The loudest statement of the Diia Summit 2022 was the announcement by President Zelensky that all citizens of Ukraine
As you know, an elephant needs to be eaten in pieces.And any complex problem must be divided into components. I see here a whole package of questions and well-deserved doubts: how to make the process of issuing smartphones fair, how to stop possible fraud, how to organize the purchase of smartphones, what kind of pre-installed software they should have, how to train an army of pensioners to use new technologies, and finally, how not to bring down the local smartphone market, filling it with millions (in the future) of devices through non-market methods? I don’t have answers to these questions, I only have the understanding that they exist regardless of whether we think about them or not. And they need to be resolved in accordance with democratic principles - public discussions and the creation of special groups authorized by the authorities and society.
We're not ready (and never will be if we don't take the first step)
The first claim, sounding from all the irons,is the high level of corruption in the country, which rightly causes distrust in any, even the best initiatives of the authorities that carry good intentions. Of course, any technology can be used both for good and for harm, this is inevitable. Of course, there are concerns that the transition to digital voting in elections could lead to vote manipulation. Not to mention the fact that the free distribution of smartphones (the term “buckwheat phone” has already been heard) looks (and is) populism, designed to support the current president in the next elections. But we heard all this during the launch of Dii, while the Ministry of Digital Transformation is slowly but he steadily “beats this rock” and achieves tangible results. Yes, this is a difficult path, and there are a lot of problems without an “eSmartphone”, but the one who walks will master the road. And it’s never too early to start, because ideal conditions will almost never come.
How many smartphones do you need
Deliver 8 million smartphones to marketover the course of a year is a task not that impossible, but hardly feasible in practice. It’s not even about the budget, but about the fact that you can’t, for example, just come to a Toyota factory and buy a million (or even a hundred thousand) cars - they need to be ordered, manufacturers must reserve production capacities, purchase components. It's the same with smartphones. Especially in conditions of deficiency of components, which the whole planet is experiencing. A separate question is how many smartphones are actually needed to ensure social justice. For example, my parents already have smartphones (I'm sure I'm not the only person in the country who can afford to buy a smartphone for my parents). How fair would it be to give them another smartphone each? They will simply have no choice but to try to monetize this social assistance. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians will do the same, there is no doubt about that. Which will inevitably lead to the collapse of the market for budget smartphones - their price in the secondary market will drop to unthinkable kopecks, and retail sales of all smartphones, relatively speaking, cheaper than 3,000 hryvnias, will simply stop. That will create problems for everyone who works in this area.
What should be a smartphone for pensioners
For everyone who has even a little knowledge of technologyand modern technologies, it is obvious that a smartphone is a construction kit, the cost of which depends on the components used (in fact, there are even more problems, but I will simplify for ease of understanding). For example, does such a smartphone need NFC and contactless payment capabilities? On the one hand, if the state’s goal is to overcome the digital divide, then this functionality simply must be there. On the other hand, a logical question arises: will pensioners in general begin to use it? Obviously, the majority will not, but is it necessary to do all this for the minority? The question is open. It is clear that there is always something to save on - on the size and resolution of the display, on camera modules (and number) - for these purposes, one external camera module is enough, and the front one is needed according to the “if only there is one” principle. You can use the aging microUSB connector instead of the progressive USB-C. Separately, I note that in practice, free market prices can bring surprises. For example, if no one produces single modules of the main cameras anymore, then a dual camera may turn out to be cheaper, although this will look like an obvious overpayment from the outside. And I, for example, don’t know what is actually cheaper to produce - installing a 3.5 mm headphone jack or abandoning it altogether. It is also obvious that there are options that will always be mandatory due to progress: front camera, Bluetooth, GPS, 4G - chipsets without their support probably no longer exist. But, of course, you shouldn’t skimp on the battery. But even such a question as determining the technical characteristics of an e-smartphone is a complex and debatable issue. And that brings us to the next point.
