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| Google boss Eric Schmidt urges Burma to embrace internet freedom | Google boss Eric Schmidt urges Burma to embrace internet freedom |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The boss of Google has urged Burma's government to allow private businesses to develop the country's poor telecommunications infrastructure, emphasising the importance of competition and free speech. | The boss of Google has urged Burma's government to allow private businesses to develop the country's poor telecommunications infrastructure, emphasising the importance of competition and free speech. |
| "Try to keep the government out of regulating the internet," Eric Schmidt said to a round of applause from a group of students at a technical university in Rangoon. "The answer to bad speech is more speech. More communication. More voices," he said. "If you are a political leader you get a much better idea of what your citizens are thinking about." | "Try to keep the government out of regulating the internet," Eric Schmidt said to a round of applause from a group of students at a technical university in Rangoon. "The answer to bad speech is more speech. More communication. More voices," he said. "If you are a political leader you get a much better idea of what your citizens are thinking about." |
| Schmidt said the internet could help cement political and economic opening in Burma, which has undergone rapid changes since the reformist president Thein Sein took office in 2010 after decades of direct military rule. "The internet will make it impossible to go back," he said. "The internet, once in place, guarantees communication and empowerment becomes the law and practice of your country." | Schmidt said the internet could help cement political and economic opening in Burma, which has undergone rapid changes since the reformist president Thein Sein took office in 2010 after decades of direct military rule. "The internet will make it impossible to go back," he said. "The internet, once in place, guarantees communication and empowerment becomes the law and practice of your country." |
| He said Google's first priority in Burma would be to improve access to information with its search engine and applications such as translation and maps. | He said Google's first priority in Burma would be to improve access to information with its search engine and applications such as translation and maps. |
| "Right now the thing Google can do most is get information into the country," he said. | "Right now the thing Google can do most is get information into the country," he said. |
| Google on Thursday launched a local homepage – www.google.com.mm – which will allow the tailoring of Burma content. On Wednesday it unblocked the Google Apps store to allow access from within Burma. The US lifted most sanctions on doing business in Burma last year. The company says it is also working to develop local language content. | Google on Thursday launched a local homepage – www.google.com.mm – which will allow the tailoring of Burma content. On Wednesday it unblocked the Google Apps store to allow access from within Burma. The US lifted most sanctions on doing business in Burma last year. The company says it is also working to develop local language content. |
| Today, inadequate infrastructure and high prices mean only about 1% of people in Burma have access to the internet, according to World Bank data, and less than 10% have mobile phones, Schmidt said. | Today, inadequate infrastructure and high prices mean only about 1% of people in Burma have access to the internet, according to World Bank data, and less than 10% have mobile phones, Schmidt said. |
| Smartphones remain prohibitively expensive, costing an average $560 in a nation where the average income is $60-70 a month, according to a February 2013 study by Radio Free Asia's Open Technology Fund. | |
| Burma has just three internet service providers, two of which are wholly or partially owned by the government. All connections, landline and wireless, run through a single fibre optic cable, connections to which have not been updated since 2008, according to the Open Technology Fund report. Speeds are so slow that sometimes it is impossible to use Gmail. | Burma has just three internet service providers, two of which are wholly or partially owned by the government. All connections, landline and wireless, run through a single fibre optic cable, connections to which have not been updated since 2008, according to the Open Technology Fund report. Speeds are so slow that sometimes it is impossible to use Gmail. |
| "The government has to make it possible for the private sector to build the telecommunications infrastructure," Schmidt said. "If we do that right, within a few years the most profitable businesses within Burma will be the telecommunications companies." | "The government has to make it possible for the private sector to build the telecommunications infrastructure," Schmidt said. "If we do that right, within a few years the most profitable businesses within Burma will be the telecommunications companies." |
| He said he was scheduled to meet Thein Sein on Friday afternoon. | He said he was scheduled to meet Thein Sein on Friday afternoon. |
| "I'll say they have made a courageous step to open the country," he said. "Now they have to follow through with it." | "I'll say they have made a courageous step to open the country," he said. "Now they have to follow through with it." |
| Schmidt's visit to Burma comes after trips to Libya, Afghanistan and North Korea, which he said was a "truly wacky place". | |
| USAid recently sponsored a delegation of executives from Cisco Systems, Google, HP, Intel and Microsoft to Burma. This month Cisco said it planned to establish two state-of-the-art network training centres in Burma. | |
| Burma's local tech community was elated by Schmidt's visit. | Burma's local tech community was elated by Schmidt's visit. |
| "Google has a lot of resources to help, not just in Rangoon and Mandalay," said Minn Thein, who came back to Burma in January after 19 years in the United States to help found Frontiir, a local tech startup focused on affordable technology. "If you can build a digital centre in a rural area with broadband access, you can use it for education, information and health." | "Google has a lot of resources to help, not just in Rangoon and Mandalay," said Minn Thein, who came back to Burma in January after 19 years in the United States to help found Frontiir, a local tech startup focused on affordable technology. "If you can build a digital centre in a rural area with broadband access, you can use it for education, information and health." |