To Realise Success in the Face of Rapid Technology Advances, Governments Should Act Urgently on a Broad Set of Policy Enablers
LONDON -Thursday, February 23rd 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]
(BUSINESS
WIRE)-- The GSMA today launched a new report that encourages
governments to pursue policies that incentivise investment and promote
development of digital economies, building an inclusive digital future
for their citizens. The report, “Embracing the Digital Revolution:
Policies for Building the Digital Economy,” developed in collaboration
with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), calls on policymakers to encourage
digital advancement and prepare for the changes that lie ahead, while
highlighting the risk of inaction.
“Digital
and mobile technology has delivered far-reaching social and economic
benefits at both the global and national levels,” said John Giusti,
Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA. “As the digital and mobile revolution
continues to accelerate, new technologies — artificial intelligence,
robotics and the Internet of Things — promise great benefits but also
continued disruption resulting from the digitalisation of many industry
sectors. Forward-looking policies can enable citizens, businesses,
societies and countries to prosper, improving lives and livelihoods,
while mitigating the possible adverse effects that can accompany
economic change.”
The Power of Digital
Digitalisation
enables businesses to operate more efficiently and to access new
markets and customers. Digital technologies can better connect
government with its citizens and have a major impact on day-to-day life,
from shopping and banking to entertainment and connecting with friends
and family. The report estimates, for example, that digital technologies
will influence up to 45 per cent of all retail sales by 2025.
GSMA
research has examined the positive impact that mobile has on the
worldwide economy. The mobile ecosystem generated 4.2 per cent of global
GDP in 2015, a contribution of more than US$3.1 trillion of added
economic value.1
The
benefit consumers receive from mobile technologies can be quantified
using the economic concept of consumer surplus, which is the value that
consumers receive, over and above what they pay for devices, apps,
services and internet access. BCG research in six countries (Brazil,
China, Germany, India, South Korea and the United States) showed that
mobile technologies have created US$6.4 trillion of annual consumer
surplus, which is more than the individual GDP of every country in the
world, with the exception of China and the United States.2
Mobile: Transforming Everyday Life
Digital
and mobile technology is transforming the everyday life of billions of
people around the world. As an example, until recently, the cash-based
system for paying school registration fees in Côte d’Ivoire led to
multiple problems, including time wasted by parents standing in long
queues and the risk of robbery, which threatened the safety of parents
and children and reduced Ministry of National and Technical Education
(MENET) revenue collection. In 2011, MENET began collaborating with
mobile money providers to digitalise annual school registration fee
payments for approximately 1.5 million secondary school students. In the
2014-2015 school year, more than 99 per cent of students paid their
registration fees digitally, with 94 per cent of payments made via the
country’s three mobile money providers.
Mobile
technology can play an important role in speeding up birth registration
and the provision of unique identities in underserved communities.
Unregistered individuals, lacking official documentation, may be denied
access to government services, banking and other important services. In
2011, a partnership between the Tanzanian Government, mobile operator
Tigo and UNICEF set out a five-year birth registration strategy that
aimed to make the process more affordable, efficient and widely
accessible. When the new mobile registration system was first piloted,
the registration rate of children under the age of five in the pilot
areas increased from 8 per cent to 45 per cent within six months. Since
then, the mobile registration system has successfully registered more
than 420,000 births and, by the end of 2019, it is expected that 90 per
cent of newborns and 70 per cent of all children under the age of five
in these areas will be registered and have certificates.
Policymakers Face a Choice
Despite
the many benefits of digitalisation, the pace of change creates the
possibility of a gulf between those who are digitally connected and
those who are not. Governments have an important role to play in
creating a policy environment that allows for an inclusive digital
society where few feel threatened or left behind.
The
report encourages policymakers to be the architects of change by using
policy to drive change and transform their economies for the benefit of
all citizens. Policymakers have the power to create the best possible
outcomes for the technological future in their country, whatever the
level of socioeconomic development, if a number of key factors are put
in place:
High-speed, reliable and robust digital infrastructure
Digitally willing and capable people (citizens, consumers and employees)
Digitally competent and engaged businesses
A trusted environment for digital interactions
A government that sets an enabling policy framework and leads by example
“Governments
have a critical role to play in creating an inclusive digital future by
establishing a policy framework that incentivises network investment,
by ensuring laws and regulations reflect the realities of today’s
digital world, and by promoting digitalisation across the economy and
society,” Giusti said.
“Embracing
the Digital Revolution: Policies for Building the Digital Economy” can
be found here:
http://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/embracing-the-digital-revolution-policies-for-building-the-digital-economy
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
1 Source: GSMA Mobile Economy 2016
2 Source: BCG Consumer Impact Survey
About the GSMA
The
GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai,
Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
Contacts
Media
For the GSMA
Sophie Waterfield, +44 7779 459923
sophie.waterfield@webershandwick.com
or
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com
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