Discussion on creating our Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF)

<<January 26, 2000>>

Peter T. Knight <ptknight@attglobal.net>

Dr. Joseph N. Pelton <ecjpelton@aol.com>

Salah H. Mandil <mandils@who.ch>

Kenichiro Kajiwara <kenchan@neti.com>

Frank S. Govern <fg36q@nih.gov>

Kenneth M. Kempner <kempner@helix.nih.gov>

P. Tapio Varis <tapio.varis@uta.fi>

Mr. Myron Nordquist <myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov>

Mr. Carlos Alberto Primo Braga <cbraga@worldbank.org>

Mr. Jim Miller <jimmsl@aol.com>

Frank Method <unesco1@cais.com>

Petko KANTCHEV <petko.kantchev@itu.int>

Dr. Michael G. Moore <mgmoore@psu.edu>

John B. Rose <j.rose@unesco.org>

Dear Peter and Joe:
===================

(1) Many, many thanks for your excellent work on revising my original
material about our Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF) project (ATTACHMENT
I). You have done excellent job!!

You have also generated considerable interest in this idea while I was
away to attend the International Consultation Conference on TeleHealth
and TeleMedicine at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva on
January 12th to 14th, to visit the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) in Geneva, to visit the U.N. Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs in
Vienna on January 17th and 18th. They have also indicated their strong
interest and support to this project which I will describe at Joe
Pelton's mtg on 2/5th.

Albeit rather long, I will respond to their comments in this msg so that
you may be able to get some idea why and how I came up of this GSTF project.

Dear Joe:
=========

(2) Many thanks for your providing us a valuable time for discussing this
project at your commemorative conference (ATTACHMENT II, III, IV and XIII).

I would be very happy to review your PowerPoint slides about this idea.
Pls let me know how to do it.

Dear Peter:
===========

(3) At the WHO conference, attendees discussed the definitions of
"TeleHealth" and TeleMedicine" extensively, but for the moment, your
use of "telemedicine" in the proposal should be sufficient -- I am just
reminding you that this subject may pop up later from its professional people.

(4) During my stay in Geneva, Ken Kajiwara found out that Swisscom now
offers overseas calls to Taiwan at 0.04 Swiss Francs which is almost
equivalent to a few US pennies!! -- some industry journals predict that
overseas calls will become free of charge (as some entrepreneurs now do
with advertisements), or even that the long distance telecommunications
carriers (e.g., AT&T, NTT [the world largest corporation], MCI WorldCom,
etc.) would disappear from the market!!

This may be with the use of Internet Telephony, though its quality
is not certain. Our project is to make it the same as the Plain
Old Telephone Service (POTS) or CD quality, since audio is an
absolute and foremost necessity for videoconferencing of distance
learning. Our GSTF is to assure this to happen even in developing countries.

Dear Frank Govern and Ken Kempner:
==================================

(5) I would greatly appreciate it if you can attend this conference to
support the GSTF project from your viewpoint of establishing the
TeleSynergy System with the worldwide network of the medical
consultation workstations (ATTACHMENT V).

Pls contact Joe Pelton for admission free of charge.

Dear Myron:
===========

(6) Pls attend Pelton's mtg -- as the continuation of our mtg with Peter and
Joe at PAHO on 12/20th, so that you may brief about this GSTF project to
Senator Burns later.

Dear Peter:
===========

(7) RE: YOUR THIRD PARA UNDER THE "BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE."

During my trip to Geneva and Vienna, I experienced this (rather limited
delivery modes) for my talks at the WHO, ITU, UN/Vienna when I tried to
access our webs. Their speed seemed much slower than my 56 Kbps dial-up
modem to Columbia University in Manhattan. They would certainly be
benefitted by the availability of the Global Broadband Private Virtual
Network which is to be financed with the GSTF, as indicated by the
people of the UNIDO and the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs.

(8) In the last para of this section, you may use "collaboration" instead of
"competition." You may also emphasize "multilateral" instead of
"bilateral" collaboration.

Distribution of ODA funds has usually been made by bilateral
agreements, but it is now the time to consider it by a
"multilateral" approach, particularly for the establishment of the
Global University System with global broadband Internet, since a
single country cannot finance its huge cost, and teleducation
and telemedicine have to be made by multilateral collaboration.
Globalization is the direction of the global knowledge society in
the 21st century.

A good example of this is the USPNet of the University of South
Pacific which is now inaugurating 64 Kbps satellite Internet to
connect a dozen consortium members in small islands around Fiji.
It has been financed by Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand
governments, though there seems some limitation for their
upgrading of the equipment supplied by Japanese -- which is now
being checked by Joe Pelton at INTELSAT (ATTACHMENT III).

Also, instead of only knowledge [transfer] from developed to developing
countries, you may also emphasize the "knowledge generation" by the
developing countries. This is because "economically" under-developed
does not necessary mean "intellectually" under-developed. Such
knowledge generation in economically under-developed countries will
become a strong stimulus and impetus for their social development in
the Global Knowledge Society of the 21st Century.

(9) In the third para of the "Finance and Organization," you may also
include the International Labor Organization (ILO) -- since Tapio Varis
wants to work with its Secretary General, one of his long-standing friends.

By the kind introduction of Salah Mandil of WHO, I met Dr. Taro
Nakayama, a former Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs with a medical
background, in April of 1998. He indicated his enthusiastic support of
the GSTF project to raise funds from the Japanese government. He then
suggested that the administrative office of this fund should be located
in Geneva, not in the U.S., to signify its neutrality.

Prior to my visit to Dr. Nakayama, I visited Prof. Inose, Laureate
of the Medal of Culture of the Japanese government. He agreed with
the idea of the GSTF, saying that the Internet-2 development has
now become an international political issue.

(10) Pls present this at Joe's mtg (ATTACHMENT XIII) -- I would be very happy
to support you if necessary.

Dear Carlos:
============

(11) RE: YOUR FIRST QUERY:

Yes, that is right; the GSTF is to finance the high leasing cost of
international broadband Internet lines (mostly via digital satellite).
This is the primary reason and would later include the content
development, training, etc., etc.

I successfully tested Internet telephony between New York and
Tokyo and New York and Finland. I then went to conduct my
workshop at SENAI in Florianopolis in the summer of 1997. My use
of Internet telephone to the US, Finland, Portugal, etc. from
there completely failed, even through there were 15 lines of 2 Mbps
to North America (5 to Canada and the rest to the US).
I concluded that the congestion between Brazil (your country) and
North America was the reason for the failure.

But lo and behold! When I tried a NetMeeting videoconference between
Manaus, Amazona and Houston, Texas in October of 1998, it worked
beautifully with fairly good video and audio. I then learned that
Teleglobe of Canada had installed 4 digital satellite links of 34 Mbps
between the US and Brazil -- each of them at 2 to 3 US million dollars.

Prior to this, the NSF had solicited proposals for the project
of extending Internet-2 overseas. I asked its program
officer if they would finance satellite equipment,
thinking our Brazilian counterparts in Florianopolis, or
Amazon or Rondonia. His reply was negative. I then came up
with the idea of GSTF to finance it.

I then mentioned this experience to Prof. Inose and Dr.
Nakayama, regarding the idea of the GSTF.

Many developed countries are now forging ahead to establish broadband
Internet -- domestically -- witness Canada's 80 Gbps fiber optical
networks. However, none has come up any organization to take care of
the international area.

Many European countries have only a few mega bps line, e.g.,
Ukraine with 1.5 Mbps, though Scandinavian countries (e.g.,
Finland) have 165 Mbps line to the outside world -- not to
mention high access costs in many of developing countries (ATTACHMENT VII).

Dear Jim:
=========

Many thanks for your msg -- my heartfelt congratulations on your
marriage on exotic Palau island!! Wishing you ever-lasting happiness!!

Your InfoDev and USAID's Leland program have done an excellent job of
opening the eyes of people in developing countries to the use of the
Internet -- but with narrow bandwidth and at the mercy of large telecom
carriers. The Leland program now wishes to upgrade from 128 Kbps to
broadband but they don't have enough funds -- so, I suggested that they get
it from the Japanese government with my hope that it will lead to this GSTF
as a goal. As Peter conveyed my suggestion to the donors' mtg of your
InfoDev, your InfoDev would now need to focus on higher level
projects with the use of broadband Internet, lest you waste valuable public funds.

