Bridging the digital divide

As delegates sit down in Geneva at the World Summit on the Information Society on Wednesday, in Uzbekistan the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) along with the government, NGOs and the private sector are busy trying to bring information and communications technology (ICT) to more Uzbeks outside the capital, Tashkent. Strolling through the capital's centre, with an Internet cafe on virtually every corner, it is easy to gain the impression that despite its poverty and landlocked isolation, Uzbekistan is becoming a wired society. But in common with many middle-income developing societies, appearances are deceptive. "Connectivity is a huge issue outside the capital," Nazar Talibjanov, the manager of the Uzbekistan Development Gateway Programme (UDGP), told IRIN. He pointed out that prestigious educational facilities like the University of Nukus, in the west of the country, were battling with one, slow, dial-up line in order to get connected to the Internet. Other institutions, government or otherwise, even in the capital, are in a similar position. "Our country remains very isolated because of our history as a Soviet country and also our geographic position. ICT is a really important and cheap way of bringing the world to Uzbek people and vice versa," Anvar Yuldeshev of UNDP's Digital Development Initiative told IRIN. UNDP has been promoting access to the Internet in Uzbekistan for more than five years and has had some success in developing a legal and regulatory framework for ICTs. The most successful ICT initiative to date has been the UzSciNet project, providing high-speed connection for thousands of computers in scientific, medical and educational institutions across the country. The programme, a partnership between UNDP, the Open Society Institute and NATO's Scientific Committee, aims to offer free or low-cost access to Internet-based world information resources to a wide range of people. "This is a start, but there's a long, long way to go" Yuldeshev said. Despite Tashkent's reputation for inhibiting the free flow of information and dialogue, observers say the government has recognised the key role ICTs like the Internet and e-mail can play in the country's modernisation and development. As recently as two years ago, the government was the only Internet-service provider (ISP), retaining tight control over content and access. But today, there are more than 40 ISPs, an indication that official suspicion of the Internet is waning. "But certain sites remain blocked, mainly opposition sites and websites knocking [President Islam] Karimov for his human rights abuses," an activist told IRIN as he tried unsuccessfully to access a Moscow-based Uzbek news and information site run by exiles. "So let's not talk about free access to information in Uzbekistan," he added. Of much more concern to those driving the country's connectivity are mundane things like the antiquated telephone system and the poverty that keeps such a high percentage of Uzbeks well away from the information society. "The net, where it is available, remains just too expensive for most people, it costs about 1,000 sums [about US $1.30] per hour, an average wage is just 200 sums per hour." Talibjanov said. Foreign investment in ICT hardware - like a satellite-based ISP, vital given the poor telecommunications infrastructure - has been slow. The other big challenge, that organisations like UDGP are trying to address, is the lack of local Uzbek content currently available on the Internet. More than 85 percent of people in the country speak only Uzbek, yet most Uzbekistan-related information available on the web is in Russian or English. "There's a huge demand for Internet content in Uzbek from government, colleges, NGOs and the public," Talibjanov said. But observers warn against ICT being viewed as a development solution on its own in countries like Uzbekistan. "The debut of ICT into regions like Central Asia simply underlines existing 'divides' based on income, gender, ethnicity, physical disability and age," Phillip Manners, a UK-based new technology and development consultant, told IRIN. "Access to the Internet for a poor rural Uzbek farmer isn't going to change anything much in his life. Education, health, security and economic development are probably his priorities," he added.