Leaders TalkX: The Connectivity Imperative: Laying the Foundation for Inclusive Information Access

Global Experts Convene to Address the Digital Divide and Push for Universal Internet Connectivity by 2030

At a recent summit, experts from around the world convened to discuss the pressing issue of global internet connectivity. Nur Sulyna Abdullah, representing the ITU, highlighted a sobering statistic: 2.6 billion people, or 33% of the global population, remain unconnected to the internet. Despite advancements in infrastructure and access to communication services, the digital divide persists, particularly in low-income nations. Abdullah emphasised the urgency of addressing the challenges of infrastructure, affordability, and skills to achieve universal meaningful connectivity by 2030.

François Gray, from the University of Geneva, moderated the session, emphasising the importance of punctuality in the discussions. Dr. Aminata Zerbo Sabane from Burkina Faso detailed the country’s efforts to rebuild telecommunications infrastructure despite a severe security crisis. She outlined the government’s actions, including re-establishing electronic infrastructure, extending high-speed coverage, and implementing data processing to combat cybercrime.

Dr. Mohammad Khansari of Iran shared the country’s achievements in developing its ICT infrastructure, including widespread 4G coverage and ambitious fibre-to-home projects. He also mentioned the establishment of local digital platforms for various services and the challenges Iran faces in accelerating digital connectivity.

Dr. Agne Vaiciukeviciute from Lithuania discussed the key drivers for successful connectivity, stressing the importance of government-coordinated synergy among stakeholders. She advocated for considering electronic communications networks as vital infrastructure and shared Lithuania’s initiatives to bridge the rural-urban connectivity gap.

Garegin Baghramyan from Armenia highlighted the liberalisation of the telecommunications market after 2006, which led to increased competition and investment. He detailed the comprehensive coverage of 4G and the ongoing efforts to introduce 5G technology, attributing the successes to the flexible regulatory policies of the Public Services Regulatory Commission.

Aline Minko Mi Etoua from Gabon outlined the country’s digitalisation projects, emphasising the inclusion of women and young people in ICT. She described the expansion of the national fibre optic backbone and the government’s initiatives to promote digital transformation and innovation.

Rose Jackson from the Atlantic Council addressed the issue of meaningful connectivity, pointing out that the ability to use the internet freely and safely is as important as access itself. She called for a multi-stakeholder approach to address the challenges of affordability, access, and human rights online.

Finally, Lina Maria Duque Del Vecchio from Colombia discussed the importance of gathering information to make impactful regulatory decisions in regions lacking connectivity. She described Colombia’s differentiated approach to collecting data from various providers, which helps to inform decisions and bridge the digital divide in rural and remote areas.

The session concluded with Gray thanking the speakers for their insightful and timely contributions to the dialogue on the connectivity imperative.

Francois Gray:
on the Connectivity Imperative, Laying the Foundations for Inclusive Information Access. My name is François Gray, I’m from the University of Geneva, and it’s my pleasure to invite Nur Sulyna Abdullah, the Chief Strategic Planning Membership and Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the ITU, to say a few words of context.

Nur Sulyna Abdullah:
We have the mic. Yes, we do. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Moderator. Now, we’ve heard this figure over and over. It’s 2.6 billion people in the world who have never connected to the internet. That’s according to ITU’s facts and figures of 2023, equivalent to 33% of the global population. This is despite tremendous progress in deploying infrastructure and trying to improve access to communication services. Almost everyone in this room today is aware of how critical it is to accelerate efforts to bring digital benefits to all people around the globe. Internet connectivity is growing the fastest in low-income nations, which is encouraging to increase the number of individuals who are online in these countries, which is currently one-third of the population. Many of us in this room have to address, often collectively, how we are going to achieve universal meaningful connectivity by 2030. And to do this, we all know what the challenges are, infrastructure, affordability, and skills. The path to digital inclusion often starts with infrastructure, and individual countries regionally and globally need to know and understand the infrastructure investment gap and opportunities. There are many pillars by which we could assess this, including demand, current and anticipated infrastructure needs, the business environment, and investor risk. Much has been said about identifying innovative financing mechanisms and instruments, which are key to catalyze increased investment in digital infrastructure to close the digital divide. It is with this in mind that ITU is working with the global and regional development finance institutions, also in coordination with the G20 Brazil presidency, to try to ramp up on digital infrastructure investment using innovative financing mechanisms and instruments. We need to find a way to reduce the number of people who are offline globally, and we need to do this as quickly as possible. Thank you.

