The Marconi Society
The Decade of Digital Inclusion
Inclusive Connectivity: Opportunities and Imperatives
Keynote
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
22 October 2021
Good morning, everyone.
It's a pleasure and privilege to join you today for this important gathering, at a time when digital inclusion has moved to the top of political agendas right around the world.
With the global health crisis far from over, most countries are still figuring out what their 'new normal' will look like.
But I think we can say with confidence that there is no longer any doubt that the beating heart of our post-COVID world will be digital.
A couple of weeks ago, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released a bold new report to frame his second term, entitled 'Our Common Agenda'.
His message was unambiguous: with almost all 17 Sustainable Development Goals off track, humanity faces a stark choice: breakthrough, or breakdown.
To achieve that vital breakthrough on the critical issues facing our planet and its people, we are going to have put aside our differences and learn to collaborate and cooperate on a truly unprecedented scale.
And digital inclusion will be the bedrock of that global collaboration.
That's because, for the first time in human history, digital gives us the power to reach out to millions, and to work together – across oceans, across time zones, and even, thanks to advanced machine translation, across linguistic barriers.
The vital importance of universal connectivity is why the UN Secretary General recognizes the digital divide as a ''grand canyon'' that urgently needs to be bridged to advance humanity's best interests, and the interests of the ecosystems on which our planet depends.
That description of the digital divide as a ''grand canyon'' is not an overstatement.
Far from it.
Right now, ITU estimates that 3.7 billion people still have no online connectivity whatsoever.
That's close to half of all humanity.
The vast majority of these people live in the world's poorest nations, and the world's many isolated island communities.
But the digital divide is not just a developing world problem.
Even here in the US, analysts estimate that 25% of the population still lacks a home broadband connection.
And the FCC reports that even where broadband is available, 100 million Americans choose not to subscribe.
The divide also adversely impacts certain groups more than others, with rural dwellers, women, indigenous communities, persons living with disabilities, and people on low incomes all much more likely to suffer digital exclusion.
In a world where a simple broadband connection could offer so much to those who have so little, the connectivity 'grand canyon' is more than just a shame. It is shameful. Unacceptable.
When the UN Secretary-General launched his High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation with Vint as one of those key members, he noted that: “The enormous benefits of digital innovation are crucial to building a more sustainable world."
Put simply: The world needs the SDGs, the SDGs need ICTs – and global cooperation around digital development has never mattered more.
Digital development starts with universal connectivity.
But it's not just about making sure the infrastructure is in place.
Once we get the networks in, we need to teach those who are still unconnected to get online.
And once they are online, we need to ensure that they are empowered to get maximum value from that connectivity.
At ITU, we use a model to conceptualize digital transformation based on a virtuous circle, where access drives adoption, which drives digital value creation.
Access is about creating the enabling environment – in short, the infrastructure, legal frameworks, regulations, financing strategies, and leadership, to make it possible for everyone, and everything, to connect.
Adoption is about making sure everyone can get online – because that's when we get true digital inclusion.
Right now, there are 3.4 billion people who are covered by a mobile broadband signal, but do not use it. That is what we call the usage gap.
In fact, the global connectivity usage gap is actually six times bigger than the coverage gap – six times bigger, illustrating just how important it is to nurture the drivers of adoption and digital empowerment.
Digital skills development and affordability are two absolutely critical pieces of the adoption puzzle.
Right now, too many low-income countries still price basic broadband way beyond the target of 2% of GNI set by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development back in 2018.
The 2021 edition of the Commission's State of Broadband report confirms that only 56 developing economies achieved the 2% affordability target for mobile broadband.
In another 84 economies around the world – or 45% of developing nations – mobile broadband remains out of reach for hundreds of millions, with fixed broadband an even more distant prospect.
Paradigm shifts are clearly needed.
Support at the highest levels for innovative blended financing models and harmonized, technology-neutral, collaborative regulation that promotes infrastructure sharing and hybrid networks and services, could be a real game-changer in driving down costs.
At the same time we see that digital literacy constitutes a major impediment to uptake, where networks are available, and affordable.
That's why digital skills development is one area where we at ITU have ramped up our programmes and partnerships targeting the most digitally excluded.
To give just two quick examples, our Digital Transformation Centres project with Cisco has already delivered training in some of the world's most disadvantaged nations to more than 100,000 individuals, 65% of whom are low-income women.
And through our work with the EQUALS Global Partnership for Digital Gender Equality and the Enhanced Integrated Framework in Ethiopia, Haiti and Burundi, we are helping equip women in the local textile and agricultural sectors with the skills they need to take their products to the digital market.
We're also ramping up our statistical capabilities to help governments track their progress, because making solid inroads in addressing these areas demands rigorous monitoring and measurement to ensure that measures taken to stimulate and grow digital ecosystems are firmly evidence-based.
Which brings me to our third pillar of Value Creation.
This is all about helping everyone create and extract value from their use of digital technologies.
Individuals, but also businesses – the SMEs, the micro-businesses.
Ladies and gentlemen, we need to take urgent action to connect the remaining 3.7 billion.
But this time, we need to approach our task from a digital transformation perspective, always remembering that digital transformation is not an end in itself.
Rather, it is a journey. It is a journey to integrate people into digital societies, and help them participate in the digital economy.
As countries set their national development strategies, our digital transformation focus on access, adoption and value creation is geared to help everyone understand how digital changes the game.
Each of these three elements has its own building blocks.
And each building block has its own components that all need to be accorded careful consideration.
But to connect the remaining half of humanity, it's going to take much more than a village. We need the whole world to do this together with us!
That is why ITU has just launched a bold new global initiative, called the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition.
Partner2Connect responds to the call by the Broadband Commission for a new platform to support public-private financing of universal broadband.
I believe it will serve as a powerful catalyst in driving meaningful connectivity and digital transformation in the world's hardest-to-connect countries.
We want everyone to join us in this 'coalition to connect the world' – from governments, the private sector, financing institutions, donor organizations, and the international community, to civil society, academia, and youth – you name it.
Partnership is not new, of course. And it's not a silver bullet.
But our sector has too often failed to take a holistic, whole-of-society approach to digital transformation that really pulls parties together, galvanizes all available resources, extracts concrete pledges and commitments and, most importantly, monitors our progress in a collective manner.
It's time for us to do that.
We have a mammoth task ahead. We need to think big, and work big.
Through Partner2Connect, we'll be seeking pledges and commitments around connecting people, empowering communities, supporting digital ecosystems and incentivizing investments.
We will showcase these commitments at our Partner2Connect event which will be a highlight of our World Telecommunication Development Conference next June.
By tapping the unparalleled power of digital partnership, I am convinced we can ensure that this next WTDC goes down as a landmark conference that rewrites the global connectivity agenda and finally brings our dream of universal digital inclusion within reach.
Whether we were ready for it or not, digital is already our new normal. But for all of us to benefit fully, we need everyone to benefit equally.
In this final Decade of Action ahead of our SDG target date of 2030, we must make this a decade of digital inclusion, and ensure that 'Leaving No-One Behind' means 'Leaving No-One Offline'.
Thank you.