(12) RE: YOUR SECOND QUERY:

See Item (8) above.
The administrators of Canada's 80 Gbps network encourage
youngsters to come up any materials which utilize it effectively

-- so would it be for the users of our global broadband Internet.

(13) RE: YOUR THIRD QUERY:

As mentioned above, our proposed global broadband virtual private
Internet will have satellite downlinking earth stations which will become
major ISPs in their localities.

We hope that the earth stations will be administered by major
educational institutions in the locality since they should have enough
technical capability to operate and support their down-stream users.

During our brainstorming mtg at PAHO on 12/20th, Joe Pelton depicted the
sequence of waves of activities as;

(a) Wave #1:

Construction of telecom infrastructure and facilities,

(b) Wave #2:

Tele-education and content development,

Tele-health, telemedicine and medical education,

(d) Wave #4:

Economic development and job placement.

We intend to construct a global private virtual network (PVN) of
broadband Internet among non-profit institutions of education and
medical fields in the initial phase (*), with the GSTF which will be
collected from Official Development Assistant (ODA) funds of G7 (or
OECD) countries. However, in due course, it will need to be opened to
commercial fields in order to have self-sustainability, with

profit-oriented organizations subsidizing K-12 access to the broadband
Internet in a later stage of development -- as the US Universal
Service Fund is now doing or the case of the US St. Thomas Island with
its governor having a medical background.

(*) the forerunners are PEACESAT of the University of Hawaii
and USPNet of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

(14) RE: YOUR FOURTH QUERY:

Since 1986, we have tested and demonstrated every year with almost all
delivery systems during our "Global Lecture Hall (GLH)" multipoint-to-multipoint,

multimedia interactive videoconferences with the help of
UNESCO and other UN international organizations to have many free
INTELSAT transponders to cover almost every corner of the world.

Regrettably we could not have the chance to report to you how I came up with this
GSTF idea out of our experience mentioned above in Item (11), since your agency
declined our application to your InfoDev to conduct my workshop at SENAI
in Florianopolis at that time, for dubious technical reasons.

BTW, Tapio Varis has sent you the final report of our Tampere
event last week. We thank you again for your generous financial support.

On the range of "several billion dollars," we are following the
precedence of the Human Genome Project to which the Japanese government
firstly provided one billion, the U.K. the second billion, and the US
the third billion, and it is now about a five billion dollar project.

I consulted on this in the spring of 1998 with key echelons of the Japanese
government. They agreed that it is not an unnecessarily large fund for this project.

Your InfoDev's US$5 million yearly budget program is not
enough for broadband Internet projects.

The Japanese government's Ministry of International Trade and Industry
(MITI) once selected the Fifth Generation Computer program at $US
300 to 500 million almost two decades ago. Our globally
collaborative environmental peace gaming with a globally distributed
computer simulation system on a global neural computer network was
the second contender. People around the world now say that the
former did not produce anything, but the latter came up with many
results benefiting people worldwide -- including the use of email
by more than 200 million people!!

Dear Frank:
===========

(15) Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT VIII) in response to Carlos's msg (ATTACHMENT VI).

(16) RE: YOUR ITEM (3):

As mentioned above, we are to follow the precedents made by the
PEACESAT and USPNet in the first stage.

(17) RE: YOUR ITEM (4):

Dr. Federico Mayor and Dr. Colin Power often participated in our GLH
videoconferences so that we could have free of charge INTELSAT
channels as mentioned above.

Your UNESCO's "Education Without Frontiers" and Distance Education for
about 9 developing countries could be among the users of the broadband Internet.

Marco Antonio Dias, former director of higher education of your
UNESCO, is now v.p. of administration of our Global University System.

Dear Kerry:
===========

(18) Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT IX).

(19) Yes, it is very important to find out the need (kind, how much, etc.) of
each locality first, rather than providing 34 Mbps broadband blindly.

During our Tampere event, experts on Distance Learning from 14 nations
discussed practical ways to harness the emerging electronic
technological revolution to provide affordable, global distance education
across national and cultural boundaries. The group formulated specific
pilot projects focussed on six major regions of the world to reduce the
growing digital divide between information rich and information poor
populations, reaching out to the massive numbers of people who are
deprived of opportunities to learn. We initiated the establishment of
the Global University System which will facilitate connectivity among
current Distance Learning efforts around the world and will provide
support and guidance to selected pilot projects intended to serve as
models for adoption around the world.

You can find its final report of this event at
<http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Final_Report/Tampere_Event/Final_Report.html>.

In its PART II, you can find draft proposals of pilot projects in each
region. We are now to have workshops in each region to identify their specific needs.

After feasibility studies with them, we will determine the steps how to
have broadband Internet economically.

(20) During my visit to the UNIDO in Vienna, they indicated their willingness
to establish distance learning/training for 5 to 6 African countries
with their hope that the system is to be enhanced to connect their
technology centers around the world with broadband Internet.

A similar scheme may also be applicable to WHO's international
centers around the world.

(21) Many thanks for your info about Tachyon's broadband Internet satellite
project. BTW, Petko Kantchev at ITU also mentioned the availability
of two-way broadband digital satellite Internet from Europe.
He also believes that such broadband Internet can be made
available to remote/rural areas of developing countries ONLY by satellite.

Dear Peter:
===========

(22) Many thanks for your reply to comments from Carlos, Kerry and Frank
(ATTACHMENT X) which are mostly similar to what I have said above.

(23) RE: YOUR ITEM 3:

The proposed global broadband Internet with a private virtual network for
non-profit educational, medical, local governmental agencies, etc. will
be composed of following major three components:

(a) Wide range via satellite in global scale -- across oceans,
continents, and national boundaries,

(b) Medium range via microwave (50, 100 to 200 miles),

(c) Near range via spread spectrum broadband (up to 10 Mbps) wireless
Internet (up to 10 to 25 miles) -- the so-called fixed wireless approach.

(cf. <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Global_Broadband_Internet/Global_Broadband_Internet.html>);

These will connect mainly buildings of learning or healthcare centers as
mentioned in your Item 3.

Capable teachers/instructors may have their wireless connection at
their home emanating from their schools so that they can teach
from their home, too. GUS advocates that the future of distance
learning be more like the Greek style mentor system with a few
students for each instructor with intensive interaction among them.

(24) RE: YOUR ITEM 4:

The interests of the collected GSTF funds is to finance the granting of
international projects.

If we assume 10% for the interest rates, several billion dollars will
produce several hundreds million dollars to cover the high leasing costs of
digital satellite transponders -- at about 2 to 3 million dollars per
year at 34 MBps for point-to-point connections. We should expect many,
many such point-to-point connections around the world.

(25) RE: YOUR REPLY TO KERRY'S CONCERN:

Yes, I agree with your point, i.e., our approach is to open eyes of
people in developing countries to the benefits of broadband Internet --
firstly with the use of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) funds of
OECD governments.

Immediately after I saw the demonstration of ARPANET at the
International Computer Communication Conference at a Hilton Hotel in
October of 1972, I started to work on the extension of it or its
commercial version to many overseas countries, particularly to
Japan. This GSTF project for establishing a Global University
System with global broadband Internet is just an extension of my initial efforts.

As you know, large telecom companies, such as AT&T or NTT, etc.,
came in to Internet world much, much later after academics and
youngsters developed its initial phases.

Dear Mike Moore:
================

(26) Many thanks for your eloquent comments (ATTACHMENT XI) with which I agree 100%!!

Dear John:
==========

(27) Many thanks for your valuable comments (ATTACHMENT XII).

(28) RE: YOUR ITEM (i):

During my attendance at the WHO conference, I obtained your following paper:

John B. Rose, "Multipurpose Community Telecenters in support of
People-Centered Development"

I read it with great interest, and would respectfully request the URL of
this paper. I would like to have our listserve members read it since
the community development you mentioned is exactly same approach of our project.

As you know, the packet-switching technology invented by Paul
Baran, one of our listserve members, in the early 1960s at Rand
Corporation, enabled us to share valuable telecom media. Our
Global University System project is to enhance its concept to
share knowledge, i.e., education and learning. We expand it
further to include medical education, and hence telemedicine for
the wellness of local residents and welfare. Thus, it is very
natural to include local community development with

local non-profit organizations, as you advocate in your paper.