Francois Gray:
Thank you very much. And my role here as a Swiss university professor is to make sure we stay on time. We love being on time in Switzerland. Three minutes means three minutes. If you hear a bell, that’s more than three minutes. So, without further ado, I’d like to invite Her Excellency Dr. Aminata Zerbo Sabane, Minister and Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts and Electronic Communications. Is Burkina Faso implementing to continue to improve this access despite the crisis?

Dr. Aminata Zerbo Sabane:
Thank you very much, Professor. It’s certainly an honor to be here with you this afternoon. I’m going to take this opportunity to congratulate the Swiss Confederation and the ITU for convening this WSIS Summit. Now, to come back to your question, firstly, I’d like to share with you the situation, and then I’ll come back to what we’ve developed. My country, Burkina Faso, is undergoing a very difficult period in its history, given the serious security crisis which has been going for a number of years. This crisis has severely impacted our country across all sectors, in particular that of access to information. Indeed, a number of actors of vandalism and targeted destruction on the telecommunication infrastructure has been undertaken by terrorists in order to isolate people even further, to increase terrorism, but also to put fear into the people. A number of different sites have been reduced, and a number of electronic services have high security issues, have also led to a significant deterioration of quality of services, and this is in the so-called green zones. This security has also put a stop to the deployment of electronic infrastructure due to the inaccessibility of certain areas, in order to address this critical situation, and also to contribute to the socio-economical, digital infrastructure in our country. We have to face terrorism, and our government has put in place strong actions, and I’m going to list a few here. The re-establishment of electronic infrastructure in the zones that have been affected, with operators and with the government, through the mechanism of exceptional measures, which have been put in place by the regimentation of the sector, following up on the development of transport and access infrastructure, high-speed infrastructure, to extend the white coverage zones, and to ensure interconnectivity with other neighboring countries. This, of course, to cover most of the territory. And increasing electronic telecommunication infrastructure, as well as hosting, also allows us to accelerate the demilitarization of public administration services across all services and sectors. Implementation of data processing to combat cybercrime, in order to facilitate access to basic services. Specific actions have been put in place in order to facilitate access to devices, to allow universal access for all. Challenges remain, of course, and these are very complex, and these have been exacerbated by the security crisis. But I’m convinced that together, we can build an information society which is more inclusive and fairer for all, and which will leave no one in the sidelines. And we are going to build an enabling environment in order to achieve this. Thank you very much.

Francois Gray:
Thank you very much, your Excellency. Aligning these major challenges and how you’re dealing with them. Now to His Excellency, Dr. Mohammad Khansari, Deputy Minister of Communications, Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. So please tell me, what are Iran’s most outstanding achievements in developing its ICT infrastructure during the recent years? Would you elaborate on your goals and aims in such developments?

