ITU Urges G20 to Focus on Broadband Rollout for Economic Recovery

The Broadband Commission for Digital Development (BCDD), which was setup by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in May 2010 to help meet the UN’s global broadband development targets, has issued an open letter that calls upon the G20 leaders to focus on broadband access as a means to boost the world economy.

The BCDD’s technology agnostic letter states that investing in broadband could help to move “the global economy back onto a higher growth trajectory” and is of “fundamental importance to the social and economic development of all nations“. It adds that such development must also “support individual empowerment” through “political transformation” and “freedom of expression“, before proceeding to re-list the UN’s original four targets for high-speed internet access policy, affordability and uptake.

The UN’s Digital Development Targets

1. Making broadband policy universal.

* By 2015, all countries should have a national broadband plan or strategy or include broadband in their Universal Access / Service Definitions.

2. Making broadband affordable.

* By 2015, entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation and market forces (for example, amount to less than 5% of average monthly income).

3. Connecting homes to broadband.

* By 2015, 40% of households in developing countries should have Internet access.

4. Getting people online.

* By 2015, Internet user penetration should reach 60% worldwide, 50% in developing countries and 15% in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Thankfully most of the G20 countries (i.e. major world economies) already have some form of broadband development strategy. Overall the letter itself merely reiterates much of what the UN has already said several times before. The G20 leaders are due to meet today at the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos.

Open Letter from the Broadband Commission to the G20 Leaders Meeting (PDF)
http://www.broadbandcommission.org/documents/bbcom-g20.pdf