Netting the World ... in the Palm of Your Hand.

• Author: Singh, Debbie
• Position: Brief Article

Bridging communications gaps and meeting its challenges have been tough issues facing small island developing States (SIDS) in terms of their isolation, fragmentation, and geographical and infrastructural diversities.

Taholo Kami, Manager of the New York-based United Nations Small Island Developing States Network's (SIDSnet) Internet project explains that "transmission of an average fax costs $2 to $3 in the Pacific, whereas hosting 10 pages of information via the Internet costs about $5 to $25 a month and targets a much greater audience."

Mr. Kami, one of the few Pacific Island experts on the Internet, says despite access being relatively expensive for some small islands, the Web still works out cheaper in the long term as it provides instant access to over 150 million people in relevant markets and greatly reduces communication costs. "It's God's gift to the islands as it addresses the issues of isolation and of small, fragmented markets which are pertinent to small island developing States."

The Pacific Islands have been slower than other world regions to climb onto the information superhighway, due to varying literacy levels, vernacular diversities, insufficient human, technical and financial resources, geography and infrastructural factors. "We need," Mr. Kami says, "applications that work in today's limited small island infrastructures, not just tomorrow's ideal affordable and fast connections. The net can provide access to developmental information and influence every sector of the economy. Applications such as e-commerce allow access to markets for local goods, and distance education can be used to provide education to any sector or provide institutional strengthening through teacher education."

The network's newswire provides a reliable means of obtaining development news from and among island countries.

"For instance, Fiji-based NGO can access SIDSnet development news from Mauritius or Jamaica, or the NGO can post its own news on the site", Mr. Kami explains.

"The Web allows the greater island community to interact on national and global levels and strengthens cultural issues. When weighed against the cost of communications and access to greater markets, the positives...