Broadband Commissioners are Championing Digital Equality Setting the stage According to the latest ITU estimates, 70% of all men were using the Internet in 2023 compared to 65% of women. Gender parity increased from 0.90 in 2019 to 0.92 in 2023. Some regions and income groups have achieved gender parity

As we reflect on the accomplishments of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development in 2023, it is evident that our shared commitment to harnessing the power of connectivity for global progress remains unwavering. With the 2023 SDG Summit measuring progress, only a fraction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), through its outcome on “The Future We Want“, established the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2012. The HLPF is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development

Key messages: The Commission welcomes the appointment by the President of the UN General Assembly of the Permanent Representatives of Rwanda and of Sweden as Cofacilitators to lead the intergovernmental process on the Global Digital Compact and conduct the consultations with Member States and Stakeholders on the proposal and the

The seven Advocacy Targets of the Broadband Commission reflect ambitious and aspirational goals and function as a policy and programmatic guide for national and international action in broadband development. Starting initially with four connectivity goals established in 2011, the Targets were expanded to five in 2013, with the addition of the gender equality goal, and eventually to seven in 2018.

In our Year in Review, we recap the Commission’s advocacy and thought leadership efforts in 2022

The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development is aligned with the objectives of TES and recognizes the critical roles of digital connectivity, capacity and content in transforming education and lifelong learning systems. Since 2010, the Commission has developed a multitude of collaborative and impactful policy recommendations for connecting schools to the Internet and digitalizing education to enable a more inclusive and sustainable approach to learning.

The HLPF in 2022 will review progress toward SDGs 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals. The Forum will take into account the different and particular impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across

The Broadband Commission Manifesto calls on the global community to recognize digital connectivity as the foundational element of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Manifesto affirms the commitment of the Broadband Commission to mobilize efforts to achieve the ‘Global Goal of Universal Connectivity’ in support of the

Commissioners and their organizations are urgently collaborating to compile and disseminate a repository of tangible actions based on the three pillars of resilient connectivity, affordable access, and safe use of online services for informed and educated societies, to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and ease the immediate adverse

The UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development addresses this Open Statement to the Formal Consultation on the Global Compact on Refugees on the importance of broadband connectivity for refugees. We, the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development , affirm our sincere conviction and belief in the vital role of broadband

The primary function of connectivity is to improve people’s lives. This is the primary purpose of the Internet for All project, which catalyses and facilitates broader multi stakeholder cooperation on internet inclusion both at global and country level. At the global level, Internet for All and the Broadband Commission support

A New Deal: Investing in Our Common Future Policy Recommendations to Close the Broadband Gap Report of the Expert Group to the Broadband Commission Under current trends, over 2 billion people will still not be connected to the internet by 2020. The Expert Group of the Broadband Commission provides the

A background paper to the special session of the Broadband Commission and the World Economic Forum at Davos Annual Meeting 2017.   The UN Broadband Commission and the World Economic Forum are co-hosting a Joint Program in Davos on 17 January 2017 to highlight the increasing importance of Internet access

Broadband for Implementing the Paris Agreement The UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development addresses this Open Statement to the UN Marrakech Climate Change Conference (COP-22) Conference in Morocco in November 2016. We, the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, affirm our sincere belief in the vital role of broadband for

The UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development addresses this Open Statement to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) from 17 to 20 October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador.  We, the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development2 , affirm our sincere conviction and belief in the

Ensuring that No One is Left Behind The UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development addresses this Open Statement to the meeting of the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) taking place in New York from 11-20 July 2016. We, the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, affirm our sincere conviction and

The UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development addresses this Open Statement to country delegates at the World Humanitarian Summit 2016, aid and disaster relief agencies and workers, the international development community and the private sector: We, the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development1 , affirm our sincere conviction and belief

This report explores the current use and potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in tackling global development challenges, highlighting a number of specific instances where IoT interventions are helping to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. It presents summary conclusions on what is required for the IoT