(29) RE: YOUR ITEM (ii):

As you know, A. G. Bell invented the telephone. Therefore, more than 50%
of the US/Japan line across the Pacific had to be paid by the Japan side --
in a sense, the US side had the advantage of the inventor until two or so decades ago.

Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), told me (when Tapio Varis and I visited
in January of 1999 -- after we visited you in Paris) that Japan now has
to pay 100% of the Internet line across the Pacific. Mr. Utsumi told me
that this is not only Japan but also all other countries -- in a sense,
the US still enjoy the advantage of its invention. Mr. Utsumi said that
this is the reason for high Internet access fee in other countries than the US.

Our global broadband Internet is to be a private virtual network and to be
financed with ODA funds so that it can be free of charge for
participating non-profit organizations.

In the case of the US FCC's Universal Service Fund, large telecom
carriers had to pool their funds, and in turn they raised
telephone access charges to every household -- in a sense, they
are acting as a surrogate internal revenue service (IRS). For the
international arena, we go directly to the basics, i.e., ODA funds.

(30) RE: YOUR ITEM (iii):

The use of Internet doubles every 4 months -- cf. my experience with
Internet telephony from Brazil as mentioned above. Only 50% of Native
Americans have their own telephone. We are thus initiating a project for them
to have broadband Internet which can also provide them with Internet
telephony. The same may be applicable in many developing countries -- they
do not need to follow our old steps, but can leapfrog to the advanced
stage -- as many developing countries do, e.g., in American Samoa (as
devised by Prof. Norman Okamura of the University of Hawaii), etc.

If you consider that we have to work on the use of Internet at the
mercy of telecom providers, you may be right. However, we have been the
one forging ahead on the use of Internet, not the large telecom
carriers, e.g., AT&T, nor NTT, nor KDD, etc. Our GUS, GSTF and global
broadband Internet projects are on the wave of the Internet-2
development, but in the international arena which has not been talked about
much by anybody yet.

After Tapio Varis and I met you in your office in January of 1999, we
met Marco Antonio Dias (who was about to retire as director of
higher education of your UNESCO). As soon as he heard our project, he
exclaimed "YES, LET'S THINK BIG!!." This was confirmed during our
Tampere event when he kindly accepted our offer for him to become the
Vice President of our Global University System. When we are considering
10 to 25 years hence of the global knowledge society in the 21st
century, we need to think globally.

BTW, during our Tampere event, we had an opportunity to have a
presentation by Nokia R&D group which is now working on a wireless
mobil videophone at 34 Mbps to be realized 4 years from now!!
Imagine what we can do with it!!

We have been in contact with ITU, WHO, ILO, UNIDO and the UN Office of
Outer Space Affairs, etc.

When I visited the Secretary General of the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) last April, he indicated his enthusiastic
welcome for US/Japan cooperation with the use of Japanese ODA funds.
One reason for his welcome was to make its use more rational -- this is
also one of my hidden motivations of this GSTF project.

It is now a widely known fact that the Japanese government distributes
ODA funds for dubious projects -- as mentioned even in the New
York Times and elsewhere.

For example, when I was invited to the University of South Pacific
in Fiji last November for their preparation mtg for Internet
networking via satellite at 64 Kbps for 12 consortium members (small
island countries), I was surprised to learn that the project was
financed by the Japanese government's several million dollars, but its
upgrading margin at those member locations was almost nothing. This
means that when their usage is doubled, they have to discard their
equipment, thus, wasting Japanese tax-payers' public money.

Joe Pelton is now checking its technicalities (ATTACHMENT III).

Incidentally, as you may know, the decisions on ODA funds are
made by the Economic Cooperation Division of the Japanese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- your new Secretary General,
Mr. Matsuura, was once the Director General of the division.

I sincerely hope that our discussion on this GSTF project at Joe Pelton's mtg
on 2/5th will open up the right direction to global broadband Internet project
in tele-education and tele-medicine.

Best, Tak
****************************************
ATTACHMENT I

Project to Create a
Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF)
for Tele-education and Tele-health

This proposal was prepared by a working group described in the footnote at the
end of this document. This paper is presented for discussion at the Founder's
Conference for the Sir Arthur Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and
Information (CITI) to be held at INTELSAT Headquarters on 5 February 2000.

Objective

Education and healthcare are basic needs, fundamental for human development.
The main goal of the proposed Coalition is to expand educational opportunities
and improve health in developing countries by enabling these countries to:
* Make full use of electronic distance education and telemedicine.
* Participate actively and fully in data-intensive and
media-intensive exchanges with both developed countries and other
developing countries.
* Participate interactively and fully in joint research,
professional development, and knowledge-building activities with
institutions and organizations in other countries.

To do this, steps must be taken to:
* Reduce the cost of broadband connectivity to a level poor
countries can afford.
* Create policy and regulatory frameworks conducive to the
development of sustainable distance education and telemedicine
programs.
* Establish high-quality applications in sufficient developing
country sites to demonstrate technical feasibility, increase
demand, and build support for more extensive use of such
technologies in developing country contexts.

Ideally all countries would have access to free or low-cost broadband
connectivity and would have the technical capacity to make use of it for
improving education and healthcare. This assumes a number of favorable
economic outcomes as well as changes in policy and regulatory environments
supporting the effective use of these technologies.

This proposal takes a more limited objective: to make available sufficient
broad bandwidth at free or highly reduced cost to enable a significant number
of developing countries to undertake major new initiatives in distance
learning and telemedicine. The fund might also seek to aid in the support of
tele-education and tele-health programming but this would activity would be
encouraged on the basis of developing many sources of programming in many
different languages rather than seeking a single source of supply.

Background and Rationale

The Internet, with its rapidly expanding and improving infrastructure, will be
the main telecommunication media of tomorrow. It has been extended to most
countries, albeit with slow-to-medium speed in most developing countries, and
even in large parts of the developed world. But the full potential for
achieving revolutionary advances in education and healthcare in developing
countries cannot be realized with the currently available information delivery
infrastructure and at currently prevailing market prices.

Improved distance education requires much better ways of presenting
information and of enabling learners to interact with facilitators to enable
the learners to process that information into personal knowledge.

At present most electronic distance learning takes place rather limited
programming and delivery modes. Much of the instructional programming is
limited to text and simple graphics delivered over the web and/or through
email and its derivatives (electronic fora, bulletin boards, chat rooms). On
the other, there is "room-based" or desktop-based videoconferencing, usually
with relatively small groups involved and low production values so far as the
video and audio are concerned. Both techniques allow significant interaction,
but the quality of instruction can suffer from the lack of high-quality audio
and video.

High-quality instruction is possible by broadcast television, with
multi-million dollar production budgets having been deployed to good effect in
some countries for example Annenberg/CBP in the US, BBC/Open University in
the UK, and The Roberto Marinho Foundation's Telecurso 2000 and Canal Futura
in Brazil. But there has been limited interactivity for these programs beyond
what is possible by telephone, fax and more recently email and its
derivatives.

Narrow bandwidth and high telecommunications costs limit the use of streaming
video and audio on a large scale. Often telecommunications networks get
clogged even with heavy net use of more conventional kinds. Many audiences,
even in developing countries, are "spoiled" by commercial television with high
production values. Even for educational programming, these audiences do not
easily accept jerky movement, small windows, failing connections, and low
production values. The quality of tele-lectures, video inserts and the like
can only approximate the high production values of commercial television. As
for telemedicine, there is a proven need for high-definition moving images, or
at least extremely high-resolution still images for many applications. Even
with low-cost or free broadband connectivity between nations, the cost and
pricing structure of telecommunications in many developing countries keep the
cost of access to the Internet at prohibitive levels, and inappropriate policy
and regulatory frameworks do not encourage efficient use of those public
resources for education and healthcare.

In sum, what is needed is both high quality audio/video delivery and high
quality interactivity. A true revolution in distance learning and telemedicine
requires high-speed access to the World Wide Web, allowing the flexibility to
offer a variety of media. These might include two-way audio, full-motion
video-conferencing up to MPEG 2 quality, television-quality netcasting, and
high-resolution image transfer for tele-medicine. Such capabilities require
medium to broad bandwidth. Developing countries need broadband Internet via
international satellite and fiber-optic cable.

The revolution in education and healthcare in developing countries also
requires a more favorable policy environment not just for telecommunications
but also for education and healthcare. A key to bringing down prices to
affordable levels is to establish national and international competition or at
least flexibility in the provision of telecommunications, education, and
healthcare services. Also rapid transfer of knowledge from developed to
developing countries needs to be possible.

