A major global campaign against attempts by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to regulate the usage of the Internet has reached Accra with a call on governments of the continent to reject any proposals to that effect. According to them, regulations on the usage of the Internet have the potency to slow economic progress, raise costs on users who can least afford them as well as limit its access and usage in developing countries. The campaign comes on the sidelines of 3rd Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) currently underway in Accra. The meeting, which is being attended by telecoms regulators, ministers of communications and telecoms experts across the African continent, is aimed at reaching a common consensus for presentation at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications in December 2012 (WCTI-12) in Dubai. Speaking at a breakfast session in Accra, Dr Rohan Samarajiva, Founding Chair and Chief Executive of Officer of LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank based in Sri Lanka, said regulating the Internet would “artificially raise the cost of network interconnection, content delivery and quality of service.” He said the cost would ultimately be passed on to those least able to afford internet usage or result in exclusion from the Internet economy. “The door would be opened for the creation of top-down, inflexible international regulatory regime for the Internet, much in conflict with the current framework that has enabled growth in access, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic activity,” Dr Samarajiva added. Some countries have made proposals that if implemented, it would grant the ITU a part of the UN authority to regulate aspects of the Internet, including the ability to regulate content and dictate the terms of private commercial agreements. Among the most troubling proposals submitted to the ITU to prepare for the WCIT-12 are the contributions from European Telecommunications Network (ETNO) which include state-owned companies such as Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom and the African Region contributions by Egypt. ENTO wants the ITU to designate Internet content providers as ‘call originators’ and subject them to what has been described by the campaigners as “ sending party networks pays” rule that would allow telecommunications operators to charge them rates they believe are proportionate with the bandwidth their content consumes. This change, it is believed, will have enormous implications for the expansion of the digital economy in the developing world, particularly African countries such as Ghana. Dr Samarajiva said Africa Regional proposal aimed to expand international internet regulation definitions to encompass the larger ecosystems of the digital economy, reversing the liberalised policies currently in place that had delivered affordable and increased connectivity to some of the world’s most remote peoples and places. Dr Samarajiva used Ghana as a test case and said the usage of the Internet was fast growing, indicating that between 2010 and 2011 alone, Internet penetration, according to ITU reports, revealed an almost 50 per cent growth from 5.2 per cent to 10 per cent. That, he said, had been fueled by attractive content and declining Internet prices that put on-line access within the reach of more Ghanaian consumers. “Ghana is reflective of the broader growth of the Internet in the developing world,” he said and noted that Internet usage in the developing world had exploded in recent years, growing from 9.4 per cent Internet users (per 100 inhabitants) in 2006 to 26.3 in 2011.” He added that “although significant work still remains to be done, these are very positive trends.” The Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the usage of the Internet had become an integral part of human endeavour and wondered if it was not time to make it a human rights issue. He urged participants to ensure that those regulations that do not favour the continent and the developing nations are amended while they push for those that have helped to remain.