Focus on funding development of ICT infrastucture at WSIS

They also stressed the need for raising the issues of financial mechanism of post-WSIS programmes, especially those of funding development of locally relevant content, regional internet backbone and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure.

Development Research Network (DNet) and Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BFES) jointly organised the press conference on civil society participation in WSIS-Tunisia at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.

Besides government and different non-government organisations, DNet and BFES are also going to take part in the summit to be held on November 16-18 in Tunisia. They will present their experiences on bringing the people at rural level under the facilities of information technology.

"In line with other developing countries, the Bangladesh delegation should take a position in the summit for strengthening Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF), which has been created so that wealthy nations can contribute a voluntary 'digital tax' to provide hi-tech tools for the poor nations," Mahmud Hasan, programme director of DNet, said while reading out the paper on 'WSIS Issues of Debate and Possible Position of Bangladeshi Delegation for PrepCom-3'.

At the summit, the Bangladesh delegation may support making Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accountable to a global body rather than the US government, he added.

"If the issues of financing of regional internet backbone comes up, specially in Asia, then the Bangladesh delegation may want to endorse it," he pointed out.

The delegation should support the use and funding of open source technologies whenever appropriate for developing countries, he said, adding, reduction of internet inter-connection costs for the least developed countries and regulation of internet pricing should also be discussed at the summit.

Reza Selim, associate director of BFES, also spoke at the news conference.