Finance and Organization

Deployment of this high-speed Internet for education and health applications
in developing countries would be financed with a Global Service Trust Fund
(GSTF) for tele-education and tele-health. The Fund might be modeled on the
Universal Service Fund of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which
provides for discounts of 20-90% on a variety of telecommunications services
and equipment for schools and libraries.

Ideally, funding would be sufficient to eliminate the telecommunications cost
for qualified education and healthcare applications. A second solution might
be a subsidized International E-Rate akin to the "E-Rate" now benefiting
schools in the United States. A third option could be to begin with free
bandwidth, but raise it toward (expected to be declining) market prices in
gradual steps using the International E-Rate model.

Two separate contribution "funds" or "sources" would be established an
in-kind bandwidth transmission source and a financial assistance source. The
Coalition ideally would include a broad coalition of commercial and
governmental sources. These might include key international organizations such
as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations
Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), and the World
Health Organization (WHO). The Coalition would also include international
development banks, bilateral aid agencies, foundations, and companies
contributing to the Fund as well as organizations contributing education and
healthcare knowledge. The Fund could be administered in a variety of ways, but
it must have well organized, credible and financially scrupulous entity of
significant international standing in charge in the disbursement of funds.

The proposed Fund would be financed from a variety of public and private
sources, which could include:
* Overseas Development Assistance funds of countries belonging to
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
* Cash contributions from the profits of international financial
institutions such as the World Bank and the regional development
banks.
* Cash contributions from foundations and companies.
* Contributions in kind from companies owning underused satellite
transponders and/or fiber optic cable for these companies, the
marginal cost of making available underused existing bandwidth is
near zero, but providing it may build future markets for sale at
(declining) commercial prices.

The Fund's bandwidth source might be allocated through a variety of means that
might even include an auction process to organizers of distance education and
telemedicine projects in qualifying countries. The cash source might be used
for grants to such projects, with rules favoring poorer countries and end
beneficiaries, assuring a certain geographical distribution of benefits
between regions, and so forth. Grants might also favor international knowledge
sharing. All grants would be made through open competitive process. These are
only some preliminary ideas. The details, including the establishment of a
pilot version of the Fund to test operational principles, need to be worked
out during the next stage in proposal development.

Next Steps Recommendations of the Working Group

Establishing the Fund and Coalition requires a critical mass of global support
for these new organizations. The ability to mobilize financial and in-kind
resources for the Fund depends on the credibility of the membership of the
Coalition. That credibility would be furthered by early support from such key
international entities as commercial satellite and fiber optic service
providers, multi-national businesses, national governmental aid agencies,
foundations, and agencies of the United Nations such as the ITU, UNESCO, WHO,
the World Bank Group (including the International Finance Corporation), and
the regional development banks (African Development Bank, Asian Development
Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American
Development Bank). No legitimate agency of standing would be excluded from
participating. Creation of a preliminary coalition of participants to support
the "bandwidth source" as well as the "financial aid source" would be critical
to the initial testing of this concept.

To that end, the working group recommends that:

1. A more polished and developed draft of the proposal be put before
major international conferences in 2000. These would include the
Second International Global Knowledge Conference (GKII) to be held
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 7-10 March 2000, and other international
conferences that follow that of the Clarke Institute for
Telecommunications and Information.
2. An intensive effort be made to enlist the support of the
leadership of the key international institutions mentioned above,
facilitating the mobilization of bilateral aid agencies,
foundations, and multinational corporations.
3. Working groups on telecommunications policy conditionality,
education policy conditionality, healthcare policy conditionality,
and operational aspects of the Fund and the Coalition be convened
respectively by ITU, UNESCO, WHO, and the World Bank. These
working groups would include representatives of other interested
international organizations, bilateral aid agencies, companies,
foundations, and other NGOs, as well as of relevant information
and telecommunications industry organizations, e.g. the Global
Information Infrastructure Commission.

It is hoped that attendees at the CITI conference will be willing to offer
helpful comments concerning this paper either to Tak Utsumi, Peter Knight or
Joseph Pelton at the following e-mail addresses < utsumi@columbia.edu,
ptknight@attglobal.net, ecjpelton@aol.com>.

It is further hoped that providers of satellite or fiber optic system capacity
would be willing to join in further working group discussions to shape the
framework for the "pilot version" of the GSTF for tele-education and tele-health.

_____________________

The first draft of this proposal was developed by Dr. Takeshi Utsumi, Chairman
of the GLOSAS/USA and presented at the International Workshop and Conference
on Emerging Global Electronic Distance Learning (EGEDL'99) held August 9th -
13th, 1999 at the University of Tampere, Finland. EGEDL was sponsored by
Alprint, the British Council. Finnair, Finnish Broadcasting Company,
Foundation for The Support of The United Nations (FSUN), Japanese Medical
Society of America, Ministry of Education Finland, Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO), PictureTel, Sonera, Soros Foundation/Open Society
Institute, United States Information Agency (USIA), United States National
Science Foundation, and the Information and Development Program (infoDev)
administered by the World Bank. The conference conclusions included a
recommendation to work for the establishment of the Fund and the Coalition.
Subsequently a working group was formed at a meeting held at the Pan American
Health Organization to further develop the proposal and include policy
conditionality. This proposal was prepared by that working group composed of
Peter Knight (Knight-Moore Telematics/CDI), Frank Method (UNESCO), and Lane
Smith (USAID). Helpful comments were received from Carlos Braga and Michael
Moore. Joseph Pelton. and Bruce Ross-Larson provided editorial assistance and
revisions to adapt this paper to a format common to the project proposals
being considered by the Founder's Conference of the Clarke Insitute for
Telecommunications and Information..
****************************************
ATTACHMENT II

From: Ecjpelton@aol.com
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 20:47:58 EST
Subject: Paper for Conference
To: ptknight@attglobal.net
CC: utsumi@columbia.edu

Dear Peter: we are publishing short papers on each of the projects that will
be discussed at the CITI Conference. Could you e-mail just as soon as
possible the paper you are preparing on behalf of GLOSAS. We need this just
as soon as possible. There is also a power point presentation that I would
like to review with Tak Utsumi and yourself that represents an executive
level presentation of this idea that is designed for the plenary
presentation. We now have confirmation that Dan Goldin, Administrator of
NASA, David Thompson, CEO of Orbital Sciences, Noah Samara, CEO of Worldcom
will be giving keynotes. We also have tapes from Walter Cronkite, Arthur
Clarke and letters from George Lucas and others.
****************************************
ATTACHMENT III

From: Ecjpelton@aol.com
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 15:04:02 EST
Subject: (no subject)
To: utsumi@columbia.edu, lasmith@usaid.gov, garyg@vita.org,
gilles.seguin@dfait-maeci.gc.ca, KenRoko@sol.com,
myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov, ptknight@ibm.net, daj@utk.edu,
rrodriques@paho.org

As indicated at the last Glosas meeting I am sending the invitation and press
release concerning the Founder's Conference for the new Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Institute for Telecommunications and Information Institute. I hope
everyone can come. Donations to the new institute can be waived. Please call
me at (703) 536-6985 or (202) 994-5507. Best wishes for the New Millennium. I
am also meeting with INTELSAT to get clarification on the service to the
Univ. of the So. Pacific and will advise Tak Utsumi of the results of that
meeting. Joe Pelton
****************************************
ATTACHMENT IV

PRESS RELEASE
Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.S.

Press Officer: Janet Tingley
For Immediate Release: 30 December 1999

NEW SIR ARTHUR CLARKE INSTITUTE HOLDS FOUNDER'S CONFERENCE
5 February 2000 INTELSAT HQ

Video addresses by Walter Cronkite and Sir Arthur C. Clarke! Keynote
addresses by some of the world's leading information and space leaders!
Interactive "electronic discussions" with research centers from around the
world that will be affiliate partners in the new Clarke Institute for
Telecommunications and Information. These are only some of the featured
events of the Founder's Conference for the new Sir Arthur C. Clarke Institute
for Telecommunications and Information (CITI).

The Founder's Conference for this unique new global virtual research
institute will highlight a year of planning for this new INTERNET based
research institute. This new "electronic Institute" will operate in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Korea, India and Sri Lanka. It will
tie together the three already existing organizations that build on the
writings and accomplishments of Sir Arthur C. Clarke and aid important new
research capabilities as well. The existing organizations include the Arthur
C. Clarke Foundation of the United States, the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for
Modern Technologies in Sri Lanka and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the
United Kingdom.

