The missing link ‐ information¹

This paper was first presented at the ITU World Telecommunications Development Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 21–29, 1994.

Abstract

The chicken‐and‐egg question of whether telecommunications development follows economic development or whether economic development follows telecommunications development has long plagued those who would promote telecommunications as an important, even essential, prerequisite for socio‐economic development. Attempting to relate past GNP performance to numbers of telephones has never successfully settled the issue. Instead of looking into the past to resolve the question, a look into the future of what the socio‐economic situation of countries would be like in the absence of means of transporting, acquiring, manipulating and storing information rapidly demonstrates the absolutely essential nature of information and knowledge in this on‐going era of the information revolution. Modern telecommunications is obviously an infrastructural necessity for forging the link in the information/socio‐economic development chain.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) can be effective in fostering the development of telecommunications infrastructures in developing countries by promoting the connection between telecommunications, information and knowledge, and socio‐economic development.

Notes

This paper was first presented at the ITU World Telecommunications Development Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 21–29, 1994.