Statement of the situation or problem
Broadband technologies are fundamentally transforming the way we live. Broadband infrastructure, applications and services offer important opportunities for boosting economic growth, enhancing communications, improving energy efficiency, safeguarding the planet and improving people's lives. Broadband access has had a significant impact on the world economy. Rapid evolution and new business opportunities are driving rapid but uneven growth in digital technologies.2 According to ITU data, 2019 marked the first full year when more than half the world begun to participate in the global digital economy by logging onto the Internet. The latest ITU data show that some 49 per cent of the world's population currently remain unconnected (ITU, 2020 estimates).3 The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has also restated the importance of diverse ICTs in ensuring connectivity, as illustrated by insights shared on the Reg4Covid platform.4 As noted in the Study Group 1 Chairman's report (Annex 8) to the TDAG virtual meetings held from 2 to 5 June 2020, and recognized in several instances and reports of study Question 1/1 for the ITU-D study period 2018-2021, the Question has to continue for the next study period, and the topics of interest to be reflected in the next study period are:
- Policies, strategies and regulatory aspects of broadband
- Broadband access technologies
- Financing and investment aspects of broadband
- COVID-19 and other pandemics on broadband networks
- Digital transformation/Infrastructure
- Co-deployment and sharing of broadband infrastructure with other infrastructure networks
- Strategies and policies for the deployment of broadband in developing countries.
Question or issue for study
Continuing topics from previous study period
a) Policies and regulations that promote increased high-speed, high-quality broadband network connectivity in developing countries, considering trends in the various broadband access technologies, barriers for infrastructure deployment and investment, best practices on cross-border connectivity and challenges for SIDS. b) Effective and efficient ways to fund increased broadband access for the unserved and underserved populations in non-rural or urban areas. c) The regulatory and market conditions necessary to promote deployment of broadband networks and services, including, as appropriate, the establishment of asymmetric regulation for operators with significant market power (SMP), such as local loop unbundling, if required, for such SMP operators, and organizational options for national regulatory authorities resulting from convergence. d) Promoting incentives and an enabling regulatory environment for the investments required to meet the growing demand for access to the Internet generally, and bandwidth and infrastructure requirements in particular, for delivering affordable broadband services to meet development needs, including consideration of public, private and public-private partnerships for investment. e) Methods and strategies influencing the effective deployment of wireline and wireless, including satellite, broadband access technologies, including backhaul considerations, for unserved and underserved populations in non-rural and urban areas. f) Methodologies for migration planning and implementation of broadband technologies, taking into account existing networks, as appropriate. g) National digital policies, strategies and plans which seek to ensure that broadband is available to as wide a community of users as possible. h) Flexible, transparent approaches to promoting robust competition in the provision of network access (in possible collaboration with Question 4/1). i) Co-investment and the co-location and shared use of infrastructure, including through active infrastructure sharing (in possible collaboration with Question 4/1). j) Licensing approaches and business models for promoting broadband network expansion that more effectively integrate the use of terrestrial, satellite, backhaul and submarine telecommunication infrastructure (in possible collaboration with Question 4/1 and Question 5/1). k) Holistic universal access and service strategies and financing mechanisms, including universal service funds, for both network expansion and connectivity for unserved and underserved populations in non-rural and urban areas (in possible collaboration with Question 4/1 and Question 5/1).
New topics for this study period
l) Strategies to enhance the QoS of the network with increased data traffic (in possible collaboration with Question 6/1). m) Analysis of the impact of the expected delay in the deployment of terrestrial and non-terrestrial advanced telecommunication infrastructures, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent economic downturn, as well as technological alternatives complementary to the existing network to accommodate increased data traffic. n) National digital policies, strategies and plans which seek to accelerate the deployment of advanced networks along with the promotion of e-education, e-health and telework after the COVID-19 pandemic. o) Co-deployment and sharing of broadband infrastructure with other infrastructure networks.
Expected output
Revision of the Question 1/1 Final Report for ITU-D study period 2018-2021, as appropriate.
