilling the labour force through programmes which are responsive to the needs of the labour market and leverage the opportunities offered by digital transformation

Digital-isation offers opportunities to further increase the effective-ness and efficiency of administrations, reduce red tape and prevent corruption.

the World Bank’s new GovTech platform aimed at improving the management of public finances.

mobile phone payments and other innovations in the financial sector, the use of blockchain for financial services or satellite data and drones for insurance against crop damage, solar power gener-ation in humanitarian contexts, improved medical diagnoses using artificial intelligence, enhanced access to information for more transparency in democratic processes

) creating decent local jobs, b) mitigating and adapting to climate change, c) reducing the causes of forced displace-ment and irregular migration, and d) promoting the rule of law and good governance.

the needs of the population in developing countries, Switzerland’s long-term interests, and the value added by its international cooperation compared with other countries.

humanitarian aid, development cooperation and the promotion of peace and human security.

Semiconductor chips are the lifeblood of the modern information age. They enable electronic products to compute and control actions that simplify our lives. The manufacturing cycle of a semiconductor chip from sand to a finished product, sees it change hands approximately 70 times across international borders. It is not difficult to imagine that the chip in the device closest to you was made by a Japanese engineer working on Dutch machinery in an American foundry in Taiwan to produce wafers which were shipped to Malaysia for packaging before being sent to India as a finished product. There cannot be a better example of peacetime global cooperation than the resolve involved in making the meticulous chip. These semiconductor chips are the drivers for ICT development and one of the key reasons for the current flattening of the world.

enabling effects of technology for combatting climate change and protecting the environment whilst reducing as much as possible the environmental footprint of the Internet and digital technologies

diverse cultural and multilingual content,

digital literacy

to close digital divides

data free flows

with principles of Net Neutrality subject

algorithmic tools or techniques

igital ecosystem,

afe and equitable use of the Internet for everyone

online safety

ot legally binding

while respecting each other’s regulatory autonomy within our own jurisdictions and in accor-dance with our respective domestic laws and international legal obligations.

partner

is governed by multistakeholder processes.

the Internet reinforces democratic principles and human rights and fun-damental freedoms

n open, free, global, interoperable, re-liable, and secure

to protect and fortify the multistakeholder system of Internet governance

to defending human rights and fostering equitable economic prosperity.

once decentralized Internet economy has become highly concentrated

countries have erected firewalls

malicious behavior is on the rise

Access to the open Internet is limited

an environment that reinforces our democratic systems and promotes active par-ticipation of every citizen in democratic processes

a new Declaration for the Future of the Internet

informal consultative meetings

on a voluntary basis

a dedicated stakeholder session,

on a non-objection basis,

This allows the bot to match the plane it is tracking in real time to the anonymized FAA flight plans and determine each plane’s intended destination. This information is all entirely public, and can be used to track most private aircraft.

when it is taking off or landing.

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