International Telecommunication Union

"I’m taking everybody’s privacy away!” Robert Scoble, Entrepreneur in Residence at Upload VR, declared during his Centre Stage debate at Web Summit 2016. Wearing a pair of Microsoft HoloLens’, next-generation “mixed reality” glasses, Scoble debated whether we are sacrificing too much of our privacy in the name of technological advancement. But how will we ensure our privacy when mixed reality devices are commercially available?

Though regulation will be key to ensuring citizens’ privacy, Scoble says that governments may not be able to fill the need: “The governments are behind, and they will be behind forever. There is no way you can keep up with technology that’s happening this fast.” So, it will be up to the industry to self-regulate, Scoble reckons. But will it be enough?

International Telecommunication Union's flagship annual Measuring the Information Society Report​ reports that the world is getting more and more connected and reveals that there are still huge investment opportunities for the private sector to connect the unconnected.

The Republic of Korea tops the Information and Communications Technologies Development Index (IDI) rankings in 2016 for the second consecutive year. The top 10 countries of the IDI 2016 also include two other economies in the Asia-Pacific region, and seven European countries. Three island countries in the Caribbean – St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Grenada – featured among the most dynamic countries with strong improvements in their IDI value and rank.

A range of policy options are available to maximize access to broadband and to maximize its benefits. Policymakers must regularly review and revise regulatory frameworks to encourage the development of broadband and ICTs.

According to ITU’s Trends in Telecommunication Reform Report 2015, many countries have adopted or are in the process of adopting more flexible regulatory frameworks over the past decade. By now, a large majority of countries have moved to engage with market liberalization measures in their telecommunication sector. For example, by 2016, 151 countries had allowed private sector participation in their fixed-line sector, at least 147 countries had allowed private sector participation in their mobile (spectrum-based) operators, and there are now 164 regulatory authorities worldwide by 2016. As outlined in The State of Broadband 2016: Broadband Catalyzing Sustainable Development, today, regulatory frameworks should also include consideration of the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), data privacy and protection.

An Indian government-funded project to provide 2G mobile coverage to unserved areas in India’s North-East Region received no bids from telecom operators.

An estimated INR53.36 billion (USD798 million) was made available from the Universal Service Obligation Fund to help support the roll-out, which would have helped connect some of the more than 9,000 villages currently not connected to a mobile network. India has made rapid strides in the rollout of 3G, as well as 4G, particularly in urban areas where many operators are choosing to invest more heavily due to higher average revenue per user and lower infrastructure costs. Yet in India – as in many other emerging markets – 2G remains important for connecting citizens and improving lives, especially in unconnected rural areas.

“Sometimes Europeans see that we have good phones and ask, ‘Why does a refugee have a phone?’ These phones are like our visas. If we lose our phones, we lose our lives.”
-- Boutros, a Syrian refugee

The 2016 State of Broadband Report published by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development offers plenty of good news, data, and insights on the deployment of broadband worldwide and developments in the next generation of mobile broadband (5G), fixed broadband and satellite broadband systems. The telecommunication company and technology industry also recognizes that women and girls play a vital part in sustainable global development.

On Sept 18, at the annual Broadband Commission meeting in New York City, International Telecommunication Union and United Nations Women teamed up with partners from Silicon Valley to Mexico to launch EQUALS: The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age. EQUALS will collaborate with every programme, whether run by a foundation, corporation, ministry, or NGO, attempting to bring digital literacy and savvy to all women and girls in the world. It’s good to know that, with the EQUALS programme, we are working together for the digital future of women and girls. That’s a great place to start.

On September 15, the United Nations Broadband Commission issued the latest edition of its flagship State of Broadband report, a unique global snapshot of broadband network access and affordability, with country-by country data measuring broadband access against key advocacy targets set by the Commission in 2011. Lead Author Phillippa Briggs answers questions about key issues in the report.