The three initial projects of CITI will include PROJECT WARN
(Representing the acronym Warning and Recovery Network), the Millennium
Village (an integrated approach that is to provide modern information and
power capabilities to remote villages while also stimulating new economic
development) and an INTERNET 2 educational site for 3D modeling.

This event is being sponsored by INTELSAT, Phillips Publishing, The
Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.S., The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of
the U.K. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies of Sri
Lanka. Admission is restricted to the first 150 registrations. The event
will last all day from 8:30 am through lunch and an evening reception all at
INTELSAT Headquarters at 3400 International Drive, N.W., Washington, D.C. USA
Suggested tax deductible donations to the new Institute associated with this
event are as follows: Members of the SSPI or SIA: $150; Registrants of
Satellite 2000: $150; Other Registrants: $175: Friends and Supporters: $350;
and Patrons: $1000.

For further details about the event and its sponsors see below.
========================================
About the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the United States (ACCFUS)

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation was established in 1983 as part of the
observation of the ITU sponsored world communications year. It is a
not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational foundation dedicated to the study and
recognition of education and developments in space communications and
information and to promote the extraordinary contributions of Arthur C.
Clarke--the first individual to conceive of geosynchrnous satellite
communications. The Foundation was announced at the White House as a new
initiative to use communications, and especially satellite communications, to
improve world conditions. It activities include:

* Educational seminars and forums related to issues of communication
development, future directions in networking and programming, new
communications systems, etc.
* Fellowships and Scholarships to allow students to study satellite
applications and
related topics
* Training programs to allow young people to learn how to design and build
communications systems
* Awards for innovations in the field of satellite communications that
advance the science or the application of this technology as well as
major lifetime achievement awards for fundamental advanced to the field.

New activities under study include:

* Establishment of the Clarke Institute to carry out research, training,
education and international colloquia in the field. This would be the
world's first center devoted to the interdisciplinary study of
communications, networking and the future. Its work would be carried
out globally and would be conducted on a virtual basis with many
interconnected centers around the world including especially the Arthur
C. Clarke Foundation of the United Kingdom and the Arthur C. Clarke
Institute for Modern Technologies of Sri Lanka..

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the founders of the British Inter Planetary
Society, the first to propose the practical use of the Geosynchronous Orbit
for communications and broadcasting. His writings include some 100 books in
science and science fiction including 2001: a Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with
Rama, and Childhood's End. He serves as the Chancellor of the International
Space University of Strasbourg, France and recently retired as Vice Chancellor
of the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka where the Arthur C. Clarke
Institute for Modern Technologies resides.

For further details about The Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and
Information (CITI) and the 5 Feb, 2000 Founder's Conference to be held at
INTELSAT HQ (3400 International Drive N.W.) please contact:
Janet Tingley: tingley@erols.com (301) 587-7491
Joseph N. Pelton, Acting Executive Director of CITI and Vice-Chair of the
Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.S. (ACCFUS) ecjpelton@aol.com (703)
536-6985 or (202) 994-5507
Peter Marshall (in the U.K.) pminhindon@aol.com
Tim Logue, Sec/Treas. ACCFUS, LogueT@Coudert.com
Connie Beck, CITI Planning Committee and Exec. Director of SSPI
connie@sspi.org
Scott Chase, Phillips Publishing Company schase@philliips.com
****************************************
ATTACHMENT V

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 13:04:45 -0500
To: utsumi@columbia.edu
From: "Kenneth M. Kempner" <kempner@helix.nih.gov>
Subject: Your Visit to the NIH
Cc: fg36q@nih.gov, cmacedonia@aol.com

Dear Dr. Utsumi,

My colleagues and I were very pleased to meet with you yesterday afternoon,
and we enjoyed the active discussion about our common interests. Hopefully
we will be able to work together on an international telemedicine
collaboration in the near future.

Please have a pleasant journey to your meeting in Geneva next week, and we
would like to be in contact with you when you return to the United States.
We would also like you to describe our TELESYNERGY System to your
colleagues, if it is appropriate for the topic being discussed.

The TELESYNERGY System is described on the following web site:
http://www-dcs.nci.nih.gov/branches/rosp/index.html

The National Cancer Institute's new "Partnership in Science Program",
provides institutional outreach to distant hospitals that wish to
participate in NIH Clinical Trials. The TELESYNERGY System is the official
medical consultation platform which links institutions that participate in
this program. The "Partnership in Science Program" is described on the
following web site:
http://www-dcs.nci.nih.gov/branches/rosp/partnersci.html

The NCI All Ireland Cancer Conference was held October 3-6, 1999. The
TELESYNERGY System was transported to this conference and demonstrated via
a dial-up ISDN PRI circuit to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda. See the
following Web site for detailed information about this conference:
http://www.allirelandcancer.com/

For further technical information about the initial version of our
TELESYNERGY Medical Consultation WorkStation (MCWS), see the following web
site: http://imcs.cit.nih.gov/publications/spie97/

Thank you for your interest in our medical consultation activities here in
Bethesda, and we are looking forward to meeting with you again soon.

Best Wishes,

Ken

_________________________________________________________

Sent by Kenneth M. Kempner
Chief, Image Management and
Communication Section
Computational Bioscience and
Engineering Laboratory
Center for Information Technology
National Institutes of Health
Building 12A, Room 2019
12 South Drive MSC 5624
Bethesda, MD 20892-5624 USA
E-mail: kempner@helix.nih.gov
Tel: (301) 496-9344
Fax: (301) 402-2867
****************************************
ATTACHMENT VI

From: Cbraga@worldbank.org
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 10:56:55 -0500
Subject: Re: Proposal for Free Bandwidth for Education and Healthcare
Applications in Developing Countries [Virus checked]
To: ptknight@attglobal.net
Cc: Lane Smith <lasmith@usaid.gov>, Frank Mehhod <UNESCO1@cais.com>,
Kmcnamara1@worldbank.org, Pkarp1@worldbank.org,
astahmer@worldbank.org,
Rhernandez@worldbank.org, Tak Utsumi <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>,
utsumi@columbia.edu, Tapio Varis <tapio.varis@uta.fi>,
David A Johnson <daj@utk.edu>,
"Robert J. Rodrigues" <rrodrigues@paho.org>,
Joseph Pelton <jpelton@seas.gwu.edu>,
Myron Nordquist <myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov>,
Craig Smith <craig-smith@msn.com>, John Rose <J.Rose@unesco.org>,
Johan Ernberg <Johan.Ernberg@itu.int>,
Hisham El Sherif <hsherif@ritsec1.com.eg>
Cc: Claudio Castro <claudioca@iadb.org>, Christian Gomez <christiang@iadb.org>

Some quick reactions.

After reading the draft,

First, I could not answer what the fund would exactly do: would it lease high
bandwidth connections and make them available to qualifying institutions in
LDCs? What would be the allocation rules?...

Second, the document needs to establish -- at least try -- why broadband
connections would make a major difference for development purposes.

Third, what is the role of the private sector in this? What would be the
impact of these subsidies on ISPs in developing countries?

Fourth, it is a lost cause -- at least from the perspective of my experience
in the WBG -- to aim for several billion dollars without a pilot phase that
can prove the concept.

Hope this helps...
****************************************
ATTACHMENT VII

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 18:43:56 -0500
From: JIMMSL@aol.com
To: utsumi@friends-partners.org
Subject: Palau

Tak -

We are back from Palau and our honeymoon - I was quite impressed with this
small country and its beauty.

It is also a site of a tremendous historical tragedy of WWII- US and Japanese.

It would be appropriate to jointly assist their Internet development and
access to US and Japan - who are both major providers of aid.

I made several good contacts who are interested in CAADE and GLH efforts.
They are paying 24 cent per minute for Internet access and 24 cent per KB of
transfer. Not conducive to browsing the Web!!

How can I assist in the upcoming Manila and Fiji events?

