The need for action against disinformation has been recognised at the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.  The Commission created a Working Group on Freedom of Expression and Addressing Disinformation, that in turn commissioned this comprehensive global study in 2019. The research underpinning this study was conducted between September 2019 and July 2020 by an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers. Balancing Act: Responding to Disinformation While Defending Freedom of

The Working Group on Data, Digital, and AI in Health ​is the 3rd work-stream of the Commission around the theme of digital health, proposed with the vision of generating knowledge on successes, challenges, and learnings from AI solutions in health. Additional resources Executive Summary Infographic

Education, the Internet and broadband connectivity have a tremendous potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges including the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   Nevertheless, today 3.6 billion people still have no access to the Internet and about 258 million children are out of school. For those enrolled and attending school, the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented challenge, forcing 94 percent of learners worldwide to

There are more than 2 billion children under the age of 18, with the majority living in the developing countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Many children have access to and are being impacted by the Internet. They may also be exploited by its use in unthinkable ways, and their rights violated in an unacceptable manner. Despite its many benefits, the Internet has been

Digital technologies and the digital economy will have a transformative impact on development. Today’s economy is being driven by digital transformation across all sectors and digital technology is increasingly at the center of people’s daily lives. Indeed, several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require information and communication technologies (ICTs) as an enabler, notably to achieve universal identification, more efficient delivery of government services, financial inclusion, and job creation. Furthermore, digital transformation

Affordable, reliable connectivity is now coming to more countries than ever. It has the potential to transform children’s lives, giving them access to previously unimagined educational, cultural, and economic opportunities. But too often, children cannot realize these opportunities, because the Internet is also a place, in which the vulnerable are exposed to the risk of serious harm. Report is also available in: Spanish Arabic Portuguese

Digital technology is revolutionizing healthcare delivery. Worldwide, digital tools are leading to better and faster healthcare – healthcare that is more empowering and accessible for patients, more efficient for providers and more cost-effective for health systems. Additional resources Executive Summary – English Executive Summary – Spanish Executive Summary – French Infographic

ICT has also actively joined such efforts. Explosive growth in mobile broadband penetration in the last decade has been contributing to resolving universal challenges of mankind (poverty, famine, disease, etc.) through mobile services, and big data analysis based on data science is drawing increasing attention as a key ICT solution for fighting epidemics. additional Resources Executive Summary

The digital revolution has changed everything. But it has changed few things more than it has changed the way the world does business.

In March 2017, the Broadband Commission’s Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide, co-chaired by the GSMA and UNESCO, launched a report that outlines a set of recommendations for action that stakeholders can take to address the gender gap in Internet access and use. In response to that publication, we have issued a progress report for 2018.   The report also includes commitments by members of the Working Group on

Broadband Internet offers significant benefits for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It is a transformational tool that can help these countries overcome vulnerabilities, grow their economies and enhance the livelihoods of their citizens. This report reviews experiences of leveraging broadband infrastructure for development in four LDCs: Cambodia, Rwanda, Senegal and Vanuatu. This quartet reflects the range of different types and locations of LDC, such as landlocked developing countries, LDCs with access

In March 2017, the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development’s Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide, co-chaired by the GSMA and UNESCO, launched a report that outlines a set of recommendations for action that stakeholders can take to address the gender gap in Internet access and use.   The report also includes commitments by members of the Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide to take forward some of the

Digital technologies now underpin effective participation in key areas of life and work. In addition to technology access, the skills and competencies needed to make use of digital technology and benefit from its growing power and functionality have never been more essential.

