ICT can be very harmful. International experience suggests some will misuse ICT to (for example) invade others’ privacy, engage in fraud and extortion, market pornography, or spread undesirable or offensive material, or promote malevolent notions. The Tonga Declaration of 2010 recognised that there are growing threats to cyber-security, which cooperation and coordination on a regional basis can assist to address.34 There is no single or simple solution to these risks. The Government must do what it can, however, to protect the community from harm. Some forms of harm can be addressed by legislation; others are best addressed by educating the community and using ICT themselves (e.g. filtering software) to mitigate the threat. Strategies 88. At the present stage of market development the Government is not in favour of funding service providers’ construction of facilities. The Telecommunications Commission has found it inadvisable to intervene in the market in this way. The mobile operators are continuing to construct new network in rural areas, at this time. The possibility of universal access support might in future need to be considered again, if the operators cease network construction while some communities still don’t have network coverage of an adequate standard. 89. Although the Government owns some network, it has been the Government’s policy not to participate in the telecommunications market, except as a customer. The Government must refrain from offering network or services on a commercial basis. Experience around the world has shown that governments make poor telecommunications operators. The Solomon Islands Government has shown a clear resolve in exiting from the telecommunications market, which is a positive example to other countries. If the Government were to re-enter the market as a telecommunications provider, in competition with commercial networks and service providers, that would gravely undermine all the Government has accomplished by liberalizing the industry and exiting from the market. Further investment would be very seriously threatened. 90. Rather than pay an operator to build network in an “uneconomic” location, or deliver services using state-owned network, the Government proposes to adopt strategies to promote demand among users. It is the Government’s policy, first, to 34 Pacific ICT Ministerial Forum 2009: Connecting the Unconnected Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga, 19-20 February 2009. Page | 32 Solomon Islands National ICT Policy