Asked, "More than half the world is still offline! What is the main reason for this and how can it be solved?" Biggs replied, "There is no single main reason – there are many different reasons, which differ from country to country, as well as individual to individual. Historically, attention has focused on infrastructure availability and network coverage; nowadays, issues of demand and affordability are coming to the forefront.." Asked, "The world is rapidly urbanizing and we are at a pivotal moment to design smart cities for the future, what role will broadband play in moving this agenda forward?" Biggs replied, "Broadband is helping make our cities and human settlements more energy-efficient, through smart grids, smart water management, intelligent transport systems, and better data and analysis to improve decision-making. At the same time, they can help create greater economic opportunities in rural areas, and potentially slow down the migration to urban areas."

​​​​India has overtaken the United States to become the world's second largest Internet market, with 333 million users, trailing China's 721 million. But a new report released by the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development also confirms that just six nations – including China and India – together account for 55% of the total global population still offline, because of the sheer size of their populations.

While Internet access is approaching saturation in richer nations, connectivity is still not advancing fast enough to help bridge development gaps in areas like education and health care for those in poorer parts of the world, according to the 2016 edition of The State of Broadband report. Globally, an estimated 3.9 billion people are not using the Internet. But the Commission's new report estimates that, between them, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria account for 55% of all unconnected people, while 20 countries – including the US – account for a full 75% of those not using the Internet. These findings suggest that targeted efforts in just a few key markets could help enormously in redressing the gaping 'digital divide' between those who are online and those still offline.

Released just ahead of the 14th meeting of the Commission in New York on September 18, The State of Broadband 2016 is optimistic about the potential of mobile broadband, with 165 countries now having deployed '4G' high-speed mobile networks. As smartphone penetration reaches near-saturation in the US, Europe and mature markets in Asia like Japan and Korea, India and Indonesia in particular are expected to drive future growth. India also recently overtook the US to become the world's second-largest smartphone market, with an estimated 260 million mobile broadband subscriptions.

To spur more action to close this digital divide, the U.S. Government, led by the U.S State Department, launched the multi-stakeholder Global Connect Initiative in 2015 aiming to bring an additional 1.5 billion new Internet users online by 2020. The initiative has three inter-related goals: first, to encourage governments to make Internet access central to all development and growth initiatives. And second, to work in cooperation with multilateral development institutions to double public and private lending for connectivity and digital technologies. And finally, to harness the knowledge, skills and resources of the technical community to implement solutions for high-speed, affordable broadband access.

In doing this, we recognize that building Internet infrastructure is only one step towards digital inclusion. Creating a policy environment that sustains a healthy Internet by encouraging investment and innovation is critical for long term success. As with the rapid adoption of mobile technologies, the majority of investment will continue to come from the private sector. Targeted multi-stakeholder efforts, such as the Global Connect Initiative, can help to tackle barriers to access and unlock latent resources, accelerating the diffusion of the Internet’s benefits to those who currently remain unconnected.
[Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, in the U.S. Department of State]

[Commentary] In the first of three blogs this week that will feature some of the expert insights from the forthcoming 2016 State of Broadband Commission Report, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, describes how his company, Bharti Airtel Limited, is building a network to bring broadband connectivity to a billion people in India and contributing exceptionally to using information communication technology (ICT) to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 (no poverty).

Broadband networks are the highways of tomorrow. In India, they also constitute a critical driver of economic growth and inclusion. These networks not only bring the government to the citizens’ doors through e-governance modules but help link producers and consumers to the marketplace as well. Banking, education and healthcare can ride networks to reach citizens in the most remote regions. India’s Broadband Dream – ‘Extending access to the next billion’ – will be driven primarily by growth in wireless, requiring both massive investment by operators but a supportive regulatory environment as well. The Government needs to address relevant policy and operational issues proactively (such as Right of Way) and, most importantly, to keep in perspective the long-term financial health of the sector while deciding on pricing of spectrum, the lifeblood of mobility.

[Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises.]