Jim Miller
****************************************
ATTACHMENT VIII

From: "Frank Method" <unesco1@cais.com>
To: <Cbraga@worldbank.org>, <ptknight@attglobal.net>
Cc: "Lane Smith" <lasmith@usaid.gov>, <Kmcnamara1@worldbank.org>,
<Pkarp1@worldbank.org>, <astahmer@worldbank.org>,
<Rhernandez@worldbank.org>, "Tak Utsumi" <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>,
<utsumi@columbia.edu>, "Tapio Varis" <tapio.varis@uta.fi>,
"David A Johnson" <daj@utk.edu>,
"Robert J. Rodrigues" <rrodrigues@paho.org>,
"Joseph Pelton" <jpelton@seas.gwu.edu>,
"Myron Nordquist" <myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov>,
"Craig Smith" <craig-smith@msn.com>, "John Rose" <J.Rose@unesco.org>,
"Johan Ernberg" <Johan.Ernberg@itu.int>,
"Hisham El Sherif" <hsherif@ritsec1.com.eg>,
"Claudio Castro" <claudioca@iadb.org>,
"Christian Gomez" <christiang@iadb.org>
Subject: RE: Proposal for Free Bandwidth for Education and
HealthcareApplications in Developing Countries [Virus checked]
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 11:48:22 -0500

1) I agree with these comments.

2) What was circulated was only a draft. I have not yet had a chance to
meet and discuss this with Peter and others, which we will do today at 4;30.

3) There is a strong argument (not yet made in the draft proposal)for some
form of e-rate arrangement for least-cost connections for carefully
delimited education applications and perhaps other applications such as some
forms of healthcare services and perhaps some other things that can be
determined to provide primarily a public good. However, I do not think the
financing arrangements in this proposal (a variety of levies, aka taxes, on
international telecommunications assets) is likely to be agreeable
politically or workable administratively without first having a lead role
for national teleocmmunications entities setting local rates and regulatory
policies affecting local telephone connectivity, cable and wireless access.

4) These are only my judgments; I have not yet had responses from others in
UNESCO as to the substance of the proposal or the roles UNESCO may be able
to play.

Regards,

Frank Method
Director
UNESCO-Washington
(1)202-331-3755
fax:331-9121
****************************************
ATTACHMENT IX

From: Kmcnamara1@worldbank.org
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 11:34:37 -0500
Subject: RE: Proposal for Free Bandwidth for Education and
HealthcareApplications in Developing Countries [Virus checked]
To: Frank Method <unesco1@cais.com>
Cc: Cbraga@worldbank.org, ptknight@attglobal.net,
Lane Smith <lasmith@usaid.gov>, Pkarp1@worldbank.org,
astahmer@worldbank.org, Rhernandez@worldbank.org,
Tak Utsumi <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>, utsumi@columbia.edu,
Tapio Varis <tapio.varis@uta.fi>, David A Johnson <daj@utk.edu>,
"Robert J. Rodrigues" <rrodrigues@paho.org>,
Joseph Pelton <jpelton@seas.gwu.edu>,
Myron Nordquist <myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov>,
Craig Smith <craig-smith@msn.com>, John Rose <J.Rose@unesco.org>,
Johan Ernberg <Johan.Ernberg@itu.int>,
Hisham El Sherif <hsherif@ritsec1.com.eg>
Cc: Claudio Castro <claudioca@iadb.org>, Christian Gomez <christiang@iadb.org>

one of the obvious questions, as Carlos suggests, is what do we know about the
supposed inability of the market, particularly given new applications coming
along, to answer this demand, since that knowledge should shape any proposed
interventions. (We should be especially cautious of this since I fear that
telecenters may have in some cases crowded out incipient private sector
efforts such as phone shops in some locations, though I don't think we know that yet.)

For those of you in DC who may be interested, one new broadband two-way
satellite Internet application, Tachyon Inc., will be presenting at the Bank
on Tuesday, January 18 from 11 to 12:30 in room MC4-w150. (More info on
Tachyon at www.tachyon.net) If you are outside the Bank and would like to
attend, let me know.

Best,
Kerry

__________________________________
Kerry Stephen McNamara
Senior Knowledge Management Officer
World Bank Institute
1818 H Street N.W., room J2-127
Washington, DC 20433
tel: 202-473-8215
fax: 202-522-1492
email: kmcnamara1@worldbank.org
****************************************
ATTACHMENT X

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 15:18:39 -0500
From: "Peter T. Knight" <peter@knight-moore.com>
To: Carlos Braga <cbraga@worldbank.org>,
Kerry McNamara <kmcnamara1@worldbank.org>,
Frank Mehhod <UNESCO1@CAIS.COM>
CC: John Rose <J.Rose@unesco.org>, Philip E Karp <pkarp1@worldbank.org>,
Tapio Varis <tapio.varis@uta.fi>, Lane Smith <lasmith@usaid.gov>,
Claudio Castro <claudioca@iadb.org>,
Christian Gomez <christiang@iadb.org>,
"Robert J. Rodrigues" <rrodrigues@paho.org>,
Tak Utsumi <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>, utsumi@columbia.edu,
Craig Smith <craig-smith@msn.com>,
Hisham El Sherif <hsherif@ritsec1.com.eg>
Subject: Free or highly subsidized Broad Bandwith for Education and
Healthcare: Thanks for the comments

Carlos, Kerry, and Frank:

As Frank says, this is decisevely a draft, which is precisely why we are
delighted to get your comments.

Let me try my hand at the questions raised first by Carlos.

1. What would the Fund do? In one way or another, pay for broad
bandwidth necessary for distance learning and telemedicine projects in
developing countries (many of which would involve international
collaboration) meeting the conditionality to be established. Ways to
pay:

* Donation of bandwidth provided in kind by owners of satellite
transponders and fiber optic cable;
* Purchase of bandwidth from the least-cost provider either directly
by the Fund or by making cash grants to qualifying projects so
they can purchase it;
* Award of grants to qualifying projects involving international
collaboration -- this could include more than the bandwidth
component (if there is enough cash in the Fund).

2. How would broad bandwidth make a difference? A concise rationale
needs to be developed. A basic argument might be that narrow bandwidth
does not provide suitable medium for streaming video and audio on a
large scale, and thin pipes get clogged even with heavy net use of more
conventional kinds. Many audiences, even in developing countries, are
"spoiled" by traditional television with high production values (e.g.
Rede Globo in Brazil). Even for educational programming, they do not
easily accept jerky movement, small windows, falling connections, and
low production values. The quality of tele lectures, video inserts, and
the like has to approximate that of high-quality commercial television.
As for telemedicine, there is a proven need for high definition moving
images, or at least extremely high resolution stills. Of course, email
will get you a long way over nothing, but if the idea of providing
services anywhere approximating those available in major cities in the
developed (and some developing) countries is to get far, broad bandwidth
is necessary.

3. What is the role of the private sector? Would would be impact of
subsidies on ISPs in developing countries? Lane Smith may want to
comment on this - The Leland Initiative used conditionality and
subsidized connections with good effect in Africa. My preliminary
answer: a limited or even large-scale set of educational and healthcare
projects will not substitute for the need for ISPs to provide common
Internet connections to the majority of residenial and commercial users.
We are talking about availability to a limited number of providers of
educational and health services and their clients. The clients are not
necessarily in their homes, but may go to learning or healthcare centers
where the bandwidth would be available. And the private sector would
provide the bandwidth (either directly, by donation, or by selling it to
the Fund or the grantees of the Fund).

4. Don't we need to start with a pilot? Well, nothing against this.
Let's say the donations which can be obtained in the first six months of
the Fund's life will go into pilot projects. Until these have been
evaluated, other donations will either be suspended, or better, put in
escrow (if in cash) or withheld for future use (in kind).

As for Kerry's concern for the whether the market will take care of it
anyway, why is NSF subsidizing Internet 2 in the US? Why did it
subsidize the original Internet for many years? It is to develop a new
market, demonstrate what is feasible, and allow time for competition and
technological change to bring down the cost to the point where even poor
markets can support it. The option of a phasedown of the percentage of
subsidy (option 3 in draft 2.01) from 100% of market price in year one
to 0% in year 11 (by which time the cost should be far lower) argues for
frontloading now, while costs are high, to develop content and have a
demonstration effect.

Frank and I will discuss at 4:30, but no specific proposal was made to
levy a bit tax on international communications, though if all providers
gave the same proportional amounts of bandwidth, the impact might be the
same. The fact is that there are a lot of underused transponders and
dark fibers today which can be put into service at extremely low
marginal cost, while serving the function of acting as "loss leaders" to
develop the market. It may make good business sense to develop the
education and healthcare markets through donating this underused
capacity. The amount of underused capacity can be increased by moving to
better fiber transmission techniques and moving from analog to digital
TV signals on many transponders.

