From famous first words to less gadgets

Leo Landep, Contributor, Jakarta, leolandep@yahoo.com

After patenting, it took Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, some five years to be able to speak through his earliest telephone instrument. The famous first words Bell uttered to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, in the next room were:"Mr. Watson ... come here ... I want to see you."

Now we take telephones and connectivity for granted so much that it would be hard for most us today to imagine the emotions of both gentlemen then. The cumbersome first model would, for the younger generation, be a laughable antiquated monster compared to today's sleek cellular phones.

The major advancements, like infrared, blue tooth and so forth, would, on the other hand, surprise Bell.

Besides the huge leaps scientifically, today's telecommunication also poses some dangers, for example, the way Indonesians recklessly use their mobile phones while driving. Or the fact that quite a number of teenagers have become so preoccupied with their phones that they appear to be aloof and, ironically, out of touch.

While it is recognized that ownership of telecommunication devices are highly crucial, what is glaring is in fact in developing countries, like Indonesia, ownership of telecommunication gadgets are still low, slightly less than 15 percent.

For a country like this one, the government is still expected to improve the situation, say by providing some kind of subsidy to providers, which can be used for the low-income segment of society. This way the ownership of telecommunications devices, the affordable ones, that is, can be spread around more.

Again, this is in line with what the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) realized in 1985 when it released the landmark Maitland Report, known as the Missing Link, which was the first to clearly identify the digital divide among countries.

Ever since, the ITU has been seriously working to bring the benefits of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to as much of humanity as possible.

In 2003, the ITU held its first World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva and 175 countries endorsed the idea of universal and affordable access to ICTs.

During the next one in Tunis this November, the ITU members have selected the theme "Creating an Equitable Information Society: Time for Action". This is consistent with helping to improve the capability of impoverished countries.

For the World Telecommunications Day, May 17th, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also emphasized that we now live in an age in which communications are essential to achieve the shared goals of development and peaceful coexistence.

Based on partnerships between governments, he also says, civil societies and businesses, we can create a truly global information society that will benefit all the world's people.

Alexander Graham Bell could not have foreseen the advances we have today. And, while he may well be pleased with the technological progress, the way he pursued his ambitions would not reflect that he would be entirely happy that still a lot of people are not able to enjoy the fruits of his invention.