With the support of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Broadband Commission for Digital Development was launched on 10 May 2010 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is chaired jointly by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Mr Carlos Slim Helú, President of the Carlos Slim Foundation, with ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova as vice chairs.
They are joined by top-level figures from government, industry and international agencies, as well as those concerned with the content that will be delivered through broadband networks, from education to entertainment.
The job of Commissioners is to define practical ways in which countries – at all stages of development – can provide access to broadband networks for their citizens, in cooperation with the private sector. The Commission reported its initial findings to UN Secretary-General in September 2010, through the report A 2010 Leadership Imperative: The Future Built on Broadband.
In June 2011, it issued its second major report, Broadband: A Platform for Progress, followed by a set of four global targets, along with a challenge to leaders to accelerate implementation of broadband networks at the national level.
In 2012, the Commission issued its first annual snapshot of the state of broadband around the world, The State of Broadband 2012, which includes country-by-country rankings on broadband accessibility. The next State of Broadband report will be released at the Commission’s 8th meeting in New York on September 21, 2013.
ITU data suggests that by the end of 2013, almost 40% of the total world population will be online. But in the developing world, almost 70% of people will still be offline, and most of those connected do not have access to broadband services. In the UN-designated Least Developed Countries, even basic low-speed Internet remains unavailable to over 90% of the population. Finding ways to accelerate access and improve affordability is one of the Commission’s primary goals.
In the same way that the construction of electricity grids and transport links spurred innovation far beyond the dreams of their builders, high-speed broadband networks stimulate greater efficiency and the creation of new businesses. For society as a whole, they are a platform for progress, and the Broadband Commission for Digital Development strives to encourage government and industry leaders to take action on installing broadband for all.