[IGFmaglist] Comments on proposed BPF on Committed actions to make Internet sustainable and affordable for everyone

[Hazar Alzaki (CELA)]

Dear MAG colleagues,



Thanks to all of the colleagues who have spent time in preparing these very interesting proposals for BPFs in 2021.  I would like to share some comments, concerns and suggestions about the proposed BPF on "Committed actions to make Internet sustainable and affordable for everyone".



First, I want to support having a BPF that looks to understand policy approaches to make Internet access more affordable and thereby help to extend connectivity. However, I have concerns about the quite specific and narrow focus that I think the proposal takes in thinking about this issue.



The BPF proposal seems to focus on the idea of introducing taxes on companies which provide content, services or applications that are accessed via the Internet (referred to by some as "OTTs"). A number of different bodies and organisations have raised doubts about this as a policy solution, including the ITU, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and the Alliance for Affordable Internet (see references at the end of this email). Indeed, the only reference to taxes within the IGF Messages was about the benefit of *lowering* taxes - "Lowering taxes and prices for infrastructure equipment and devices could also make the Internet access more affordable" (page 2 of the IGF Messages on Inclusion). So I am not sure that this is a policy solution that the BPF should be so narrowly focused on, if at all.



I understand from colleagues who served on the MAG last year that the intention for this BPF proposal was to build on the discussion of the IGF 2020 Main Session on Inclusion. The outcomes of that session are captured on pages 11-12 of the Session Reports document (https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/filedepot_download/10794/2350<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.intgovforum.org%2Fmultilingual%2Ffiledepot_download%2F10794%2F2350&data=04%7C01%7CHazar.Alzaki%40microsoft.com%7Caca0182fc7b04167568408d8c391bb0b%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C637474378048245900%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=v4VLtGLQjYdBoBSuMchzZI%2FZC0OyOJG8dDEdHhIYqik%3D&reserved=0>). They do not include taxation but do include:

- Regulations tend to be designed for large companies and urban areas, but they should be adjusted to allow for new business models and complementary providers such as Community Networks in less populated parts of countries.

- Larger allocations of unlicensed spectrum to enable these complementary providers.

- Governments to provide incentives for investment in telecommunication infrastructure.

- The importance of governments having clear universal access goals, which could be articulated and achieved via national broadband plans.

- Energy access as an important element of Internet access



Other policy solutions that have been promoted in the IGF, the ITU, via the Broadband Commission and elsewhere include:

- Better design and use of universal service funds

- Stimulating competition

- Enabling infrastructure-sharing to lower costs

- Enabling the sharing of, and dynamic access to, under-utilized spectrum

- ITU-T Recommendation D.1101 recommends that ISPs be able to adopt innovative business models, such as the transition to data-centric end-user tariff structures to reduce dependence on revenues from traditional telecommunication services.



I understand that another conclusion from the Main Session is that these various solutions are well-known but are not being implemented consistently or broadly. My suggestion is therefore for the BPF to include a focus on identifying the obstacles that are blocking the required investment in infrastructure or preventing the application of these policy solutions.



Kind regards,

Hazar Alzaki



Views on OTT taxation policies:

- The ITU-D publishes an annual report on the "Economic impact of OTTs on national telecommunication/ICT markets". In the most recent version, it included "new forms of taxation on the use of OTTs" among a list of barriers to connectivity.

- A report last year by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation on OTT applications and the Internet Value Chain looked at several countries where taxes on OTTs and the ICT sector had been considered. It concluded that the taxes "lower connectivity, suppress usage and have a negative impact on economic growth".

- The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) has examined digital taxes introduced in a number of African countries and found that they have "a negative impact on access and affordability" (https://1e8q3q16vyc81g8l3h3md6q5f5e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/A4AI_SM-Tax_Flyer_Screen_AW2.pdf<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2F1e8q3q16vyc81g8l3h3md6q5f5e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F05%2FA4AI_SM-Tax_Flyer_Screen_AW2.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CHazar.Alzaki%40microsoft.com%7Caca0182fc7b04167568408d8c391bb0b%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C637474378048245900%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=z3934zivojSfg0AtdZW%2BNeVAaGNrW%2Bvgr1G1N%2B%2FW4lY%3D&reserved=0> and https://a4ai.org/research/the-impact-of-taxation-on-internet-affordability-the-case-of-benin/<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fa4ai.org%2Fresearch%2Fthe-impact-of-taxation-on-internet-affordability-the-case-of-benin%2F&data=04%7C01%7CHazar.Alzaki%40microsoft.com%7Caca0182fc7b04167568408d8c391bb0b%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C637474378048255899%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=cNpAe5yqaleWPU%2BksPthJHoJkn85eFBIElSU10rAJ4E%3D&reserved=0>).






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