Craig Mundie
Chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft
Introduction
The Internet in China
• Thank you Ya-Qin. Thank you also Chairwoman Hu Qiheng (“Hoo Chi-Heng”) and Internet Society of China.
• Vice Minister Cai, Consul General Camp, distinguished Internet and government leaders.
• It is indeed an exciting time for the Internet here in China and globally. Highlights:
• Technology is spreading at rapid pace:
– Will be largest PC market in world in 5 years.
– 42M PCs will ship in China, 40% cost less than $500
– World’s largest cell phone market in world
• Connectivity is growing
– 250M people online, 20% YoY growth
• Unprecedented use of Internet by China’s netizens – they are force in and of themselves
• New business models emerging.
– Online advertising is booming $1.6B market, growing 30% per year
Where We Are Going
Information and the Internet (1)
• A key part of my role at MS is to envision what will happen 3-15 years out, to look at this in the context of the global Internet community, and to identify and develop both new technologies and sound policies that will spread and multiply the powerful benefits of the Internet while promoting trust and responsibility.
• It’s clear we remain at a fairly early stages of networked information technology.
• Cloud computing, creative use of radio spectrum, online media and advertising, data centers, and personal communications (email, IM, IP telephony) – have tremendous business and societal potential.
• A few examples:
– The power of “client+cloud” to parse vast amounts of information has the potential to benefit every part of our lives. It can help us address key societal issues such as climate change, healthcare, urban planning and education. And it can transform the delivery of online news, entertainment and advertising.
– White Spaces: New policies and technologies will drive broader and less expensive connectivity
Information and the Internet (2)
• One thing that is needed for this kind of technological magic to happen is broad, global cooperation.
• Businesses, researchers, scientists, educators, etc, around the world must be able to collaborate, share data, stay globally connected, and have open access to information.
• For example, when we are dealing with personal information, we need to ensure that proper safeguards for privacy and security are in place so that these technologies and communications are trusted – worldwide.
• Mutual learning on how we advance the development of these technology, business and policy goals should be a primary focus of the next day and a half.
Internet policy must be global
• The Internet is the 21st-century manifestation of a basic, personal desire to connect, to transcend borders, to benefit from the free flow of information. Potential for a huge positive impact on global society.
– But the Internet also compels us to think in new ways about business models, security, privacy, identity, borders, policy and regulation.
– These are complex issues that need to be tackled collaboratively, as we will here.
• As industry/government leaders, we must take a supra-national approach.
– Everything related to the Internet – from datacenters to commerce to comms – has a global strategy & policy dimension. Everything is far more complex across national boundaries. What aspects are the responsibility of the individual vs. governments?
– There are important aspects of the Internet ecosystem, like enforcing laws, that we trust to individual governments. But there are equally important aspects that require cooperative or shared governance – such as cybercrime enforcement, ensuring interconnectivity, and the free flow of packets.
– And there are important aspects, such as building infrastructure and applications, that we must entrust to the private sector. And it must necessarily operate across borders, tapping global capital markets, human resources, and IP innovation.
Role of Policy in Promoting Mutual Trust
• An additional, but no less important aspect, is that policymaking actions should aim to promote mutual trust.
– Mutual trust among individuals enhances both individual and collective welfare.
– Importantly for policymaking, then, ensuring trust at the institutional and societal levels accelerates growth in welfare.
• The Internet has transformed how we live. Social networking is the new town square; blogging has turned citizens into journalists; and ecommerce has spurred global competition.
• But the value of each of these is directly related to how much we trust the people, information and transactions available online. Without trust, the Internet as we know it will not thrive.
• Identifying how we can better address trust, learning from different ideas and perspectives, should be an important goal of our work this week.
Transition and introduce Minister Cai
• We are extremely thankful to our gracious hosts here in China for helping to put together an event that will continue to work toward all these goals.
• Earlier this year I visited China for the Olympics, an incredible event for both the athletes and the host country. While I’m confident our Forum will also be a successful event, I hope that the preparations involved were less work than the Olympics…
• Now, I’d like to introduce my friend Minister Cai Mingzhao from the State Council Information Office.
(China.org.cn November 7, 2008)