Global Connectivity Report 2022
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Preface
List of boxes, figures and tables
     Box 1.1: Connectivity for refugees
     Box 1.2: The Sustainable Development Goals and the Decade of Action
     Box 1.3: Impact of mobile money: achieving the SDGs
     Box 1.4: The impact of digital distrust
     Box 1.5: A history of digital connectivity
     Box 2.1: The global speed divide
     Box 3.1: Niche technologies for expanding telecommunication infrastructure
     Box 3.2: Ensuring school connectivity and digital skills
     Box 3.3: Achieving universal and meaningful connectivity in Africa
     Box 3.4: Example of multistakeholder initiatives for improving connectivity
     Box 4.1: COVID-19 and IXPs
     Box 4.2: Kenya and Viet Nam: IXPs in action
     Box 5.1: ITU’s approach to measuring ICT prices and affordability
     Box 5.2: Setting the affordability target
     Box 6.1: Giga initiative
     Box 7.1: Tensions between established and emerging approaches
     Box 7.2: Generations of regulation and the G5 Benchmark: guiding regulators
     Box 7.3: Collaboration frameworks and outcomes: insights from Mexico and Tanzania
     Box 7.4: The Kenya Digital Economy Blueprint
     Box 10.1: The start of the data lifecycle – ITU’s work in defining ICT indicators, setting standards and building capacity
     Box 10.2: UN-CEBD and Big Data Guidelines
     Box 10.3: Disaster Connectivity Map (DCM): monitoring connectivity in near real-time
     Figure 1.1: Connectivity and human development
     Figure 1.2: Coverage gap and usage gap
     Figure 1.3: Broadband penetration, 2010
     Figure 1.4: Mobile-broadband coverage and subscriptions, 2021
     Figure 2.1: Framework for universal and meaningful connectivity
     Figure 2.2: Growth of Internet use between 1994 and 2021
     Figure 2.3: Internet penetration around the world
     Figure 2.4: Internet use speed of diffusion
     Figure 2.5: The global digital divide
     Figure 2.6: Development level and the offline population
     Figure 2.7: The urban-rural divide
     Figure 2.8: The gender digital divide
     Figure 2.9: The Internet use gender gap
     Figure 2.10: The age divide
     Figure 2.11: Connectivity barriers
     Figure 2.12: Level of education and reasons for not using the Internet
     Figure 2.13: Fixed-network coverage
     Figure 2.14: Fixed-broadband coverage
     Figure 2.15: Fixed broadband speed
     Figure 2.16: Mobile network coverage
     Figure 2.17: Regional mobile network coverage
     Figure 2.18: Coverage gap and usage gap
     Figure 2.19: The urban-rural digital access divide
     Figure 2.20: The rise of mobile telephony and mobile broadband
     Figure 2.21: Growth in international bandwidth
     Figure 2.22: Upload and download speeds in the pandemic period
     Figure 2.23: Affordability of mobile broadband
     Figure 2.24: Affordability of fixed broadband
     Figure 2.25: Mobile phone ownership and the gender gap
     Figure 2.26: ICT skills and education level
     Figure 2.27: What people do online
     Figure 2.28: Online activities and education level of users
     Figure 3.1: Performance in the ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker
     Figure 3.2: Trade in information technology products
     Figure 3.3: State of data privacy legislation
     Figure 3.4: Disability gap for smartphone ownership and mobile Internet use
     Figure 3.5: The inter-generational gap in Internet use
     Figure 3.6: Percentage of female and male population using the Internet, 2020
     Figure 3.7: Countries with an e-waste policy, legislation or regulation 2019
     Figure 4.1: The connectivity chain and the “miles” of connectivity
     Figure 4.2: The IXP ecosystem
     Figure 4.3: COVID-19-induced traffic increase on Asian IXPs
     Figure 4.4: IXP membership and traffic
     Figure 4.5: IXPs and stages of growth
     Figure 4.6: Data centres penetration
     Figure 4.7: Data centre locations of top 20 MTDC operators
     Figure 4.8: Factors affecting successful operation of data centres (weight of importance, %)
     Figure 5.1: Affordability – a barrier to connectivity
     Figure 5.2: The ICT price baskets currently monitored by ITU
     Figure 5.3: Affordability of smartphones and feature phones
     Figure 5.4: Affordability of devices
     Figure 5.5: Fixed and mobile broadband affordability gaps
     Figure 5.6: Broadband prices are often beyond reach for the lowest-earning 40 per cent
     Figure 5.7: Affordability trends of ICT services
     Figure 5.8: Progress towards achieving the affordability target
     Figure 5.9: Mobile broadband prices and subscriptions across time
     Figure 5.10: A non-linear relationship between broadband prices and adoption (2015–2021)
     Figure 5.11: Urbanization and broadband prices
     Figure 5.12: Operator economics: mobile market revenues and investment
     Figure 5.13: The advantages of international connectivity
     Figure 5.14: Average broadband price by G5 Benchmark readiness level
     Figure 7.1: Generations of regulation
     Figure 7.2: National and international bodies involved in the Digital Economy Blueprint
     Figure 8.1: Impacts of COVID-19 on demand for communication services
     Figure 8.2: Impacts of COVID-19 on the supply of communication services
     Figure 8.3: Policy priorities in the new normal
     Figure 9.1: Large disparities in children’s access to the Internet
     Figure 9.2: Large disparities in Internet access between the rich and poor
     Figure 9.3: Youth is the most connected age group