Report on the Special Session of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum   The third Special Session of the Broadband Commission at the World Economic Forum was co-organized with partners from the World Economic Forum, and sponsored by the Ministry

Reinforcing Connectivity Initiatives for Universal and Affordable Access: A Discussion Paper to Partners Working to Connect the World   ICT technologies present unprecedented opportunities for advancing inclusive growth. Nevertheless, there are still large gaps in connectivity mainly due to the lack of effective policies, corresponding tools and investment. Filling these

This document is a briefing paper on broadband policy measures and recommendations to support the deployment of broadband and access to the digital economy. The paper highlights what governments and national regulatory authorities (NRAs) can do to foster broadband roll-out and take-up, and provides a difficulty/impact assessment framework of the

Special Session of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development co-organized with the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, World Economic Forum and International Telecommunication Union at Davos   Designing the finance and investment model for the future roll-out of broadband is critical, if we

Why Broadband Should be Prioritized in the Post-2015 Agenda Report on the special session of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos Innovative, scalable multi-stakeholder solutions are needed to deliver inclusive economic growth and a shift to sustainable patterns

Manifesto of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development Taskforce For Sustainable Development and the Post-2015 Development Agenda We, the members of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, present this manifesto stating our position and shared belief in the benefits of broadband for sustainable development to world leaders, top policy-makers, industry

More than a billion people live with some form of disability, and 80% of them live in developing countries. Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty: poor people are more likely to become disabled, and people with disabilities are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups of

Published in June 2013, the report, entitled Broadband: A Platform for Progress, argues: “To optimize the benefits to society, broadband should be coordinated on a countrywide basis, promoting facilities-based competition and with policies encouraging service providers to offer access on fair market terms…efforts should be coordinated across all sectors of

The Government recognized ICT and broadband as drivers and catalysts for economic growth and has taken many initiatives to boost ICT to fuel the local industry. This case study provides an insight to broadband development in Sri Lanka, examining the initiatives adopted and policies that are currently being developed. It

This case study looks at the initiatives taken by the Nigerian Government and the communications regulator to encourage the growth of broadband built-out and use in Nigeria. It looks back at the period between 2006 and 2010 and forward to the likely impact of the latest broadband strategy of the

This country case study addresses the development of the ICT sector in Mauritius and in particular the development of ICT policy and how this has influenced the development of the National Broadband Policy 2012-2020 of January 2012 in Mauritius. The case study analyses the pre-existing conditions which have facilitated the

This country case study addresses the development of a National Broadband Plan in Albania and in particular the development of the institutional framework together with the development of Electronic Communications policy and legislation and how this has influenced the development of the National Broadband Policy of 2012. The case study

Global overview and case studies on Australia and Rwanda   This study is part of a series of studies being undertaken by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with the Broadband Commission to take an indepth look at the state of broadband development. This series of case studies underlines

This case study aims to provide insights into efforts by the Government and the communications regulator to stimulate the development of broadband infrastructure and services in Romania. It covers the period 2007-2012 i.e., from the point of Romania’s accession into the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007 until today.

The major goal of this study is to analyze and review TFYR Macedonia’s progress in deploying broadband networks and services, particularly in the context of various regional initiatives (such as eSEE, eSEE+ and bSEE) and European Union (EU) efforts to promote the development of ultrafast broadband, as well as other

This study assesses the economic impact of broadband in an emerging nation. Drawing from the wealth of research literature on economic effects generated on the basis of cross-sectional analyses (e.g. for OECD, Latin America and Arab States), it applies econometric tools and techniques to measure the impact of broadband on

This study assesses the economic impact of broadband in the Philippines. Drawing from the wealth of research literature on economic effects generated on the basis of cross-sectional analyses (e.g. for OECD, Latin American and Arab States), it applies econometric tools and techniques to measure the impact of broadband on a

This report summarizes the key outcomes and conclusions emerging from the Broadband Leadership Summit. The Broadband Leadership Summit at ITU Telecom World 2011 took place from 24 to 25 October 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Summit which was co-hosted by ITU Telecom and the Broadband Commission for Digital Development convened