ICT is widely regarded as an instrument of poverty alleviation and of inclusive economic growth. This project offers concrete evidence that digital technology can deliver significant ben- efits to communities with low levels of income and literacy, including those living in rural and remote areas. Its availability through the medium of upgraded post offices has led to bet- ter social interaction; the creation of networks to increase knowledge for professional and other purposes; generation of information about alternative means of income, and the launch of new government schemes and programmes. In addition, it has become a vehicle for participatory planned development and enhanced efficiency in the functioning of government and its interaction with the public.
When this project was formulated, there were genuine con- cerns about whether it would be possible to take the modern information and communication technologies to people with virtually no exposure to these technologies owing to the formidable logistical difficulties on the ground. In six loca- tions there was neither electricity nor telecommunication connectivity. Furthermore, it took two to five days to reach the nearest motorable road. In spite of these formidable dif- ficulties the project was satisfactorily concluded. The success- ful implementation of the project also served to demonstrate what cooperation among diverse entities can achieve even in the most difficult of places. “The project had the support of two governments – the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Government of India, of two international organizations – ITU and UPU, and of two national agencies – Bhutan Telecom and Bhutan Post, and all partners cooperated effectively through- out, leading to the successful implementation of the project. This project and the cooperation displayed by all partners are exemplary and worth emulating elsewhere.”24 An important
lesson is that such projects can be replicated anywhere as long as there is genuine cooperation and commitment on the part of partners implementing it.
23 Thimphu central post office and Phuentsholing central post office. 24 Pradosh Nath and vishnu Mohan Calindi, op. cit., page iv.
e-services for development: Initiatives through post offices in Bhutan
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The vSAT network is regarded as an advanced technological system. The need for training of the personnel required to operate and maintain it at the local stations and also at the hub in Thimphu was recognized from the outset, and sub- stantial resources were earmarked for this. Bhutan Telecom technicians from Thimphu were provided with one week’s training in vSAT systems at the Advanced Level Telecom- munications Training Institute in Ghaziabad, India. Locally recruited staff at the vSAT stations were trained on-site in basic computing, vSAT operations and handling of e-post. Bhutan Telecom felt that the one-week training given in 2005 needed to be augmented, and wanted its technical personnel to be attached as trainees to sites where the INSAT system was in operation in India. Most of the employees at the vSAT stations felt that they needed more training in the new technologies. In view of this experience, an important lesson which can be drawn is the need for greater emphasis on train- ing where projects have a higher degree of technical content. Adequate publicity is a pre-requisite for the successful intro- duction of new services. Bhutan Post launched a nationwide media campaign on telekiosks and e-post, but this was of short duration owing to limited funds. The postmasters were of the view that more efforts should have been made to raise awareness about the services offered. It is clear that suf- ficient funds for publicity should be factored into the cost of the project. Since affordable radios and mobile phones have become increasingly available, they should be the preferred medium for advertising campaigns.
voice and data services had to be temporarily suspended in one or two cases because of shortage of critical spare parts such as voice and data cards. In one case, the problems could not be resolved quickly because of the time it took to obtain spare parts. To avoid recurrence of such problems, Bhutan Tel- ecom now maintains an adequate stock of necessary materi- als. Adequate inventory of critical spare parts, particularly those which are difficult to procure, should be maintained. Other problems faced by the project included the difficulty of retaining trained staff, the slow speed of Internet connec- tivity, and power breakdowns in some of the vSAT stations resulting from poor weather conditions which affected bat- tery recharging and consequently the life of batteries. The operations of the vSAT network were also affected by the departure of some experienced personnel, which reduced the pool of skilled staff. Because of the rapid growth in the use of ICTs, such personnel are in high demand. Organizations need to ensure that attrition levels are kept low by devising attrac- tive retention packages. While in the case of Bhutan resource constraints did not permit opting for faster connectivity, the speed of connectivity is another critical requirement in the success of ICT-based projects. Similarly, though Bhutan power problems were unavoidable due to Bhutan’s extreme weather conditions, reliable power is another basic necessity.