Well, that's a first shot at responding. We will try to improve this,
and I certainly hope all copied will wade in with their own ideas as
well as criticisms.

With best regards,

Peter
--
Peter T. Knight
Knight, Moore - Telematics for Education and Development
Communications Development Incorporated (CDI)
1825 Eye Street, NW, Suite 1075
Washington, DC 20006, USA

Tel: 1-202-775-2132 (secretary),1- 202-721-0348 (direct, voicemail)
Fax: 1-202-775-2135 (office), 1-202362-8482 (home)
Cellphone: 1-202-255-7215
Email: ptknight@attglobal.net
www: http://www.knight-moore.com http://www.cdinet.com
****************************************
ATTACHMENT XI

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 13:31:01 -0500
To: ptknight@attglobal.net
From: "Michael G. Moore" <mgmoore@psu.edu>
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Free or highly subsidized Broad Bandwith for Education and
Healthcare: Thanks for the comments]
Cc: Carlos Braga <cbraga@worldbank.org>,
Kerry McNamara <kmcnamara1@worldbank.org>,
Frank Mehhod <UNESCO1@CAIS.COM>, John Rose <J.Rose@unesco.org>,
Tapio Varis <tapio.varis@uta.fi>, Lane Smith <lasmith@usaid.gov>,
Claudio Castro <claudioca@iadb.org>,
Christian Gomez <christiang@iadb.org>,
"Robert J. Rodrigues" <rrodrigues@paho.org>,
Tak Utsumi <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>, utsumi@columbia.edu,
Craig Smith <craig-smith@msn.com>,
Hisham El Sherif <hsherif@ritsec1.com.eg>

Peter ... I expect my thoughts are running a long way behind your team, but
for what it is worth, my response to your discussion is that broadband is the
key in my business -- Distance learning -- to development of QUALITY. We wont
have quality distance education in developed or developing countries until we
have both better pipelines and vastly improved programming -- and we wont move
our organizations towards the latter until we have the former. (Educational
organizations are not particularly rational; remember most of them only got
into correspondence instruction in the last few years because they can do it
electronically and that is so much more glamorous than delivering materials by
surface mail !) ..
Improved programming means first much better ways of PRESENTING information
and second much better ways of enabling individuals to INTERACT with
facilitators to enable them to process that information into personal knowledge.
We are currently employing primarily one of two, equally primitive
programming/delivery modes. On the one hand, many of my university colleagues
are beavering away like medieval monks, each in his little cell with a pc,
writing instructional programs for presentation in almost exclusively text
format with crude interaction by text also. Then in the training field there
is still some enthusiasm for presenting primitive video programs by satellite
with equally crude audio-facilitated interaction ... ("can you hear me there
in Lima, or Bangkok?) .... This situation won't improve just because there is
the increased bandwidth, but the increased bandwidth will stimulate and
provide the conditions for improved quality.
The solution is a combination of high production value video presentation and
high quality interactivity, both audio and video, both group-based and individual.
Where in the past there was high quality instruction by video ... I mean
broadcast television,-- with multi-million dollar production budgets such as
Annenberg/CPB in US or BBC/OU in UK, there was no decent electronically
communicated interactivity. (In UK -- where at least they had a system --
students had to travel to local tutorial groups for interaction, while in US
it was left to any institution signing up with Annenberg/CPB to organize its
own interaction if it chose.) In the 90's we had the text-interactivity of
the internet but can't carry the presentation quality of broadcast video.
To have the capacity for BOTH high quality video delivery of content PLUS high
quality interactivity we need broadband.
Michael M.

Michael G. Moore
Director, American Center for Study of Distance Education
Assoc. Prof Education
Pennsylvania State University
http://www.ed.psu.edu/ACSDE/
mgmoore@psu.edu
(personal): mgmoore@attglobal.net
Tel: 814 863 3501
Secretary: 814 863 3764
****************************************
ATTACHMENT XII

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 05:16:13 -0500
From: "Peter T. Knight" <ptknight@attglobal.net>
Organization: Knight-Moore Telematics for Education and Development/CDI
To: Frank Mehhod <UNESCO1@CAIS.COM>, Tak Utsumi <utsumi@www.friends-partners.org>,
Lane Smith <lasmith@usaid.gov>, utsumi@columbia.edu,
Joseph Pelton <jpelton@seas.gwu.edu>
Subject: [Fwd: Any reaction to proposal?] See attached from John Rose

Colleagues,

John Rose, who has been with UNESCO for years working with less
developed countries and IT (e.g. in the African Information Society
Initiative and its sequels) has sent some useful comments. How do you
suggest we proceed prior to the meeting at INTELSAT in less than two
weeks?

Cheers,

Peter

--
Peter T. Knight
Knight, Moore - Telematics for Education and Development
Communications Development Incorporated (CDI)
1825 Eye Street, NW, Suite 1075
Washington, DC 20006, USA

Tel: 1-202-775-2132 (secretary),1- 202-721-0348 (direct, voicemail)
Fax: 1-202-775-2135 (office), 1-202362-8482 (home)
Cellphone: 1-202-255-7215
Email: ptknight@attglobal.net
http://www.knight-moore.com (updated) and http://www.cdinet.com
========================================

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 09:35:05 +0100
To: ptknight@attglobal.net
From: John Rose <J.Rose@unesco.org>
Subject: Re: Any reaction to proposal?

I have been listening, Peter, and have been in contact with Frank who is
representing us on this.

Of course the idea of e-rates is very much within our concerns, but in
addition to the financial/organizational problems (how to raise all those
billions, the nebulous nature of the "Global Service Trust Fund") there are
technical points to reconsider, e.g.: i) Why only education and health? What
about, for example, libraries, museums, certain research institutions, NGOs,
local communities? One should agree on a definition of public service usage
and criteria for inclusion of users (could be different categories); ii)
The proposal only speaks to telecommunication tariffs. What about Internet
access charges? In the States the latter are very small, but in many
developing countries they are very and arbitrarily high (since not
controlled by tariff regulation and not based on free market either). The
telecom and Internet access charges may in practice be bundled or unbundled,
but both should be considered; iii) The emphasis on broadband is WAY
over-stated. In our experience, most public service institutions in
developing countries would be VERY happy with a 64kbs channel (even dial-up
would do in many cases). Even this service is totally beyond the means of
schools in least developed countries. Of course, broadband would be very
useful for some applications in higher education, research and health, but
this is not the main point. We should listen to the public service
institutions in developing countries on their priority needs.

Basically, I feel that you will not really get going until you achieve a
broader process of consultation and negotiation. Hopefully the ITU, WHO, APC
and other more respresentative candidate partners have been
consulted/invited to contribute? Thanks, best regards and bonne chance, John

John B. Rose
Information and Informatics Division
Division de l'Information et de l'Informatique
UNESCO
1 Rue Miollis
75732 PARIS Cedex 15
France

Tel: (33-1) 45 68 45 29
Fax: (33-1) 45 68 55 83
E-mail: j.rose@unesco.org
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/
****************************************
ATTACHMENT XIII

CITI

Clarke Institute for
Telecommunications and Information

A VIRTUAL GLOBAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Bending Technology to Meet Global Social and Economic Needs

FOUNDERS' CONFERENCE
INTELSAT HEADQUARTERS
5 February 2000

CORPORATE PATRON
And INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS:
INTELSAT, Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.S., Arthur C. Clarke Institute
for Modern Technlogies of Sri Lanka, Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.K.
========================================

PROGRAM

8:30 am Registration
9:00 am Introductions-John McLucas and Joseph Pelton
9:10 am Video Message from Arthur C. Clarke
9:15 am Keynote by Dan Goldin, NASA Administrator
9:30 am Welcome by INTELSAT
9:40 am Video Message from Walter Cronkite
9:50 am John McLucas, Burton Edelson and Joe Pelton-The Organization and
Current Plans for CITI and ACCFUS
10:05 am David Thompson, Chairman and CEO, Orbital Sciences Corporation
10:20 am Noah Samara, President and CEO of Worldspace
10:35 am John Eger, Chairman, International Communications Center, San
Diego State University, and Chairman of JUSTRI
10:45 am Break
11:00 am Greetings from Around the World and CITI Affiliates

