Recipient Institution:
Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Information And Communications, Royal Government of Bhutan

Project Leader:
Mr Tenzin Chhoeda, Director, Department of Information Technology

Amount and Duration: US$ 9,000 / 9 months

Commencement Date:
January 2005

Abstract of Project
The aim of the project is to lower the cost of domestic Internet traffic. It is hoped that this will in turn boost the demand for local content and applications that are locally hosted, and stimulate the market for web-related services such as web-design and web-hosting within Bhutan.

The development problem: in Bhutan, many users and studies identify the high cost of Internet access as a barrier to take-up of Internet-based technologies. These factors are exacerbated by the low international bandwidth, and lack of relevant local content. With limited take-up of Internet access, there is a smaller market for Internet services, and a limited audience for web-content. A vicious circle develops of high prices, few users and limited content.

As a consequence, citizens are missing out on the benefits of the efficient dissemination of information and services that the Internet can provide, and the beneficial 'network effects' of increasing the number of citizens online.

However, much of the cost incurred by ISPs in providing Internet access services comes from the international bandwidth costs. Accessing only local Internet traffic should be much cheaper.

The project will research alternative technological approaches to recognising domestic Internet traffic, and propose technical and business solutions that can be deployed by Bhutan's current and future ISPs to distinguish internal domestic Internet traffic.

The research results will be a technical feasibility report on distinguishing between local and international Internet traffic, and a 'how to' business guide for current and future ISPs in Bhutan. These results will be relevant to any country in Asia Pacific interested in boosting their own local web-content industry and reducing Internet access prices for citizens to access local content.