The price of the issue and who will produce the smartphone
It is obvious that progress by 2022 has reached suchlevel that even for 3,000 hryvnia you can get a smartphone suitable for the purposes of digitalization and eliminating the digital inequality of pensioners. The specific price will depend not only on the cost of components and development efforts (software is a separate conversation altogether). Such a simple, non-obvious issue as VAT hardly comes to mind first, but it exists. I am not a lawyer and cannot assess how necessary and important it is to pay VAT on the supply of such a smartphone, but it is obvious that paying taxes will look like transferring money from one state/budget pocket to another. And one of the most interesting questions is who will become the manufacturer of such a smartphone? It is obvious to me that companies like Apple and Samsung are of little interest in such a project due to their focus on expensive models. There remain numerous Chinese manufacturers, each of which will be interested in receiving such a large contract, but here the question arises: wouldn’t it be easier for the state to independently design such a smartphone? It’s not a fact that it’s actually simpler, but this is a completely feasible task for the state, given that the bill will amount to hundreds of thousands and millions of pieces (do not forget that every year the army of people who have reached the age of 60 will increase, and this process is continuous Even a batch of one hundred thousand already allows you to create a customized smartphone, both in terms of hardware and software.
The dream of a "Ukrainian smartphone"
And here there is another facet worthy of discussion:Isn't it easier to order the production of such a smartphone (in fact, I don't know if it's easier or not, this is an open question) from contract manufacturers? Moreover, in Ukraine, in Transcarpathia, there are two contract manufacturers - Jabil in Uzhgorod and Flex in Mukachevo. Jabil, at least, has experience in the production of phones for Nokia, of which a couple of million units were released there. Yes, a smartphone is a more complicated device, yes, its design is a separate difficult task (especially under the gun of public opinion and manipulation by the oligarchic media), but, as you know, they don’t take money for demand. There are engineers at the factories, technological capacities too. Minus the cost of shipping from China, plus - the involvement of employees who will (if they will) assemble a device that is significant for the whole country. It’s not a fact, of course, that the capabilities of these contract manufacturers will allow them to launch a smartphone, it’s not a fact that the price will be more profitable than in China, but billions of taxpayers’ money are at stake, and at least it’s worth asking. Perhaps this is the very chance to create, albeit not a high-tech, but relatively “Ukrainian” smartphone in every sense.
Software matters
Custom smartphone development allows you to directlyIn the sense of the word, make it easier to use by clearing out junk applications that are installed in batches by all smartphone manufacturers without exception. Of course, it’s worth leaving the basic set of Google services (I’m not even considering a non-Android smartphone option for all the obvious reasons), adding Diyu and, perhaps, some basic socially significant set of applications - Novaya Poshta, Privat24 (the question is also not easy, in fact in fact - how fair this is in relation to other market players, but I just want to say that the problem has a million issues that require discussion, and this is just one of them). But it’s not enough to install applications; pensioners need some kind of video tutorials that explain how to log in to Dii, how to update applications (and this needs to be done regularly, which pensioners won’t even think about). In 2022, for the state to create such video tutorials and place a shortcut to them directly on the desktop of a smartphone is a completely feasible task that must be completed, otherwise all these expenses will be in vain.
One smartphone is not enough, it needs internet
Of course, you can organize specialall three mobile operators have social tariffs, but let's remember that they do not have 100% coverage of the population with high-speed mobile Internet. About 10% of the population lives outside network coverage and the cost of each additional percentage increases exponentially for operators. What to do with this if it is impossible to use a smartphone due to the lack of mobile Internet and, in general, the Internet in villages? Of course, the use of Wi-Fi looks sensible, but where does it come from in a village where there is no Internet for a conditional grandmother? Yes, and wired Internet also costs money, also requires social tariffs (read - subsidies from the state).
The road will be mastered by walking or systemic problems need to be solved by systemic methods
All these problems do not mean that they are nothave solutions. This is all discussed and decided. But in our minds, we need to solve all of them comprehensively, constantly keeping the goal in mind. But the goal is still simple: bridging the digital divide for older people and providing them with access to digital services of the state, of which we all hope there will be more and more. And among this bouquet of issues, let me remind you, the development of a smartphone (both hardware and software, and then educational video tutorials), choosing a supplier, fair distribution of smartphones and solving the problem of Internet access. And all this must be done carefully, since the state will interfere with the already established rules of the game in the market. Someone will definitely suffer from such actions. The task of society is to ensure social justice and protect the weakest. And the solution to all these problems is in our hands.