Revenue increased in the telekiosks, including at the five remote vSAT stations, but not at a pace that made all of them financially viable.25 The problem of financial viability
was particularly acute in the case of the five vSAT-connected telekiosks since the level of use of services was lower than at the other telekiosks. The average revenue generated by these five telekiosks was between 2000 and 5000 Nu (50–100 USD) a month. According to Bhutan Telecom which finances them, this was not enough to meet the operational costs.
There was also not much diversification in the use of the ser- vices in the telekiosks. voice communication and fax services were the favoured services. Demand for Internet services was at a nascent stage. The main users were students and person- nel from academic institutions. On average, Internet use was about five hours a week, and only in urban areas. The ICT services provided through the telekiosks in semi-urban areas or areas which have educational institutions nearly gener- ated reasonably good business for the post offices. But since good business attracts competition, private players providing similar services at lower cost emerged at these locations. Post offices, with their higher administrative costs, found it difficult to compete with them. Moreover, wherever there is higher demand, there is also demand for faster connectivity. The post offices are still not in a position to acquire the more expensive broadband connectivity which the private providers had installed. Since in some telekiosks Bhutan Post is losing ground in providing access to the Internet, it comes as little consolation to note that the community is benefiting from multiple players offering cheaper and faster connectivity. The introduction of the e-post service initially received an enthusiastic response. However, the early success gradu- ally tapered off with the increased availability of mobile telephones. The mobile telephone service was introduced towards the end of 2003 and people seem to have preferred direct voice communication over e-post. This was not antici- pated in 2001–2002 when the project was planned. Around that time, India Post had introduced e-post and it seemed an ideal solution for providing fast and reliable means of com- munication to the digitally “unconnected”. The rapid expan- sion of voice connectivity in the last decade has impeded the growth of e-post as a means of personal communication. However, that does not mean that there are only limited pros- pects for the growth of e-post in Bhutan. Once the difficulties in providing this service described earlier are addressed, and the availability of e-post becomes better known, the service will be able to grow, since voice communication cannot address all the communication needs of the population. economic development due to the expansion of physical infrastructure, growth and diversification of economic activi- ties and spread of education will undoubtedly lead to greater use of ICT-based services in Bhutan. However, since eco- nomic development is a slow process, and private providers who expect to benefit are already present, it will take some time before all telekiosks become financially self-sustaining. It needs to be recognized that any ICT project located in
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e-services for development: Initiatives through post offices in Bhutanremote and rural areas is bound to be fragile. Nurturing over an extended period is therefore indispensable in such cases. Since Bhutan Post and Bhutan Telecom are mandated to provide universal service, they are continuing their financial support for the telekiosks regardless of the drain on their own resources. Nonetheless, even societal responsibility projects ultimately need to be financially sustainable. In this context, there is a need to explore mainstream and alternative mod- els of financial viability. The Royal Government of Bhutan is reportedly considering two options.
The first option involves sharing costs. When the project was planned and launched, Bhutan Telecom was the only operator providing telecommunication services in the coun- try. Another mobile operator was subsequently licensed and began to provide nationwide mobile services. This adversely affected the revenue of Bhutan Telecom, which was of the view that it should not have to bear alone the burden of financing the universal service obligation. The government needs to put in place appropriate policy measures to ensure long-term provision of services in rural and remote areas that require large investments on the part of the operator without corresponding returns. This could take the form of a govern- ment subsidy or the creation and operation of a universal service fund. The Royal Government of Bhutan, which has expressed its long term commitment to the telekiosk project, is examining these issues.
The second option is to explore the possibility of a public- community partnership. Drawing from the experience of viet Nam, where such a model has been a success, management of the telekiosks could be shifted to local communities.26 In
viet Nam, the day-to-day operation of the kiosk is left to an educated and trained person chosen and paid by the local community from the revenue earned. The maintenance and repair of the equipment and training of the personnel are covered by viet Nam Post. The objective of this model is both financial and social. “The mainstay of this model is not earning more revenue, but to make ICT more accessible and familiar to the local communities; and make them a partner in sharing the benefits as well as the cost of the services.”27