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Program of Action

Ministers endorse the goal advanced in the Leaders' Declaration (Shanghai, 2001) to build APEC towards a digital society, with higher growth, life long learning and employment opportunities, improved public services and better quality of life for all by taking advantage of advanced, reliable and secure information and communications technologies (ICT) and networks and by promoting universal access. Ministers seek to expand digital opportunities brought forward by the New Economy through e-APEC Strategy and the TEL Digital Divide Blueprint for Action, by taking full advantage of the ICT revolution; and note the crucial role of the private sector as partner in this objective. To achieve these goals, Ministers endorse and instruct the TEL to direct its attention towards the following activities and thematic areas.
I. Information Communications Infrastructure

Ministers recognize that information communications infrastructure is the physical foundation for the sustained development of an information society and a key factor for achieving universal access and expanding digital opportunities. Ministers also encourage greater investment in and development of the Internet in the APEC region. To this end, Ministers instruct the TEL to continue fostering the development of the Asia Pacific Information Infrastructure (APII) in accordance with the five objectives and ten core principles spelled out in the TELMIN 1 Seoul Declaration (1995) and the goals of the e-APEC Strategy (Shanghai, 2001) and to adopt a pathfinder approach in advancing the APEC initiatives. In particular, Ministers instruct the TEL to take initiatives aimed at:

  1. promoting the deployment of advanced, secure and reliable information infrastructure, especially in remote and underserved areas in order to provide access to information services for all at affordable prices; and as part of this effort, monitoring access to ICT by different socio-economic and user groups, in particular by gender, age and income, and considering alternative policies and technologies for reaching unserved and underserved areas;
  2. encouraging greater buildout of the Internet, including through regional Network Access Points (NAPs), so as to promote greater broadband accessibility, availability and use,
  3. examining the impact of the Internet and broadband accessibility, availability and use on the economy, especially on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs);
  4. facilitating R&D activities and analyses (financial, technical and policy) of technologies and applications to meet ICT access needs of the APEC region, especially establishing close cooperation on the timely implementation and wide application of next generation technologies such as IPv6, mobile internet, broadband satellite, etc.;
  5. strengthening its participation and cooperation with the private/business sector in the development of information communications infrastructures and services towards enhanced access, productivity, interoperability and security in the network-based economy, with attention to appropriate standards;
  6. promoting further the cooperation among governments, businesses, academic communities and social institutions in meeting these challenges;
  7. studying and undertaking collaborative projects to advance the implementation of next generation networks and technologies; and
    continuing to support cooperative activities for better sharing and utilization of the information infrastructure among member economies.
II. Telecommunication and Information Policies and Market Regulation
Ministers are conscious of the rigorous challenge posed to APEC economies by the on-going convergence of the telecommunications, broadcasting and computer networks, and the importance of creating a sound, pro-competitive and coherent policy environment to ensure the sustained development of information communications in our region. Ministers instruct the TEL to study further the challenges and implications of convergence, to encourage economies to exchange information in terms of experience and practical responses to convergence.
Ministers welcome the TEL's stocktake of progress towards a fully liberalised telecommunications sector in the APEC region, and instruct the TEL to enhance its work in support of our Leaders? commitment to the new WTO round.
Ministers acknowledge the work of the TEL on the implementation of the APEC Principles on International Internet Charging Arrangements for Internet Services adopted by Ministers at Cancun (2000) and instruct the TEL to continue facilitating the implementation of the Principles. Ministers encourage further work in this area to improve traffic measurement and charging arrangement models and to encourage adoption of commercially based and equitable arrangements for Internet connectivity, reflecting, among other issues, traffic flows, costs and benefits;
Ministers further acknowledge the work of the TEL on the implementation of the APEC Principles of Interconnection adopted by Ministers at Cancun (2000) and instruct the TEL to further facilitate the implementation of the Principles and to improve the competitive supply of and access to basic telecommunications services.
Ministers encourage the TEL to continue the dialogue, especially among policy makers and/or regulators, regarding such policy and regulatory topics as transparency, decision-making processes, regulatory structures, convergence, competition safeguards, telecommunications network interconnection, and new technologies such as wireless and broadband.
Ministers appreciate the work done and achievements made by the TEL in regard to implementation of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Conformity Assessment for Telecommunications Equipment (MRA), and consider this arrangement conducive to the promotion of trade in our region. Ministers encourage further efforts to implement the MRA on an APEC-wide basis and to develop the MRA Management System. Ministers encourage the TEL to build on the existing MRA work by developing principles on the application of standards and regulatory arrangements.
In the light of the newly adopted e-APEC Strategy, Ministers urge the TEL to continue cooperating with the relevant APEC fora and other related international organizations to study the policy issues involved in e-commerce, for example the impediments to SME uptake of e-commerce, so as to promote good practice and to work towards establishing a trusted and transparent legal and regulatory framework for e-commerce.
Aware of the importance of e-government to increased efficiency and transparency of government activities, Ministers encourage economies to strengthen cooperation and exchange in this regard. Ministers encourage particular attention to the value of providing business regulations and information online, adopting appropriate electronic tools and standards to facilitate access by businesses and citizens to user-oriented electronic information and transaction services offered by governments.
III. Information Communication and Network Security
Strongly aware that information infrastructures and networks are confronted with serious security threats and challenges and that this has drawn wide attention within APEC economies and from APEC Leaders, Ministers commend the work of the TEL in regard to information communication and network security, especially its report on the implementation within APEC of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 55/63 on "Combating the Criminal Misuse of Information Technologies", and instruct the TEL to implement the recommendations contained in the Statement by Ministers on the Security of Information and Communications Infrastructures.
Ministers also instruct the TEL to give special priority to this work, expand the scope of the TEL's e-security activities in response to the current situation,facilitate collaboration among relevant expert groups, and support capacity building on e-security among APEC economies.
Ministers urge voluntary transfer of technologies among economies.
Ministers further commend the work carried out by the TEL in electronic authentication and signatures and instruct the TEL to continue its work, with particular attention to a framework for electronic authentication interoperability within the region.
IV. Human Capacity Building
Ministers recognize that building human capacity through life-long learning for people of both genders within the region is essential in achieving the benefits and the realization of a digital society and in narrowing the digital divide. Ministers note the importance of the work currently carried out by the TEL in this regard and instruct the TEL to:
  • implement the Digital Divide Blueprint for Action, taking into account the goal advanced in the Leaders' Declaration in Brunei Darussalam in November 2000 to triple the number of people having access to the Internet within the APEC region by 2005 and the Leaders' sentiment expressed in the 2001 e-APEC Strategy to ensure that all groups within an economy have individual or community-based Internet access by 2010;
  • make efforts to seek a mechanism to maximize existing training resources of APEC economies and to bring them into full play;
    explore ways to facilitate the cooperation among governments, businesses, educational and social institutions in human resource training;
  • enhance cooperation with other training and development organizations and other regional and international bodies to share the experiences and results of human capacity building programs;
  • promote e-commerce related training programs and distance learning using ICT;
  • promote a gender and youth perspective in every aspect of the work of the TEL;
  • intensify its work on human capacity building, in terms of providing more opportunities for training and skill development to help
  • build digital opportunities in ICT and to establish a priority list;
  • implement training projects specifically addressing the concerns of developing economies on human capacity building in order to enhance their participation; and
  • support training activities that assist member economies to develop pro-competitive regulatory frameworks and that facilitate broad and constructive participation by all member economies, particularly developing economies, in WTO negotiations on services as supportive of reaching our human capacity and digital opportunity goals.
Road to the Future
Recognizing the need for TEL to enhance effectiveness, better respond to the challenges and accommodate different needs of economies, Ministers hereby direct TEL to consider ways and means to further improve its working methods and structure.
Ministers also direct TEL to strengthen cooperation with relevant international organizations and consider ways to encourage participation and contribution by the private sector in TEL activities in order to improve its outreach within APEC as well as at global level.