Global Voice Group CEO James Claude spoke to Moses K. Gahigi
about factors Internet providers consider to adhere to government
policies.
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What are the key areas you been supporting the government of Rwanda?
In
2012, we won a competitive tender to provide traffic monitoring to
Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura), which needed full
visibility of what was happening in the ecosystem—traffic, calls and
SMS. Since then we have deployed other solutions such as mobile money
monitoring.
Since we started, Rura has implemented a
micro levy on international traffic. It is a small levy, but it has
generated more than $47million for government.
What challenges are you seeking to address?
Many developing countries, including Rwanda, are looking to
embark on the fourth industrial revolution. There are a lot of
challenges that come with that.
We need to make sure
that the coming digital economy is inclusive. For that you need a few
elements like mobile ID. We also need to come up with solutions where
people can transact online.
On the other hand, we have
cyber security threats. As we transact online, it is key that
governments put in place the right policy to protect citizens against
malware, child pornography and so on. This is an area which GVG has
invested in a lot in terms of R&D.
GSMA has
come out strongly against Rwanda’s data policy, faulting it for being
inward looking and hindering cross-border data flows. What is your take
in regard to data sovereignty?
It is not that
Rwanda doesn’t want to share data. Data is an asset so there must be
controls. If countries put in place necessary requirements to securely
share information at a regional level, that would be fine but it
shouldn’t come at the cost of not protecting citizen data.
After ensuring that data for your citizens is secure and protected, there can be ways of sharing it when need arises.
Over-the-top
platforms have disrupted the voice market, how would you advise the
government so that it is not left behind in playing its regulatory role?
For
you to put in place the right regulation, you need the right
information. Based on this, you can monitor the compliance to the
guidelines you are issuing. Using data based on analytics or AI, the
effect of certain policies can be understood.
Having
access to the needed information even about the new trends in technology
will put the regulator in a better position to design policies and
measure the effectiveness of a certain policy.
There
have been concerns from citizens that these services help governments
spy on. How do you reconcile these accusations and the services you
offer?
There are many ways of capturing data.
Besides the way you capture it, is the purpose. From where we stand, the
purpose is to monitor regulatory framework or policy guidelines. We
don’t necessarily need information at the individual level to have this
visibility.
We have techniques we have developed where
we only focus on metadata. We work on aggregates. We don’t need to know
who is calling who, but how many minutes of airtime have coming from
country A, for example. The same with mobile money.
What models should the government should employ to attain digital inclusion?
Inclusion
should be at the centre of any policy. Digital economy is not outside
the economy; it’s an extension of the traditional economy. There are now
digital ways of doing things, but it is important for governments to
invest in digital literacy.
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