Dr. Mohammad Khansari:
Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. For more than a decade, the Islamic Republic of Iran has selected ICT as a key driver for its development plans. Among them, Iran has initiated a long-term program to accomplish its national information network, which facilitated access to e-government services in different layers of the network for all people and entities. In this regard, the fixed and mobile broadband coverage is not only considered as an inevitable infrastructure, but also provides a necessary ingredient for the sustainable growth of the digital economy. Mobile broadband connection, including 3G and 4G, has reached almost all different corners of Iran as a vast country. In the form of the universal obligatory service USO plan, Iran has ensured all users, even in rural and remote areas, have access to mobile broadband and publicly available communication network facilities and services at an affordable price. To continue this success story, 5G technology has been initiated since last year, and major cities and provincial capitals will be fully covered in two years. On top of that, for fixed broadband, we are at the middle of an ambitious fiber-to-home and business project called FTTX. As you may know, it’s more than just a means of delivering high-speed internet, but also a lifeline of smart cities, enabling seamless integration and operation of emerging technologies such as IoT and AI. Since last year, this network has already reached about 7.1 million households and will be tripled in the next couple of years to hopefully shape a historical record in this field. All these quick wins have been accomplished by a group of private and public companies serving in the form of licensed operators. We have recently reshaped the market structure by introducing a unified service provider license to all eligible MNOs and ISPs to facilitate the competition and innovation and accelerate mobile fixed convergence as well. With a deep sorrow, I remember two weeks ago when this point was acknowledged by our iconic president late Ayatollah Raisi during his visit to our ministry. Furthermore, we managed to establish local digital platforms for various services, including e-health, messengers, social networking, e-commerce, video on demand, and streaming. Our smart government national portal launched two years ago is now connecting 99% of public entities and offering more than 3,000 services. Nevertheless, we may face some challenges in the process of accelerating digital connection. This is simply collaboration in the WSIS context provide a basis for establishment of regulations leading to responsible behavior in the digital economy in addition to overcoming the above challenges. With its active participation in policymaking bodies, Iran has always been trying to seriously pursue its development plans along with maximum international collaboration and participation to shape a better digital future for all. Thank you for your attention.

Francois Gray:
Thank you, Your Excellency. And now I turn to Her Excellency Dr. Agne Vaiciukeviciute, Vice Minister, Ministry of Transport and Communications. And I’d like to ask you from your perspective, what are the key drivers towards successful connectivity imperative? And what recommendations could you share for ensuring inclusive information access?

Dr. Agne Vaiciukeviciute:
First of all, let me highlight our distinguished panel and I’m fortunate to be a part of it. And well, I would start that according to ITU dashboard, Lithuania has achieved or almost achieved all the targets for universal and meaningful connectivity already. And I decided to share with you some very concrete examples that might be interesting or valuable to other countries. So, first of all, what I recognize that one of the key drivers to success was and still is synergy of actions of all stakeholders with the whole process being coordinated by the government. Secondly, I do believe electronic communications networks must be granted the status of vital infrastructure, being connected in tandem to having water electricity. This kind of mindset should find its place in a political agenda as well as in the legal framework, regulating construction and operations. For example, we granted the high level status for 5G deployment. What does that mean in practice? Mapping the whole territory of Lithuania and the preparation of general territorial planning document, which will shorten procedures of 5G and even 6G networks deployment at later stages. The government has allocated financial resources for this project. Thirdly, the connectivity gap between rural areas and cities still exists. Therefore, bridging this gap is a key challenge to overcome. I think the government should find financial instruments to support the deployment of infrastructure in rural areas where there is no business case. One more example from our side. The government established a non-profit company which uses public funds and deploys broadband infrastructure in rural and remote areas, offering wholesomeness services. But the collaboration with private sector was a key to the success because operators should offer services to the end users. This model has also ensured this affordability to being connected because this model enabled to offer the same price for all end users, no matter where they live. My fourth point is that we should also focus on the demand side of the connectivity, which I think could contribute to achieving the connectivity targets. Bearing this in mind, Lithuania has launched a sandbox initiative which aims to inspire the market for innovations based on 5G in areas such as autonomous transportation, drones, the internet of things, virtual reality and 5G-based robotization. And my final remark, since I have 20 seconds, Lithuania is a relatively small state but our private sector is working worldwide and has learned many lessons to share. Please do not miss Lithuania and Singapore’s high-level roundabout discussion tomorrow afternoon. Thank you very much.

Francois Gray:
Thank you very much, Your Excellency. And now I turn to Mr. Garegin Baghramyan, Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia. What were the successes registered by Armenia in the development of telecommunications infrastructure and what was the role of the National Regulatory Authority?

