Telecom
Technology Races Ahead, Policing Policies Lag Behind
Regulatory policies regarding Information Technology (IT) are a concern for Niue.
Regulatory policies regarding Information Technology (IT) are a concern for Niue. The Niue government established an Information Technology Committee (ITC) to look into IT developments.
Telecom Niue managing director, Richard Hipa, who is also Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) executive member, says: “One of the biggest things now evident in the Pacific is that technology has gone so far ahead that we don’t have the regulatory policies to police it. “Currently we don’t have any policies for Internet use and operation such as the provision of certain sites on the Web. There are laws within ICAAN for that.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
“But within the country we still have to enact legislations for such issues. One of the things PITA is pushing for is a workshop on regulatory policies, how to set guidelines and we will seek assistance from ITU.
 |
|
|
“I think every country is behind with regulation and reform in order to keep up with the pace of technology change.”
The future for Niue involves making Niue a knowledgeable society. The two schools are hooked up with computers. Hipa notes that stay-at-home mothers will be aggressively involved with computer literacy.
Hipa sees the utility value in used computers. As bilaterals are key to Pacific telecommunications, Hipa has established contacts for the provision of used machines from New Zealand. “Being small is not necessarily a disadvantage in the case of Niue; small place, small population,” says Hipa.
“It would be quicker and easier for us to teach a population of 1800 to be knowledgeable in technology in comparison to Fiji, a bigger country with dispersed population.” Niue has achieved universal service with telephones in almost every house. The country has a teledensity of 2.5 people per telephone.