(Clarke Foundation of the U.K., Communications Research Centre of
Canada, Communications Research Lab of Japan, Canadian Space
Agency, George Lucas, Japan-US Telecommunications Research
Institute, Japan U.S. Science, Technology and Space Applications
Program, Sidney Topol, and University of Surrey)

11:15 am Presentation of Planned Projects

The Millennium Village:
Robert Freling and Henry Hertzfeld
Project WARN-Warning And Recovery Network:
Gary Garriott and Louis Bransford
The Next Billion Years Internet 2 Web Site:
Ted Christensen and Joe Pelton
The Global Trust Fund for Tele-Education:
Peter Knight, Tak Utsumi, and Joseph N. Pelton

12:30-2:30 pm Lunch (Hosted by Phillips Publishing) and Breakout Group
Discussions

Workshop-Discussion Groups

Group 1: The Millennium Village
Joseph N. Pelton, Moderator,
Robert Freling & Henry Hertzfeld, Resource Personnel
Ashok Rao, Rapporteur

Group 2: Project Warn
Amit Maitra, Moderator
Gary Garriott & Louis Bransford, Resource Personnel
Tim Logue, Rapporteur

Group 3: The Next Billion Years Internet 2 Project
Walda Roseman, Moderator
Ted Christensen & Paul Caffrey, Resource Personnel
Alan Parker, Rapporteur

Group 4: Global Trust Fund for Tele-education
Susan Irwin, Moderator
Peter Knight & Tak Utsumi, Resource Personnel
Peter Marshall, Rapporteur

2:30 pm Reports from Break-out Sessions
3:00 pm The Future Vision and Funding of CITI
(Plenary discussion)
3:45 pm Final Plenary Discussions-Next Steps
4:00 pm Adjourn for Reception
4:00-6:00 pm Reception-INTELSAT Foyer (Hosted by INTELSAT)
========================================

Corporate Patron:

INTELSAT

Individual Patrons:

Louis Bransford, Joseph Charyk, Burton Edelson, Kenneth Manning, John
McLucas, Amit Maitra, Alan Parker, Joseph N. Pelton, John Puente, Walda
Roseman, Marcia Smith, Sidney Topol,

Individual Friends and Supporters:

Tim Logue, Scott Madry, Hampshire University

Corporate Sponsors:

Phillips Publishing, Satlink Communications Corporation, Lockheed
Martin, Hughes Network Services, ESATEL, Trex Communications, Virginia
Center for Innovative Technologies

Institutional Sponsors:

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation of the U.S., The Arthur C. Clarke
Foundation of the U.K, and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern
Technologies of Sri Lanka
****************************************
List of Distribution

Peter T. Knight
Knight, Moore - Telematics for Education and Development
Communications Development Incorporated (CDI)
Strategy, Policy, Design, Implementation, Evaluation
1825 Eye Street, NW, Suite 1075
Washington, DC 20006, USA
Tel: 1-202-775-2132 (secretary), 1-202-721-0348 (direct)
Fax: 1-202-775-2135 (office), 1-202-362-8482 (home)
ptknight@attglobal.net
webmail: ptknight@netscape.net
http://www.knight-moore.com
http://www.cdinet.com
IP for CU-SeeMe: 198.77.80.46
http://www.knight-moore.com/projects/projectsindex.htm -- about GSTF

Dr. Joseph N. Pelton
Senior Research Scientist
Institute for Applied Space Research, Rm 340
George Washington University
2033 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20052
202-994-5507
Fax: 202-994-5505
ecjpelton@aol.com
jpelton@seas.gwu.edu

Salah H. Mandil, Ph.D.
Director-Advisor on Informatics
World Health Organization
20, Avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27
SWITZERLAND
+41-22-791-2426 (direct)
+41-22-791-2111
Fax: +41-22-791-4702
mandils@who.ch

Kenichiro Kajiwara, M.D.
MCBI/Japan
Kajiwara Hospital
285 Nakadono
Nakatsu City 871-0031
Japan
+81-979-222-535
Fax: +81-979-227-807
kenchan@neti.com
http://web.ktarn.or.jp/medical.html
geolocation: 33.35.30.4 131.11.48.4

Frank S. Govern, M.B.A., Ph.D.
Special Advisor for Institutional Outreach to the Director
Deputy Director, Radiation Oncology Science Program
Division of Clinical Sciences (DCS)
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Building 10, Room B3-B69
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892-1002
301-496-5457
Fax: 301-480-5439
Beeper - 301-496-4567 then 5460 then return number
Portable Phone: 301-257-6964
fg36q@nih.gov

Kenneth M. Kempner
Chief, Image Management and Communication Section
Computational Bioscience and Engineering Laboratory
Division of Computer Research and Technology
Center for Information Technology
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Building 12A, Room 2019
12 South Drive MSC 5624
Bethesda, MD 20892-5624 USA
301-496-9344
Fax: (301) 402-2867
kempner@helix.nih.gov
http://www.nih.gov/welcome/maps.html
http://www-dcs.nci.nih.gov/branches/rosp/index.html -- about TELESYNERGY
System
http://www-dcs.nci.nih.gov/branches/rosp/partnersci.html -- about "Partnership
in Science Program"
http://imcs.cit.nih.gov/publications/spie97/ -- about TELESYNERGY Medical
Consultation WorkStation (MCWS)
http://www.allirelandcancer.com/ -- about NCI All Ireland Cancer Conference on
October 3-6, 1999.

P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor
Acting President, Global University System
Chairman, GLOSAS/Finland
Professor and Chair
Media Culture and Communication Education
Hypermedia laboratory
University of Tampere
P.O.Box 607
FIN-33101 Tampere
FINLAND
Tel: +358-3-215 6110
GSM: +358-50-567-9833
Fax: +358-3-215 7503
tapio.varis@uta.fi
http://www.uta.fi/~titava

Mr. Myron Nordquist
Legislative Counsel
U.S. Senator Conrad Burns' Office
187 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2603
202-224-6808
Fax: 202-224-8594
Cell: 301-646-8153
myron_nordquist@burns.senate.gov
http://www.senate.gov/~burns/
804-924-7573 -- at the U. of VA.
Fax: 804-982-2622 -- at the U. of VA.

Mr. Carlos Alberto Primo Braga
Program Manager
Information for Development (InfoDev)
The World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20433
U.S.A.
202-473-3927
Fax: (202) 522 3186
cbraga@worldbank.org
http://www.worldbank.org/infodev

Mr. Jim Miller
President
SYNECTICS, Ltd.
2 Nickerson Street, Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98109-1652
206-283-9420
206-283-4136
Mobile: 206-619-2144
Fax: 206-283-4538
Paging: 206-955-1036
ShareVision: 206-283-4538 (call 206-283-9420 first)
ISDN Equipped - 206-218-0027/8 (call 206-283-9420 first)
jimmsl@aol.com
jwm@synecticsltd.com
http://synecticsltd.com
E-Rate SPIN - 143004591
74640.2214@compuserve.com

Frank Method
Director
UNESCO-Washington
(1)202-331-3755
fax:331-9121
unesco1@cais.com

Petko KANTCHEV
Senior Engineer, Sound and TV Broadcasting
Coordinator, Technology and Applications Group (TAG)
Counsellor on Telemedicine
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-730-5448
Fax: +41-22-730-6204
Telex: 421000 UIT CH
E-mail: petko.kantchev@itu.int
X.400: G=petko; S=kantchev; P=itu; A=400net; C=ch
http://www.itu.int
http://web.itu.ch/ITU-D-HRD/hrdevents/telemed/finalrep/Telemed_fr-
en.htm

Dr. Michael G. Moore
Editor, The American Journal of Distance Education Associate
Director, American Center for the Study of Distance Education
Assoc. Professor Education
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
814 863 3501
814 863 3764 (secretary)
mgmoore@psu.edu
(personal): mgmoore@attglobal.net
http://www.ed.psu.edu/ACSDE/

John B. Rose
Information and Informatics Division
Division de l'Information et de l'Informatique
Communication Division
UNESCO
1 Rue Miollis
75732 PARIS Cedex 15
France
Tel: (33-1) 45 68 45 29
Fax: (33-1) 45 68 55 83
j.rose@unesco.org
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/infotech/infotech.htm
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *
* Founder of CAADE *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education) *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of *
* Global University System (GUS) *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/ *
**********************************************************************

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