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| Photo credit: © ITU/V. Martin |
The newly established Broadband Commission for
Digital Development has emphasized the critical role
of high-speed, always-on networks in future global
development. Commissioners, who include top
names from industry, United Nations agencies and
civil society, met in a private session in Geneva on
11 July 2010 to define their vision for the accelerated
deployment of broadband networks worldwide,
with the aim of improving the delivery of
services across social and business sectors, and accelerating
progress towards meeting the Millennium
Development Goals. The meeting was hosted by ITU
and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Commission will present two reports on its
outcomes to the United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on 19 September 2010 at an official
side-event of the UN MDG Summit in New York,
which starts on 20 September. The first report will
include a series of recommendations to serve as a
global blueprint for rapid broadband development
worldwide.
The second report will analyse the challenges
and opportunities in deploying broadband in different
types of economies. It will also look at the local
needs, financing constraints and technical hurdles
in areas where broadband is needed, and offer proposals
on possible means of rolling out networks
worldwide.
The Commission is co-chaired by President Paul
Kagame of Rwanda and Carlos Slim Helú, Honorary
Lifetime Chairman of Grupo Carso, who both attended
the meeting. ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun
Touré and UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova,
serve as joint vice-chairs of the Commission. At the
first meeting, Ms Bokova was represented by Jānis
Kārkliņš, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for
Communication and Information.
A list of commissioners and their vision statements
can be found at:
www.itu.int/bbcommission/commissioners.html
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