Building an Information Society: a Latin American and Caribbean Perspective Martin Hilbert Jorge Katz Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Santiago, Chile, January 2003 4 ECLAC Distr. LIMITED LC/L.1845 January 2003 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH This document was prepared by Jorge Katz, Director and Martin Hilbert, Researcher of ECLAC Division of Production, Productivity and Management. The preparation and analysis for this document has been carried out by a number of contributors, including Noah Elkin, Richard Downes, Sven Rusch, Iain Ballesty, Alejandro Arancibia, Glen Canessa, Manuel José Cárdenas, Jacqueline Abarza, John Tonelli, Gonzalo León, Claudio Orrego, Robert Rodrigues, Marcelo Bonilla and Felipe Jara. We also would like to thank Oscar Altimir, Antonio Rosa, Tadao Takahashi, Francisco Gómez Alamillo, Julio César Margáin y Compeán, Christian Nicolai, Paulo Lopes, Joost Laga, Javier Carranza, Mikio Kuwayama, Martin Hopenhayn, Eli Noam, Ben Petrazzini, Nelson Correa, Patrick Nixon, Lasse Nagel and Martina Hirschmann for their direct or indirect contributions. The opinions expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization. Copyright © ECLAC, United Nations, 2003 All rights reserved Printed in Santiago, Chile Building an Information Society: a Latin American and Caribbean Perspective 5 Contents Abstract............................................................................................................... 7 Preface .................................................................................................................11 Overview.............................................................................................................13 Chapter I Theory and strategy ..........................................................................................21 A. Towards a theory on the information society............................21 1. Information and knowledge...................................................22 2. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)........25 3. The four layers of digital activity...........................................29 4. ICT for development ...............................................................36 5. Integrating the technological paradigm into a development approach............................................................41 B. Strategies for an information society ..........................................43 1. Technical change and the window of opportunity .............44 2. Leapfrogging and catch-up.....................................................46 3. Technology-based divides ......................................................51 4. Entering the present window of opportunity......................55 Chapter II Horizontal layers in Latin America and the Caribbean...............................61 A. Infrastructure..................................................................................61 1. The digital divide.....................................................................63 2. Infrastructure and Internet traffic flows ...............................76 3. Digital television ......................................................................82 4. Mobile communications..........................................................89 B. Generic services............................................................................102 1. Business applications.............................................................103 2. Software implementation in companies.............................113 3. Software as a service: Application Service Providers (ASP)...118 6 ECLAC Chapter III Diagonal areas in Latin America and the Caribbean..................................125 A. Regulatory frameworks..............................................................125 1. Telecommunications regulation...........................................126 2. Judicial framework ................................................................143 3. Intellectual property..............................................................151 B. Financing.......................................................................................159 1. The macro and microeconomic background to the transition..................................................................................159 2. Investing in the development of an information society...163 3. Financing a universal information society for all..............168 C. Human capital..............................................................................182 1. Human capital for an information society .........................182 2. Technical profiles....................................................................186 Chapter IV Vertical sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean .................................197 A. E-Business.....................................................................................202 B. E-Government..............................................................................222 C. E-Health ........................................................................................232 D. E-Culture.......................................................................................247 E. E-Learning ....................................................................................257 F. E-Media.........................................................................................273 Chapter V Policy Agenda for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean............................................................................................289 A. Strategies for an Information Society........................................289 B. Building the Infrastructure Layer..............................................295 C. Building the generic services layer............................................298 D. Regulatory frameworks for an information society ...............300 E. Financing an information society..............................................302 F. Human capital for an information society...............................304 G. E-Sectors........................................................................................307 1. Digitizing the economy (e-business)...................................307 2. Digitizing government (e-government)..............................309 3. Digitizing the health sector (e-health).................................310 4. Digitizing culture (e-culture)................................................311 5. Digitizing education (e-learning).........................................313 6. Digitizing the media (e-media)............................................314 H. Final consideration ......................................................................316 Bibliography ...................................................................................................317 Special Acknowledgements...........................................................................335 Building an Information Society: a Latin American and Caribbean Perspective 7 Abstract New technological options that permit the use of digital systems to create and disseminate information around the world are paving the way for new means of organizing society and economic production and are gradually giving rise to a meta-paradigm that has come to be referred to as the “Information Society”. Viewed from the perspective of developing countries, the question of how to employ this emerging paradigm to achieve broader development goals and to integrate them more fully into the global Information Society is an issue of the utmost importance on the development agenda. In seeking to address this challenging issue, the present document asks three key questions: 1. What does the “Information Society” consist of? The first chapter of this study develops an analytical framework to consider the many complex issues involved in the construction and operation of an Information Society. 2. What are the basic characteristics and distinctive regional aspects of the transition to an Information Society? In order to understand what current and future paths Latin America and the Caribbean can choose to follow in making the transition to an Information Society, chapters two, three and four review some of the specifically regional features of the current process. 3. What policies can help to facilitate the transition towards an Information Society? The fifth and final chapter proposes a positive agenda for the Latin American and Caribbean region’s transition to an Information Society. Building an Information Society: a Latin American and Caribbean Perspective 9 Resumen Las nuevas tecnologías que permiten crear y difundir información en todo el mundo mediante sistemas digitales están conduciendo a nuevas formas de organización social y producción, y dando origen gradualmente a un metaparadigma conocido como “sociedad de la información”. Ante esta situación, la búsqueda de formas de aprovechar este paradigma emergente para lograr metas cada vez más amplias e integrarse más plenamente en la sociedad mundial de la información adquiere una importancia fundamental para los países en desarrollo. En vista de este desafío, en el presente documento se plantean tres preguntas de primordial importancia: 1. ¿En qué consiste la sociedad de la información? En el capítulo I del estudio se ofrece un marco analítico para la consideración de los numerosos y complejos problemas que suponen la construcción y el funcionamiento de la sociedad de la información. 2. ¿Cuáles son las características básicas y las peculiaridades regionales del proceso de transición a la sociedad de la información? Para facilitar la comprensión de las diversas vías que pueden tomar América Latina y el Caribe en el proceso de transición a la sociedad de la información, ahora y en el futuro, en los capítulos II, III y IV se examinan algunas de las características de este proceso en la región. 3. ¿Qué políticas podrían facilitar la transición a la sociedad de la información? En el capítulo V se presenta una agenda positiva para la transición de América Latina y el Caribe a la sociedad de la información.