Connecting Bhutan and the other regional and pacific countries through an information superhighway was one of major topics discussed in the UNESCAP meeting held in Paro. The two-day international meeting, which ended yesterday, was attended by participants from 13 countries.
The Asia-pacific Information Superhighway (APIS) is an initiative by the UNESCAP started back in 2009. The APIS initiative aims to increase the availability and affordability of broadband internet and create a seamless broadband international connectivity.
The Chief of the ESCAP ICT Division, Shamika Sirimanne, digital divide is one of the concerns. “Because we believe the digital divide could end up being a developmental divide and that we need to prevent,” she said.
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One of the consultants for the project, Michael Ruddy, says this will connect Bhutan and the other participant countries through a multinational network. “The objective is to provide a multinational network that would offer connectivity on a more or less equitable basis to the participant countries.”
For a landlocked country like Bhutan, MOIC secretary Dasho Kinley Dorji says APIS has a greater importance. He said some countries by the sea have landing stations, some countries with many neighbours have many connections all around. “We are landlocked and therefore we have this disadvantage. So the idea for landlocked countries is that we are brought on equal footing through regional and international connectivity”
This was the fourth workshop organised by the ESCAP on the APIS initiative. Over 30 participants mostly representatives from the ICT agencies, and telecom regulators and operators from 13 countries took part in it.
