Wiring for progress: Why the world needs digital infrastructure investment

By Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU

Digital technologies have changed the way the world works – affecting everyone, everywhere on Earth. But digital access, dependent on Internet connectivity, remains extremely uneven.

This article first appeared in Expansión.

As the global development financing community meets in Seville this week, we have the opportunity to ramp up critical infrastructure projects and extend connectivity to all.

While our world may already seem hyperconnected, about 2.6 billion people – or one-third of humanity – are still offline today. Billions more struggle with inadequate connections and unaffordable services.

This digital divide is not only about access to a Wi-Fi signal or a computer. It’s about fibre optic cables, telecom towers and data centres – the hard infrastructure needed to extend digital benefits around the world.

The shortfall in digital infrastructure limits progress in public sectors like education and healthcare, as well as wider social and economic development.

At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, we have a chance to show we’re serious about making tech available to everyone. Above all, we must show that multilateralism still works.

Financing meaningful connectivity

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the UN agency for digital technologies – has joined forces with multilateral banks and investment funds to mobilize money, along with policy action on digital infrastructure.

The goal we will share in Seville is to connect everyone in the world by the end of the decade.

It’s not going to be cheap. We estimate the required investments at USD 1.6 trillion by 2030 to give everyone meaningful connectivity: the level that allows all users to enjoy a productive online experience at an affordable cost.

Connecting the world calls for coordinated investment on an unprecedented scale. Public funding alone cannot do it.

But it can, with the right regulatory frameworks and enabling policies, unlock private financing on the scale required.

What makes connectivity meaningful?

In practical terms, we are talking about broadband speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (Mbps), enough to download a text file in a few seconds, a textbook in under half a minute. Latency should be below 50 milliseconds to support seamless voice or video calls and real-time navigation.

For connectivity to be meaningful, every household would also need an adequate monthly data allowance and affordable access to a capable device.

Infrastructure is the critical backbone that makes this all work. That means fibre-optical connections in every city and 4G or better mobile coverage for at least 95% of the population.

Right now, less than half of the world reaches these basic levels.

Even entry-level 3G or 4G broadband services remain unaffordable for most people in the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states.

Mobilizing global action & partnerships

Infrastructure gaps mirror global socio-economic disparities. The bulk of investment is needed in lower-middle- or low-income countries: where infrastructure deficits are acute and market conditions often deter private capital.

Key mechanisms exist. The Joint SDG Fund is driving transformational finance, e-commerce and digital ecosystem development – with a recent funding round set to benefit over 11 million people in 22 countries with online public services, digital skills training for micro-enterprises, and more.

Yet more must be done to overcome the world’s endemic connectivity challenge.

Gaps can be mapped. But behind them are persistent obstacles like demand fragmentation, project execution, regulatory and political risks, and inadequate digital policies and strategies.

In Seville, ITU will present the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII), co-led with seven leading development finance institutions, bringing together industry leaders and experts to figure out the way forward.

Brazil’s G20 presidency helped get this off the ground, and we continue picking up steam with the G20 led by South Africa this year.

We’re absorbing insights from infrastructure builders, hyperscalers, investors, and mobile and satellite operators in our unprecedented push for innovative solutions and blended financing.

We’re conducting studies on the barriers to network investments, from the Amazon basin to landlocked central Africa.

We hope for continued progress in Spain.

Filling the knowledge gap

We face staggering gaps in knowledge and coordination, too. Regulators, investors and other industry players tend to operate in silos, leaving the biggest investment challenges unaddressed.

This week, we aim to strengthen partnerships, unlock financing opportunities and catalyse investment where it is needed most.

Why now?

Bridging the digital divide is foundational, not optional. With the right investments, partnerships, and policies, we can build resilient digital infrastructure for every community around the globe.

Importantly, big digital investments, can also be green investments, potentially enabling tech to cut carbon emissions across so many other sectors.

We must create the means to finance and roll out critical digital infrastructure.

By doing so, we can build a prosperous digital future for everyone. Doing it right will open new business opportunities, too.

This is a field where ambitions are high, technical needs often converge, and countries can still come together.

The time for digital infrastructure investment is now. The place is Seville.

This opinion piece by Tomas Lamanaukas first appeared in the Spanish business newspaper Expansión on 30 June 2025.Go to the original Spanish version.

Header image credit: Adobe Stock