The world is undergoing an extraordinary technological revolution in satellite and high altitude communications. A dramatic increase in broadband capacity across the globe, spurred by new technologies (including geostationary high throughput satellites, massive constellations of non-geostationary satellites, and recent innovations in broadband High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) systems), is bringing reliable and affordable broadband connectivity to the hardest-to-reach corners of the Earth, enabling new capabilities and applications in areas already

Digital technology is today touching the lives of individuals and businesses across the world. A social and economic revolution is enabled by digital technology, often underlined by the power of the Internet. The revolution is rapidly extending beyond people to objects, illustrated by the new-found potential of the Internet of Things (IoT). The emergence and accelerated adoption of technologies including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, connected and autonomous cars, smart cities,

On 15th March 2017, the Broadband Commission Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide launched its report “Recommendations for action: bridging the gender gap in Internet and broadband access and use” during the Annual Spring Meeting of the Broadband Commission, held in Hong Kong, SAR of China. The report identified four specific action areas for closing the digital gender gap: ​​Compile detailed evidence: collect, analyze and track sex-disaggregated data to inform policy,

The digital age is upon us and it has the potential to revolutionize how healthcare is delivered. Digital tools can increase access to health, empower patients, and provide better health information and education for all. They can also facilitate the use of real-time data to ensure that surveillance systems are more action-oriented and prioritize limited resources. Additional resources Executive Summary – English Executive Summary – Spanish Executive Summary – French

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), combined with innovations in broadband connectivity and the rich ecosystem of applications and services, can transform the lives of individuals and entire countries. Yet in reality, many do not enjoy the benefits, and despite growing efforts to get the underserved population online, we need to do more. The infrastructure to provide connectivity is paramount, but only a first step, and the impediments to productive use

The main objective of this Discussion Paper is to call attention to emerging trends and to start discussions on the implications of these trends on efforts to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women in the digital age. This paper recognizes the wide array of issues related to ‘cyber-violence’ and does not present itself as a full compilation of those issues or of proposed solutions. Additional Resources Blog by

We are witnessing one of the deepest transformation processes in our societies through the so-called Digital Economy Transformation. The broadband has emerged as the true backbone of this Digital Economy.

As we approach 2015, a new global partnership is being forged to carry on the work of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and shape a new sustainable development agenda involving all sectors of society. We, the members of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, consider broadband to be a vital part of that discussion, as it is one of the strongest and most effective tools in bringing about transformative solutions

Doubling Digital Opportunities: Enhancing the Inclusion of Women & Girls in the Information Society frames the challenges and opportunities we face in achieving gender equality in an era of rapid technological change. It closely examines critical gender issues with respect to new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and broadband. Most important, it shows ways in which we can further advance the sustainable development agenda by promoting the use of new

Broadband technologies continue to expand our horizons, pushing back frontiers of time and knowledge, and overturning long-established precepts and outdated ways of doing things. The ability of broadband to improve and enhance education, as well as students’ experience of education, is undisputed. A good and well-rounded education is the basis on which future livelihoods and families are founded, and education opens up minds, as well as job prospects. The report

The Earth Institute at Columbia University presented the following report to outline the Millennium Villages Project and its scope of work in health, infrastructure, and education.

Broadband offers unique opportunities to spearhead the transition to a carbon-constrained world. But to reach its full potential, broadband needs to be a component of climate change strategy, backed up with strong policies in support of economy-wide emissions reductions. In many countries, it is this integrated regulatory framework that is the crucial missing link to achieve carbon reduction commitments through the use of broadband networks, services and applications. For broadband

Broadband connectivity has become a basic infrastructure of modern society, just like roads, electricity or water. Science and education communities depend on “e-Infrastructures” that build on broadband connectivity to provide online services supporting the communities’ work. Not only have these services today become indispensable, they have also transformed the scientific process by enabling the instantaneous sharing of knowledge, virtual collaborations within and between continents, and remote access to scientific resources

Governments are using ICT to provide services between government agencies and citizens, businesses, employees and nongovernmental agencies. E-Government initiatives in developing countries are not only struggling with a lack of financial resources and incentive design, but also with restricted skills and capacity within the governments. An increasing number of initiatives are being employed to improve the delivery of public services to the people, and to tap the potential synergy from