Garegin Baghramyan:
Thank you. Thank you, Moderator, for this opportunity. I will say my speech in Russian. The Public Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of Armenia is a multi-sectoral regulatory body and it has been regulated regulating the field of electronic communications since 2006. Before 2006, the telecommunications market was essentially a monopoly. In the market, there was only one operator, the historically dominant operator, with exclusive rights. Regulating policy and regulating the sector was done by the government, which also owned a 10% share of the historically dominant operator. Their regulation of the sector under this model was clearly problematic, both in terms of conflict of interest and regulatory risks. These are the most important issues for investors and businesses in any market, and this hampered the development of the industry. After reforming the sector in 2006, with the creation of a regulatory body, the sector was liberalized, and this contributed to the rapid development of the industry. It increased competition, investment growth, and infrastructure development. In this regard, as a result of the flexible and purposeful regulatory policy pursued by the Commission, tangible results can be observed in the sector. Currently, in Armenia, there are three mobile operators and over 200 Internet access service providers. 4G plus mobile communication coverage is available in 100% of populated areas in Armenia, of which about 92% are covered by two operators and 22% by three operators, which covers about 76% of the population. Fixed broadband Internet access is available in 100% of the populated areas in Armenia. Fiber optic is accessible in 70% of the populated areas, covering about 97% of the country’s population. The Commission was able to develop this infrastructure not only through liberalization and ensuring competition but also by improving the business environment and by simplifying the administration of permits and licensing obligations, following tenders to provide 800 MHz radio frequency bands and 700 MHz radio frequency bands. The Commission made one operator cover at least 80% of populated areas and a second winning operators all populated areas that did not have a 4G plus coverage. In 2023, we had a tender for the 700 MHz band and 4G plus coverage should be provided by three operators and the capital and two large countries should have access to 5G and in particular IoT technology. To sum up, it should be noted that in view of the Commission’s regulation of telecommunications and its development of infrastructure, the ITU G5 benchmark expert report has given the Commission the highest rating in the CIS region. Currently, the Commission is actively working to ensure the continuous development of the industry, in particular, to develop and apply regulation related to the development of 5G technology and the provision of radio frequency resources necessary to ensure the full implementation of 5G technology in Armenia. Thank you very much.

Francois Gray:
Sorry to rush things along. I turn now to Ms. Aline Minko Mi Etoua, Secretary General, Ministry of Digital Economy and New Information Technologies. The question is the following, what are the challenges that Gabon is facing in bridging its digital divide and what public policies has the country put in place to facilitate women’s access to digital technology?

Aline Minko Mi Etoua:
Thank you very much, Moderator. Madam Secretary General of the ITU, ladies and gentlemen, before I begin, I would like to convey on behalf of the Ministry and my delegation all our greetings. Gabon, since August 2023, has a new page in its history by entering an institutional era with the advent of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, which is led by His Excellency Brigadier General Brigadier Brice Cloutier, and a very strong decision that he took when he entered into power was to ensure digital technology across the territory. And it is with internet information that would lead to social cohesion, but also allow us to communicate everywhere. And since this decision was taken by the CTRE Committee, the transition government has put in place a development plan for 2024-2023-6, which defines the priority and strategic orientations. Its objective is to restore state institutions, consolidate inclusive and sustainable economic growth, supported by effective national governance, by focusing on the development of human capital and infrastructure. In this national development plan, the digital economy is absolutely essential in alignment with this. So, the digital economy is part of our socioeconomic development, with a strong inclusion of women and young people. To accelerate the SDG 5, which looks particular on gender mainstreaming and ICTs, and the regulatory level, we have the regulatory text, which looks at electronic communications, electronic transactions, cybersecurity, and fight against cybercrime. Further protection is required to be provided to women and young people who are the most vulnerable, and their fully inclusive integration in ICT through their participation in a number of programs. Now, turning to connectivity, my country is continuing to deploy its national fiber optic backbone in order to interconnect all the localities of its national territory to the internet, but also to achieve interconnectivity with the neighboring countries, which is a public of Cameroon, a public of the Congo, and a public of Equatorial Guinea. Today, in Gabon, the rate of coverage for the population is 95% in 3G and 4G mobile technology, while high-speed fixed broadband via FTTH has multiplied by five in six years. Now, we have 95,000 devices being connected. Now, turning to infrastructure, has launched a digitalization project by the government. We also have implemented a platform for ID, and we’re also rolling out eID services, which are being rolled out by the government. In order to boost its digital transformation, Gabon has set up an innovation and acceleration digital incubator, which looks at training young people and women with a view to supporting them in the creation of innovative startups. To close, if Gabon’s presence at this forum is anything to go by, it shows it’s anchoring itself in the information society, and Gabon is certainly ready to leave no one behind. Thank you very much.

