ROLE OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATIONS IN
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
OUR EXPERIENCE
Sandro M. Radicella
Aeronomy and
Radiopropagation
Laboratory

Technological innovation
Technological innovation is
essential for human development.
From the printing press to the
computer, people have devised
tools for facilitating learning and
communication.
Technology is not inherently good
or bad, the outcome depends on
how it is used.

Information and
communications
technology
Information and communications technology
(ICT) involves innovations in microelectronics,
computing (hardware and software), telecommunications and opto-electronics microprocessors,semiconductors, fibre optics.
These innovations enable the processing and
storage of enormous amounts of
information,along with rapid distribution of
information through communication networks.

The role of ICT

It is accepted that telecommunication is a basic

infrastructure necessary for economic and social

development of a country.
This is even becoming more strong than ever as
information related economic activities are
growing.
Information and communications technology
may be described as the support of the central
nervous system of complex societies,
transmitting and processing information and
commands among the various parts of such
societies.
Internet plays a fundamental function in ICT role

Benefits from ICT

Information and communications technology carries on
high promise both in human and economic terms.
Benefits could be obtained in:
Education
Job training
Health care
Food security
Environment management
Government efficiency
And specifically in Science and Technology:
Speed up dissemination of scientific results world-wide
through scientific knowledge sharing and exchange
Allows to set up of Virtual Labs for communications and
remote instrument control

Rapid evolution of ICT

Predictions indicate the doubling of

computing power every 18 24 months and

the doubling of communications power
every 6 months.
months Both are accompanied by
huge reductions in costs and massive
increases in speed and quantity.
In 2001 more information can be sent over
a single cable in a second than in 1997
was sent
over the entire Internet in a month.

Trends of ICT

Internet growth in
developing and emerging
countries

The digital devide

The distribution of Internet
users show uneven
distribution in the world.
Connecting a major portion of
the population is a challenge
in developing regions .
Limitations are the outdated
public telephone network and
the arbitrary high cost of the
services.
To beat this problem, solutions
based on the most advanced
techniques but with accessible
costs have to be devised.
Radio technology represents
in many cases the solution.

The Internet users

distribution

Hope for the future

ICT and collaborative

research and innovation
Thanks to ICT scientific research and

innovation the original networked

communication between
universities that allowed the birth of the
Internet is increasingly collaborative
between
institutions and countries.
From 1995 97, scientists in the United
States coauthored articles with scientists
from 173 other countries;scientists in Brazil
with 114,in Kenya with 81,in Algeria 59.13

A Premise for Action at

the Abdus Salam ICTP
The growth of the ICT poses the challenge of
providing developing countries with an adequate
way to be linked with the rest of the world to
avoid the risk of being cut out from main stream of
information flow.
The academic community is the obvious starting
point for these efforts that will permeate to the
rest of society.
It is recognized that the underlying problem is
the lack of sufficient well qualified human
resources able to handle the new systems and
technologies.

The action at the Centre

This premise motivated the Abdus Salam

ICTP to carry out Intensive Training
Activities for participants from developing
countries and to establish a Programme of
Training and System Development on
Networking and Radiocommunications with
the collaboration of the United Nations
University.
University
Both radio technology and computer
networking have been used to help
building up the ability of academic
institutions in developing countries to
access ICT

Training Activities
(milestones)

1989 -1st
College on Theoretical and Experimental Radiopropagation
Physics ( first of a series of biannual Colleges on the same topic)

1991-2nd
College on Theoretical and Experimental Radiopropagation
1991
Physics ( with scientific and financial support from URSI)

1993-3rd
College on Theoretical and Experimental Radiopropagation
1993
Physics ( first with financial support from URSI and ITU/BDT)

1993 to 19961996 Activities cosponsored with ITU/BDT

19971997 ICTP-URSI-ITU/BDT Workshop on the use of Radio for digital

communications in developing countries

19981998 1st ICTP-URSI-ITU/BDT School on the use of Radio for digital

communications in developing countries ( its 5th yearly edition in 2002)

The new Programme

The objective of the Programme of
Training and System Development on
Networking and Radiocommunications
was to provide technical assistance and
training to academic and scientific
institutions in developing countries
requesting help to establish small area
computer networks and their connection
to the Internet, either directly or through
national networks.

Main Projects in Africa

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Pilot project: computer network for education and research at the

Obafemi Awolowo University of Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Successfully completed
by June 1996, with the use of spread spectrum radio technology.
Intensive Training, in Trieste, with support of the World Bank, of 26
academic network managers and 16 network engineers representing
26 Nigerian Universities, December 1996.
Follow up training activity for the NUNet of Nigeria in Ile-Ife and Abuja,
Nigeria, 6 - 27 October 1997. Staff from all the 40 Nigerian Universities
were trained in computer networking with the use of radio links.
Workshop on the use of Radio for Computer Networking at the
University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 31 August - 11 September 1998.
Supported also by the United Nations University (UNU) , the University
of Cape Coast (UCC), and other local organisations. A basic
Radiocommunications Training Laboratory has been implemented at
the University of Cape Coast for this purpose.
Training Activity on Networking and Radiocommunications in Trieste,14
September- 4 December 1998,supported also by the United Nations
University . Participants were 14 scientists from Nigeria (7), Morocco
(3), Angola (1), Senegal (1), Cote dIvoire (1), Romania (1).

Projects in Romania
1.

2.

Pilot project for the establishment of a full Internet

Connectivity between the National Institute for
Material Physics located at the Magurele Physics
Platform and the node of the Polytechnic University
of Bucharest, Romania , successfully carried out
during July 1997.
Seminar on Networking and Radiocommunication
carried out in Bucharest,Romania, 13-17 December
1999, co-Organized with the University of Bucharest
(CREDIS) and financed by the World Bank.

Other activities
Since 2000 the group has been involved
in
Training Activities and Technical Advise
in the use of radio for computer
networking in Benin, Peru, Romania,
Sudan and Venezuela.
The group created also the S&T
Collaborium Initiative.

Thank you for your

attention