As the globe fast tracks the agenda of connecting its citizens through broadband, it is becoming apparent that developing nations will lag behind in broadband expansion, a new UN report says.
The report presented by UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, surveyed broadband access in 160 economies and found out that global internet penetration will reach 38.8 percent by end of this year but more than two-thirds of people in developed countries will still be unconnected.
“As the world becomes increasingly digital simple connectivity is no longer enough. Affordable broadband must be within reach of people, businesses and governments in all corners of the world,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the launch of the report.
Rural connectivity has been a hard nut to crack for telecommunication companies seeing how rural Africa is expansive and most of all the high cost of infrastructure in those areas.
But the key to internet penetration is some of the developing nations is mobile. “By the end of 2013 there will be more than three times as many mobile broadband connections as there are conventional fixed broadband subscriptions making mobile broadband the ‘fastest growing technology in human history’,” according UNESCO.
Secretary-General of the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Hamadoun Touré added on to say that Internet access is becoming paramount to development and even the world’s poorest nations need to make it a priority. Do you agree?