MTI unveils national ICT eco-system framework

MTI’s thought leadership team comprising CEO Hilmy Cader and Regional Consultants Darshan Singh and Naush Beg

Given the criticality of ICT (Information & Communication Technology) to a nation’s economic development, MTI has unveiled a national ICT eco-system framework. The strategic intent is to provide a holistic framework for nationally strategic ICT decisions, which otherwise tends to suffer from ‘silo’ based, sub-optimal initiatives.

Given the pervasive nature of ICT, it is important to take a holistic perspective of the entire ICT eco-system of a country. This would be the most effective way of critiquing the current state of ICT in a country. MTI’s national ICT eco-system model can be used as the framework to assess and critique country’s current state of ICT.  This will also enable a country to assess how international trade agreements will benefit the country – vis-à-vis alternate routes to achieving the end result.

MTI’s national ICT eco-system model is based on:

Four verticals i.e. consumption, devices, connectivity and life applications.

Seven enablers i.e. policies, regulatory, security, institutional framework, enabling infrastructure, human capital and investment climate.

Three value chain components i.e. R&D, components and manufacturing/development.

Augmented with a device to connectivity enabler (i.e. network devices) and connectivity to life applications enabler (i.e. OTT applications).

The model starts with assessing how ICT is ‘consumed’ in a country (in terms of primary, secondary and integrated demand) and the device types used for ICT ‘consumption’. The country specific challenges in terms of acquiring, funding (affordability) and usage (contents) the devices will be explored at this stage. The next phase studies how the devices are connected to a multitude of life applications. In doing so, the different forms of connectivity infrastructures, from spectrum to fiber optics is studied. Devices and connectivity will require the research, development and manufacturing of the hardware and software.

Enabling the four verticals will be the national enablers – given that all seven of these enablers (impacting horizontally across the entire eco-system) are key drivers of the state of ICT in a country. Therefore, the enabling role that is expected from the Government.