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This policy advisory technical assistance will enable the Secretariat of Pacific Community to better assist Pacific developing member countries (DMCs) in assessing options for accessing regional connectivity infrastructure, making informed choices, and preparing investment proposals. The TA will explore appropriate and innovative ICT services and applications to help Pacific DMCs promote inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

This TA comprises two sets of outputs to be achieved through two phases over 12 months.

The first phase will (i) help selected Pacific DMCs develop financing plans and business models to enable their participation in the regional backbone initiative; and (ii) conduct a thorough assessment of the existing and proposed ICT initiatives and applications to identify models and opportunities, constraints and gaps, and appropriate actions to identify how the people of the Pacific, especially the poor, disadvantaged, small and medium-size enterprises, and remote outer island and rural populations can benefit from ICT services. It will draw on international best practices and lessons from ADB and other partners' ICT interventions in general and account for the special conditions that affect ICT application in the Pacific. The particular needs of businesses and the potential to enhance the delivery of essential public services will be considered. Priority areas will be confirmed through consultations with Pacific DMCs and development partners. Relevant regulatory issues will be identified. Potential ICT interventions and useful resources identified through the assessment will be catalogued at the SPC website for wider dissemination. The results of the study will be disseminated through a regional workshop.

Based on the outcomes of the first phase, the second phase will assess possible ICT investments in selected Pacific DMCs. Institutional set-up and regulatory-reform needs will be assessed. A matrix of potential interventions will be developed, with three to five priority areas identified for in-depth consultation with partners and feasibility studies. The criteria for selection will include (i) the potential impact on growth and poverty reduction by reducing the cost of service access or use, (ii) proven demand, (iii) interest from governments and the private sector, and (iv) the ease of developing feasible models for public-private partnership or private sector initiatives. Subject to partner commitment, one to two priority areas will be further developed into investment projects.

ADB's Pacific Strategy 2005-2009 identified information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and human resource development as an important element for private sector-driven socio-economic growth in the Pacific. Following this strategy, ADB has provided technical assistance and investment funding in PDMCs to support Pacific e-learning network with the University of the South Pacific, Samoa's SchoolNet and distance learning program, and Papua New Guinea's e-government program.

The rapid expansion of ICT and broadband infrastructure has increased efficiency and global productivity. ICT expansion has brought an increase in business and job opportunities, as well as greater outreach and delivery of education and other social services. As part of the Pacific Plan, the Pacific Regional Digital Strategy fully recognizes the important role of ICT in regional development. A Pacific ICT Ministerial Forum meeting in March 2006 endorsed regional ICT priorities as (i) improving access to communication technologies through both cable and satellite technologies, (ii) reducing ICT costs, (iii) providing more bandwidth to the global ICT backbone technology, and (iv) strengthening ICT skills. These priorities were reconfirmed at the Pacific ICT Ministerial Forum (Connect the Unconnected) in February 2009.

The mere presence and availability of connectivity is not, however, sufficient to realize the full benefits of ICT. Education and health services can be improved, in terms of both access and quality, and business has expanded with the enhanced availability of ICT. It remains largely unknown, though, how the Pacific may more efficiently realize the benefits of ICT, especially in the pursuit of socially inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

In the Pacific, poverty or hardship is described as lack of access to (i) income-generating opportunities; and (ii) social services, especially primary education and health care. ICT could directly generate income in only a few areas. Indirectly, however, it could open up new opportunities through improved market information, which may create new jobs and markets. Savings in communication costs will contribute to the efficiency of Pacific DMC economies. Better communication services, possibly backed up by technological solutions such as mobile banking, will allow more secured financial transactions. ICT can also assist governments in providing basic services to outer islands. Especially, ICT-supported education can improve access to, and the quality of, education and prepare a workforce ready for the global economy. Disaster management is another area where ICT can contribute. In addition to an ICT-based early warning system, reliable communication is essential for fast, coordinated response.

A thorough analysis of increased access to ICT infrastructure will help maximize the benefits from it. The analysis should examine the types of ICT services that are capable of delivering tangible and sustained benefits. It will help stakeholders identify areas in which catalytic investment would ensure better utilization of the planned connectivity infrastructure in the interests of people currently unserved. It will inform discussions among governments, the private sector, and donors about demand and incentive structures to encourage more ICT use for inclusive growth and poverty reduction.