The Information Society

In November 2005, Tunisia will host the second phase of the first World Summit on the Information Society, the process of which will have been launched in Geneva, in December 2003, under the auspices of the United Nations, who are thus translating into fact the call made by Tunisia during the plenipotentiary conference of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) held in Minnesota, USA in 1998.

For Tunisia and all developing countries, as well as for the industrialized ones, the Summit is a paramount event. Facing the challenges posed by the digital revolution, though at varying degrees, both sides have felt the urgency of developing a joint vision outlining the future of the information society.

The selection of Tunisia as a venue for this global event, involving new forms of partnerships between governments, civil society and the private sector, is neither fortuitous nor surprising.

Indeed, Tunisia has firmly stepped into the information society age since the second half of the 90s, thanks to the accurateness of the options initiated by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and to the programs of action set forth by the government, which have constituted as many vouchers for success.

Today in Tunisia , access to internet is already widespread. A growing number of enterprises and institutions are connected to the network. Moreover, more and more Tunisian households are now equipped with internet-connected computers; and the government's ambition is to attain the ratio of one internet-connected computer per family.

Having gained awareness, at a rather early stage, of the significance of the new information and communication technologies, as essential tools for securing a fair, comprehensive and sustained development, and keen on making the most of them, Tunisia has endeavored to implement effective non-discriminatory policies with a view to boosting national capacities in the area of infrastructure, institutions and human resources.

The best illustration of the impact this strategic choice has had on the evolution of digital realities in Tunisia is the popularization of Internet use with the aim of disseminating the new information and communications technologies amongst the largest segments of society, thanks to a series of motivating initiatives and pilot projects, among which :

- Launching the family computer program, which aims to provide each household with a computer at a low price.

- Ensuring Internet connections for all libraries, university institutions, research centers, secondary schools and basic education schools.

- Promoting "paperless" enterprises and institutions.

- Establishing a platform for secure electronic payment through the use of the electronic e-dinar cards and creation of two sectoral gateways for economic operators.

- Tele-compensation between the various banks.

- Remote learning and virtual classes as part of a vast and ambitious educational reforms program.

It goes without saying that these strategic choices and projects could not have been materialized without a viable and permanently evolving communications infrastructure, a cogent research/ developmental policy, a sustained drive toward developing human resources and a modern and potentially evolving legal and regulatory framework, capable of adapting to the rapid changes witnessed by ICTs inside Tunisia and world wide.

At the infrastructure level, Tunisia has achieved the following:

- A fully digitalized (since 1999) fixed telecommunications network , with a telephone density of 25%, a rate which is likely to reach 30% by 2006.

- A GSM service currently run by two operators, offering over one and a half million of pre-paid and post-paid subscriptions for mobile telephone.

- An Internet web with a connection rate likely to rise from 2 ,4 % in 2002 to 10% by 2006.

- The number of Internet users, currently estimated at 570000 persons, (which places Tunisia among the top few best Internet-connected African and Arab nations) is expected to soar up to 3 million users by 2006.

- The ratio of households equipped with PCs was 4 ,5 % during 2002 and will equally rise to 10% by 2006.

An information society could not possibly prosper without continuous efforts exerted in the area of human resources development, training, a research-linked production, as well as appropriate educational, research, training and production facilities.

Thanks to highly performing national university institutions, such as the High Communications School (Ecole Supérieure de Télécommunications) and the High Institute of Communication technologies Studies (Institut Supérieur des Etudes Technologiques en Communication), and with the contribution of national skills, Tunisia has been able to meet the needs of the info-communications sector in terms of engineers and highly trained technicians, as well as in the area of in-service training and re-training. Currently, Tunisia trains one thousand engineers per year who have, in addition to the technological poles, appropriate spaces to create start-ups. It now ranks first among the African and Arab countries in the exportation of softwares.

The technological city of communications, which is located at a nearby suburb area of Tunis , best illustrates the Tunisian policy in terms of information society promotion. It is a village where the development of education, research, training and industry are fostering creative intelligence and high technology.