Bridge the International Digital Divide

Recommendation #23

FCC Chapter: 4.6

The United States should continue to support policies that hasten the rollout and uptake of telecommunications technology that bridges the international digital divide.

The United States needs to provide continued leadership to ensure that the Internet will continue to evolve in ways that are cooperative, collaborative and maximally beneficial for the collective community of users, managers and investors.

The three primary streams of cooperation -- intergovernmental cooperation, cooperation through non-governmental organizations and cooperation through technical bodies -- have served the world and the Internet well.

The United States needs to provide continued leadership in all of these fora—particularly by working with the international community, including the International telecommunications Union, to develop innovative and flexible global spectrum allocation.

Global harmonization across spectrum usage, along with international standards-setting, can reduce per-unit costs and lead to increased adoption and usage of the Internet around the world.

Maximizing the benefits of broadband worldwide will require increased attention to policies that promote universal and unrestricted access to the Internet. The United States should lead in efforts to create a global consensus on how to define and guarantee basic rights of openness, access to and creation of information and connection to the global Internet community.

Engaging counterparts in international fora, as appropriate, will be crucial to successfully implementing cybersecurity policies.