​​

​​Statement of the situation or prob​​lem​

Indicator 5.b.1 – the proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by gender – is one of the seven ICT indicators agreed by the UN General Assembly to measure global progress along the Sustainable Development Goals (A/RES/71/313) and is also an indicator within the ICT Development Index. Latest ITU data suggests this indicator rests at 81% of men and 75% of women worldwide, with notable disparities by geographic region and by gender (ITU, 2023).
Several factors relate to the availability and affordability of users’ devices, across the globe. The policies and regulations adopted by ITU Member States around affordability of users’ devices, conformance and interoperability, counterfeits, and device theft, each have an influential impact on the ultimate price that consumers pay for the devices they use. In addition, barriers such as gender norms can impede also limit the availability of users’ devices and ultimately our collective attainment of the ICT-related Sustainable Development Goals.
This challenge and its related policy and regulatory levers merit study by the ITU-D membership and the provision of guidance to the ICT community.

Question o​​r issue for study

Study Question 4/2 is expected to examine issues related to the availability and affordability of users’ device. The work covers the following items:
• 2.1 Sharing national experiences and best practices of users’ devices within broadband policy and regulation, such as national broadband plans, ICT strategies, and mandates of Universal Service Funds (USFs) (in collaboration with Questions 1/1 and 4/1).
• 2.2 Sharing national experiences and best practices in collecting data and measuring the availability and affordability (in collaboration with Question 4/1) of user’s devices, with emphasis on disaggregation across geography and other relevant socio-economic indicators.
• 2.3 Sharing national experiences and best practices in the public provision of users’ devices, such as through schools, libraries, and other public access points.
• 2.4 Analysing of the impacts of availability and affordability (in collaboration with Question 4/1) of users’ devices on the attainment of universal meaningful connectivity.
• 2.5 Sharing national experiences and best practices on the impact of the availability of users’ devices on digital skills development (in collaboration with Question 5/2).
• 2.6 Sharing national experiences and best practices in consumer awareness of issues relevant to users’ devices, including device theft (in possible collaboration with Question 5/1).
• 2.7 Sharing innovations and developments in conformance and interoperability (C&I) best practices.
• 2.8 Examining how capacity development can strengthen the ability of developing countries to reduce risks associated with low-quality equipment and equipment interoperability issues.
• 2.9 Sharing information regarding the establishment of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) between countries.

​ Assessing the impact of the number of ICT devices on the radiocommunication environment, including the Internet of Things (IoT), and providing guidelines to the ITU-D membership for ICT-readiness related to C&I (in possible collaboration with Question 1/2.
Sharing national experiences and best practices on combating counterfeit, sub-standard, tampered devices, and theft of mobile devices. ​

Expected ​output​

Studies on topics outlined in section 2 related to the availability and affordability of user devices and related telecommunication/ICT equipment issues are to be reported. Outputs are to be arranged as decided appropriate by the study Question.