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President Kagame presents Open Letter from Broadband
Commission to PP-14 Delegates
Calls for enhanced broadband planning processes
Busan, 29 October 2014 – Governments must enhance their
National Broadband planning process to enable ICTs and broadband to catalyse
socio-economic development, according to an
Open Letter from the Broadband Commission for Digital Development
to delegates attending the ITU’s 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference.
Personally delivered by H.E. President Kagame, co-Chair of the Broadband
Commission, on the 28 October, the Commission notes the strong links between
broadband and development and urges “Member States to continue to push for
inclusion of ICTs and broadband as key enabling transformative technologies in
the post-2015 development agenda.”
Although there is evidence that Broadband Plans can help to adapt systems and
ensure that both industrialized and developing economies can fully benefit from
the digital revolution, there are currently 43 countries without any form of
National Broadband plan in place.
Dr Hamadoun I. Touré said, “The importance of a National Broadband plan
cannot be understated and I encourage all nations to put in place a Broadband
Plan that ensures they are ready to meet the digital revolution head-on.
Broadband for all, no matter where they live, is a real possibility and
represents a real opportunity to achieve meaningful digital inclusion across the
globe”.
The letter comes as part of the Broadband Commission’s ongoing campaign for
policy leadership in broadband as established in the Commission’s first
advocacy target, tracked in the Commission’s annual
State of Broadband report, which aims to make broadband
policy universal – by 2015, all countries should have a national broadband plan
or strategy or include broadband in UAS (Universal Access Service) Definitions.
The
Broadband Commission for Digital Development was launched in May 2010 by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in response to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call to step up efforts to meet the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
The Commission unites top industry executives with government leaders,
thought leaders, policy pioneers, international agencies and organizations
concerned with development. The Broadband Commission embraces a range of
different perspectives in a multi-stakeholder approach to promoting the roll-out
of broadband, and represents a fresh approach to UN and business engagement. To
date, the Commission has
published a number of high-level policy reports, best practices and case
studies.
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