Distinguished partners,
Esteemed colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to officially launch the Global Economic Model and Study tool, known as GEMS.
Around the world, governments face a common challenge:
how to expand digital infrastructure in a way that is economically viable,
socially impactful,
and financially sustainable.
This is a particular challenge in remote and underserved areas.
The scale of this challenge is significant,
with global investment needs estimated at 2.6 to 2.8 trillion US dollars to achieve universal and meaningful connectivity.
GEMS was created to respond to this challenge.
The study was developed by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau,
with the sponsorship of the Communication, Space and Technology Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
and I would like to express my profound gratitude for their support.
GEMS is a practical, evidence-based economic modelling tool,
designed to support ICT policymakers, regulators and other industry stakeholders,
by helping them make better-informed connectivity investment decisions.
It brings together ITU’s existing modelling resources and econometric expertise into a single, coherent framework.
At its core, GEMS allows countries to quantify the costs and benefits of broadband deployment,
to assess investment requirements,
evaluate social and economic impacts,
and test how different policy, regulatory, and financing scenarios can reduce the investment burden.
In addition, it is fully adaptable to each country’s specific economic, regulatory, and technological context.
Through pilot studies, GEMS has demonstrated that while connectivity expansion can generate substantial economic returns,
commercial viability often requires more than that.
It depends on the kinds of coordinated regulatory and funding decisions enabled by GEMS.
Finally, GEMS matters because it offers countries a practical roadmap to achieve ambitious connectivity goals.
It enables decision makers to test assumptions,
assess investment needs,
and understand the impact of different policy and regulatory choices before they are implemented.
GEMS aligns economic evidence with national digital priorities.
Together with the Connectivity Planning Platform, to be launched later today, this helps countries ensure broadband expansion proceeds in a socially desirable way,
and one that is also financially sustainable.
In doing so, it supports better planning,
smarter regulation,
and stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors.
In closing, I would like to say that GEMS is more than an econometric model.
It is an instrument for building dialogue,
and supporting diplomatic decisions.
It will help countries move from ambition to implementation,
bringing evidence, policy, and investment decisions together,
to make connectivity goals achievable and sustainable.
I look forward to seeing Member States reap the benefits in the period ahead.
Thank you!
