Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development releases first global
broadband report
Broadband deployment accelerating worldwide, but
prices still need to come down
New York, 23 September, 2012 – The
Broadband Commission for Digital
Development has released its first-ever country-by-country snapshot of the
state of broadband deployment worldwide.
The
State of Broadband 2012: Achieving Digital Inclusion for All report
evaluates the roll-out of broadband around the world and tracks progress towards
achieving the
four advocacy targets set by the Commission in 2011 for boosting broadband
affordability and uptake. It provides country rankings across up to 177
economies on economic impact, penetration, national broadband policy, and
connecting people and dwellings.
The report was released at the sixth meeting of the Commission, which was
held today in New York to coincide with the 67th session of the UN General
Assembly. It was welcomed
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called broadband a “transformative
technology that has the potential to spark advances across all three pillars of
sustainable development: economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental
sustainability.”
The report reveals that while household Internet access has seen strong
growth over the past year and is on track to achieve the Commission’s target for
Connecting Homes to Broadband, individual Internet use continues to lag behind.
ITU analysts believe that mobile broadband could prove the platform for
achieving the boost needed to get progress back on track – at end 2011, there
were already almost twice as many mobile broadband subscriptions as fixed
broadband connections.
“Broadband networks and services are transforming our way of life. The
Broadband Commission is committed to ensuring that the benefits of broadband are
available to all. I am delighted by the dedication and enthusiasm shown by the
many senior business leaders and top policy-makers on the Commission to
advancing the global broadband policy agenda,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr
Hamadoun I. Touré.
The report notes a strong linguistic shift now taking place online. If
current growth rates continue, it says, the number of Internet users accessing
the Internet predominantly in Chinese will overtake English language users by
2015.
It goes on to outline a variety of ways in which broadband is improving the
lives of people around the world, in m-health, distance education and
m-learning, via m-payment systems, and in improving the lives of women,
promoting innovation and fostering the acquisition of new skills. It also
reinforces a clear need for policy leadership to facilitate the deployment of
broadband around the world. Today, some 119 countries now have a national
broadband plan or policy in place.
The State of Broadband 2012 report draws on ITU’s
extensive statistical evidence
base and is the result of close collaboration between Broadband
Commissioners. Based on interviews, contributions and supporting material from
more than 20 experts and their organizations, it highlights the importance of
public private partnerships in accelerating change, presents twelve
recommendations from the Commission to speed up the roll-out and deployment of
broadband to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), and includes 24 ‘featured insights’ from the Commission, which
comprises
60 leaders from industry, government, international organizations and NGOs.
How does your country rank? Download the full version of the State of
Broadband report at:
www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/bb-annualreport2012.pdf
View a short motion graphic on the report:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt8x10e3V-A
Download a short ‘highlights’ document at:
www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/bb-annualreport2012-flyer.pdf
Photos from the meeting can be downloaded at:
www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/sets/72157631556083581/
For more information on the Broadband Commission, visit:
www.broadbandcommission.org
Follow the Broadband Commission on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/broadbandcommission
Follow the Broadband Commission on Twitter:
www.itu.int/twitter
For more information, please contact:
In New York: |
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Gary Fowlie
Head, ITU Liaison Office
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Paul Conneally
Head, Communications &
Partnership Promotion
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In Geneva:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations
and Public Information
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