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We recognise that increasing access to the Internet has the potential to support development (and vice versa). However, greater connectivity alone is not enough and three further considerations must be borne in mind: equitable internet infrastructural development; rights-respecting legal, regulatory and policy frameworks; and open, inclusive and transparent Internet-related policy-making processes.
In considering these dynamics, we provide a series of recommendations on how to help achieve the full potential benefit of greater Internet access to sustainable development: investment in infrastructure should be equitable; increasing access should not simply be a numbers game, but take into consideration the need to leave no one behind; there should be a focus on better spectrum management; digital education should be supported and increased; the Internet must be a rights-respecting environment so as to ensure the trust of users; and Internet-related policy-making processes must be open, inclusive and transparent.
We conclude with an examination of some of the challenges in the current social, political and economic environment facing states in facilitating greater access to the Internet whilst ensuring sustainable development, as well the potential opportunities offered by the clear, internationally agreed-upon frameworks relating to sustainable development and the Internet.
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