ITU Wants Half The World Online By 2015

The UN telecoms agency, the ITU, has called for new action to enable half of the world’s population to gain access to broadband by 2015.

Addressing the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10) in Hyderabad, the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) launched a report outlining plans for a global information society. As well as broadening the global reach of broadband networks, the union highlighted the need to build an ICT-literate society and invest in the development of online content and applications.

“The number of Internet users has more than doubled since 2003, and today more than 25 percent of the world’s population is using the Internet,” said Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “The importance of bringing people online is widely recognised, but more efforts are needed to increase the number of Internet users.

“While today 75 per cent of all households have a TV, only 25 per cent have Internet access. In the developing countries, home Internet penetration is as low as 12 per cent,” he added.

Mobile growth offers new opportunities

The ITU’s report points to the tremendous growth of mobile technology as a key tool in connecting rural communities. It claims that, in many developing countries, fixed telephone lines are largely limited to urban areas, but more than half the rural households have a mobile telephone.

“Today, nearly 90 per cent of the world’s population is covered by a mobile cellular network,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré, addressing the conference, “and even people in rural and remote areas now have the means to access the global information society.”

In particular, the ITU stressed the importance of providing high-speed Internet access to health care institutions, schools and government departments in developing countries, in order to help bridge the digital divide. More than 75 percent of countries have already launched “m-health” initiatives – which make use of mobile technology to support medical and public health practices. However, more needs to be done to achieve the target of “connecting all health institutions to the Internet”.

While many schools in developing countries are deprived of Internet access, a number of countries, such as Jordan, have succeeded in bringing ICT to schools. However, the ITU said training a sufficient number of teachers to use and teach ICT skills remains a challenge. Meanwhile almost all central governments now have a web presence, but the next step will be for all countries to provide interactive online e-government services.

The ITU suggests that governments take certain steps to achieve the 2015 targets, such as licensing mobile broadband operators and ensuring that broadband infrastructure is accessible to all citizens. It also recommends setting clear policy targets and monitoring progress.

A survey by the BBC found that four out of five people consider Internet connection a basic human right.

Europe steps up efforts

The ITU’s call for connectivity for half the world puts in perspective the efforts within the developed world to increase the speed of access by the majority of people. Last week the European Union unveiled its ‘Digital Agenda’, stating its target of 30 Mbps broadband for all European citizens by 2020, with half of European households subscribing to connections of 100Mbps or higher. The EC also said it would launch a European Spectrum Policy Programme, which will  aim to broaden information access by increasing the efficiency of radio spectrum management.

In the UK, the new coalition government is currently looking at ways to fund a nation-wide superfast broadband network, with the aim of extending access to people in hard to reach rural areas. Its latest plan is to ‘top-slice’ the BBC licence fee, after the previous government’s idea of imposing a 50p-per-month “broadband tax” was rejected.

Newly appointed broadband minister Ed Vaizey will now oversee discussions with the BBC, as part of his responsibility for implementing the Digital Economy Act. However, some commentators have criticised the plans for being lax on detail, and have called for a more comprehensive outline of the strategy as soon as possible.