Keynote speech by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-General
G20 Science, Technology and Innovation Ministers' meeting
4 November 2016, Beijing, China
Thank you Chairman, and thank you for inviting ITU to participate in this meeting, in this beautiful venue, and for your generous hospitality.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of access to the information and knowledge society, so important to facilitate innovation and the development of the digital economy, and the need to promote broadband connectivity, especially in developing countries.
A world where everyone is connected to the Internet will be a better place. A better place to be informed, to be educated, to receive healthcare, to be productive and enjoy a better standard of living.
Access to the Internet, or more generally information and communication technologies (ICTs), through high speed broadband connection will bring people the benefits of many innovative products and services they would otherwise be denied.
If we look at the 169 targets set to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals it is clear that they can only be achieved by the widespread use of ICTs. For example, halving the number of deaths and injuries on the road will only be achieved by using smart transport management techniques, including collision avoidance radar and autonomous vehicles. Doubling the rate of energy efficiency will only be achieved through the use of smart meters, and innovative energy saving solutions. Substantially increasing water-use efficiency will rely on ICTs to control irrigation and identify and remedy water leaks. Combating climate change can only be achieved by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through clean technologies – an estimated 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through the use of ICTs.
As the lead UN agency for ICTs, ITU has a major role to play in achieving these goals. Most people now connect to the Internet through their smart phones. There is an increasing demand from more users wanting faster connection to download more data. This places great demand on the radio frequency spectrum. It has to be agreed internationally, otherwise these phones would not work when moving from one country to another, and the cost of phones would be much higher if they did not comply with global standards and benefit from the resulting economies of scale. It is only through the international treaty on the use of the radio frequency spectrum, that ITU has been maintaining for the last 110 years, that this can be achieved.
All these devices need to be able to interoperate and this can only be achieved by compliance with international standards, something ITU has been doing for even longer.
The networks carrying all this data and communications traffic rely on ITU’s international standards.
Bringing the benefits of this technology to all the world’s citizens is a major goal of the ITU. We do this by encouraging countries to adopt the policies and regulations that will provide the incentives to invest in the provision of broadband services, and help develop the necessary ICT skills.
ITU and the World Bank estimate that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can yield up to a 1.38% increase in average GDP growth in developing regions.
To fully realize these benefits and to harness the power and potential of ICTs, the global community of governments, industry, academia and other stakeholders need to combine efforts to ensure a global roll-out of broadband infrastructure.
Cooperation, coordination and collaboration is key and I am sure this meeting will be a major step forward in achieving this, and ITU looks forward to contributing to G20 in any way we can!
Thank you Mr. Chairman