     Figure 9.4: Youth ICT skills
     Figure 9.5: Youth have more ICT skills than adults
     Figure 9.6: Finding information about health
     Figure 9.7: Children and youth’s exposure to online risks
     Figure 10.1: Population density map of Central Nigeria overlaid with location of cell towers
     Figure 10.2 Disruptions in Tonga’s telecommunication networks
     Figure 10.3 DCM map for Tonga before and after the volcanic eruption and tsunami
     Table 1.1: The contribution of connectivity and the SDGs
     Table 2.1: Aspirational targets for 2030 and current situation
     Table 4.1: Top 10 companies by presence on an IXP, December 2021
     Table 4.2: Top 10 IXPs by traffic exchanged, December 2021
     Table 4.3: Top 20 MTDC operators, December 2021
     Table 9.1: The 4Cs of online risks to children
     Table 10.1: Percentage of economies with available data, selected indicators (latest year 2018–2021)
Abbreviations
Executive summary
Chapter 1. Universal and meaningful connectivity: The new imperative
     1.1 The promises of connectivity
     1.2 The downsides of connectivity
     1.3 Charting a path to universal, meaningful connectivity
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 2. The journey to universal and meaningful connectivity
     2.1 Measuring digital connectivity
     2.2 The state of digital connectivity
     2.3 Divides in connectivity
     2.4 Barriers to connectivity
     2.5 Enablers of connectivity
     2.6 Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 3. Accelerating progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity
     3.1 Infrastructure
     3.2 Digital skills
     3.3 Affordability
     3.4 Security and safety
     3.5 Accelerating connectivity among disadvantaged groups
     3.6 Minimizing environmental damage
     3.7 Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 4. The critical role of middle-mile connectivity
     4.1 Internet exchange points
     4.2 Data centres
     4.3 Cloud computing
     4.4 Conclusions and recommendations
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 5. Meaningful connectivity for all: the affordability factor
     5.1 Introduction
          5.1.1 Defining service affordability
     5.2 Affordability gaps and trends around the world
          5.2.1 Affordability of devices
          5.2.2 Affordability of service – mobile broadband is central to universal connectivity
          5.2.3 Affordability gaps within countries
          5.2.4 Affordability trends
          5.2.5 More affordable broadband services, more subscriptions?
     5.3 What are the drivers of affordability?
          5.3.1 Geography and its impact on affordability
          5.3.2 Size of the economy
          5.3.3 Absent infrastructure – barrier to affordability
          5.3.4 Competition and affordability
          5.3.5 Regulatory frameworks as a driver of affordability
          5.3.6 What can governments do to improve affordability?
     5.4 Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 6. Financing universal connectivity
     6.1 Creating a conducive regulatory environment
     6.2 Current financing models
          6.2.1 Commercial deployment
          6.2.2 Universal service funds
          6.2.3 Governments
          6.2.4 International organizations
          6.2.5 Community networks
     6.3 Innovative funding models
     6.4 Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 7. Policy and regulatory strategies that drive digital transformation
     7.1 Introduction
     7.2 Strategy 1: Build ambidextrous leadership
     7.3 Strategy 2: Bridge silos and breakthrough insularity
     7.4 Strategy 3: Develop a common language
     7.5 Strategy 4: Reframe and operationalize policy agendas
          7.5.1 Reframing policy narratives from single-sector to whole-of-society
          7.5.2 Craft roadmaps
     7.6 Strategy 5: Skill up, and up again
     7.7 Policy and regulation will enable digital transformation
     7.8 Everyone can be a winner
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 8. Connectivity and the pandemic: building resilience for future crises
     Introduction
     8.2 Connectivity supply and demand
          8.2.1 Short-to-medium-term impacts and responses
          8.2.2 Long-term impacts and responses
     Policy priorities for resilience in the new normal
          8.3.1 Addressing the digital divide
          8.3.2 Driving digital deepening
          8.3.3 Effecting digital transformation
          8.3.4 Building digital resilience
     Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 9. The digital lives of children and youth
     9.1Introduction
     9.2 The digital divide: taking stock of inequality in access and skills
          9.2.1 Access and use
          9.2.2 Digital skills
     9.3 Opportunities and risks of digital connection
     9.4 Conclusions
          9.4.1 Initiatives that address the learning crisis
          9.4.2 Removing barriers and closing gaps
          9.4.3 Online learning initiatives need community support and more
          9.4.4 Working together to protect from harm
          9.4.5 More research, more data needed on access, use, skills and outcomes
     References
     Endnotes
Chapter 10. Measuring meaningful connectivity: the case for more and better statistics
     10.1 The case for more and better data
     10.2 Measuring digital connectivity
     10.3 Exploring new frontiers in ICT statistics
     10.4 Improving the data ecosystem
     10.5 Conclusions
     References
     Endnotes
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