BDT Director Doreen-Bogdan Martin delivered a keynote speech to the Wireless World Research Forum's conference on ''Hyperconnectivity: Beyond 5G, Opportunities and Challenges'', on the topic Can 5G Drive Sustainable Development?
On 5G connectivity, Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin noted ''The performance enhancements offered by this next-generation technology have the potential to unleash a whole raft of innovations that could play a powerful catalytic role in accelerating progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.''
Particularly in the wake of the COVID crisis, the UN Secretary-General's emphasis on digital cooperation to drive progress in this final 'Decade of Action', and the global realization of the vital importance of connectivity to social and economic resilience, she stated that the timing could hardly be better- ''We have at our fingertips a technology with unprecedented potential to transform our world.''
Ms Bogdan-Martin explained that mobile is – and will remain – the only affordable, viable online platform available to hundreds of millions of people who live beyond the reach of copper and fibre. The new services empowered by 5G have the power to transform health care, access to education, environmental management, and even agricultural yields.
Urging the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to get the next 3.7 billion people who currently remain offline connected, Ms Bogdan-Martin highlighted the usefulness of a whole-of-government approach, in contrast to traditional siloed development models. Furthermore, she urged the global community to think beyond towers and boxes, and focus on other barriers that are keeping people offline, such as affordability, on-line safety and digital skills.
Ms Bogdan-Martin underscored that ''5G can be a cornerstone of post-COVID recovery, and digitally-led development, but we need everyone to benefit equally. We need a strong, shared focus on bridging the digital divide, so that we can put affordable, accessible 5G mobile broadband within reach of all.''
Drawing attention to the fact that we have just 9 years left to achieve the SDGs, she emphasized the necessity for the global community to work harder to leverage the transformational power of ICTs, in order to make our shared dream of global sustainable development a reality.