Francois Gray:
Thank you very much. And now I turn to Rose Jackson, Director of Tech and Democracy Initiative at Atlantic Council. We’ve been discussing the connectivity gap for well over a decade now. What do you think the global community addressing this challenge is missing, and who is best placed to make progress in connecting the unconnected?

Rose Jackson:
Thank you so much, and to all of you for having me today. I think when discussing connectivity, we use the word meaningful quite a bit, and there’s a good reason for that. Connectivity isn’t a goal in and of itself. Whether people can leverage that connectivity to speak and organize freely, to collaborate and make use of the internet to build businesses, to share ideas and interact with the world determines how meaningful that connection is. The power of the internet is its distributed nature. The infrastructure that underpins it is purpose-built for that collaboration all across all sorts of boundaries, be they national, geopolitical, demographic, and more. The immense resulting benefits to society depend on this open nature and the spirit of experimentation that comes from it. We’re going to hear a lot this week about the 5.5 billion people that are connected to the internet and the 33% who remain unconnected. But if we focus our conversations this week solely on countries, we will miss much of the picture and limit our options for bringing truly meaningful connectivity to the entire world. Of those 33% of the people who still don’t have internet access, women outnumber men by 17%, and that’s up over the last five years. When they do come online, they are often met with disproportionate harassment and targeting, particularly if they step into public life. But even for the 5.5 billion people who are connected to the internet, Freedom House estimates that only 17% of them live in countries where they are able to leverage that internet freely. We estimate that about 40% of the global population lives in countries whose governments restrict their access to information and ability to express themselves freely as a matter of policy. These government policies exist on a spectrum. They can include censorship, surveillance, content manipulation, the weaponization of the law, extra-legal harassment against internet users, including imprisonment, and even sometimes death. Expert NGOs like Freedom House put the governments of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Myanmar on the far end of that spectrum. But countless governments around the world, including democratic ones, use some of these tactics less systematically, in particular in sensitive moments around elections and often under the guise of national security. The UN Declaration of Human Rights makes it clear that no one should be killed for using the internet. This too is connectivity. To preserve what is good about the internet while bringing more people into that space and addressing longstanding issues with affordability, access, ownership, we can chart a path that takes advantage of all that we’ve learned over the last 22 decades, much of that right here at WSIS and through the action lines we work on. But as much as we’ve accomplished, we know that some things have to change. Connectivity is the definition of a multi-stakeholder challenge, which means we have to get creative in leveraging what it is that each sector has to bring, whether that is centering communities and choosing their fate, governments and industry collaborating to find new financing mechanisms that bring incentives to get the world connected, our baseline human rights secured online, and ensuring that our protocols and standards maintain a free, open, secure and interoperable internet for all to come into. Thank you so much for having me.

Lina Maria Duque Del Vecchio:
Thank you very much. I believe that we now have a remote connection for our last speaker. Is that correct? Our last speaker is Lina Maria Duque del Vecchio, Executive Director, Comisión de Regulación de Comunicaciones de Colombia. And the question is, how can regulators gather sufficient information to make impactful decisions in regions that still lack connectivity? Thank you very much. Thank you for this invitation, Professor. Thank you very much for that question. From the Communications Regulation Commission in Colombia, we’ve identified that information is the absolutely essential starting point to take decisions. In these rural and remote areas, far from the cities and from our regions, gathering information is really important to roll out best regulatory practices. So, what are the challenges that we see in these areas? Accessing information is sometimes made very difficult for the large operators than in the big cities. That’s why we have designed regulatory measures which differentiate between how we request information from different providers, where we’re able to gather relevant information which enables us to make the right decisions. We have to define in each of our regulatory frameworks the differentiated decisions according to different geographical areas and the number of users per local authority. Then we can use this information and contribute to bridging the digital divide in these rural and remote areas. Thank you very much. Gracias. Thank you.

Francois Gray:
We thereby conclude this session on the connectivity imperative. I’d like to thank all the speakers again for their deep, meaningful and punctual presentations. Thank you.