Page 5 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2020

FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS

Broadband Commission Calls On World Leaders to Prioritize

Universal Connectivity as Fundamental To Sustainable
Development & Global Recovery

Universal broadband access is the vital children from benefiting from remote seven 2025 advocacy targets. Paul
catalyst needed to drive global economic working, learning and communication. Kagame, Co-Chair of the Broadband
recovery and accelerate lackluster The report also takes stock of progress Commission and President of Rwanda
progress towards the UN Sustainable made in expanding access to and said: ”The first decade of the Broadband
Development Goals, according to a new adoption of broadband infrastructure and Commission has made a real impact by
report released by the UN Broadband services, and achieving the Commission's highlighting the transformational power
Commission for Sustainable Development.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly
underscored humanity's growing reliance
on digital networks for business continuity,
employment, education, commerce,
banking, healthcare, and a whole host of
other essential services. Yet today, almost
half the global population has still never
accessed the internet, and hundreds of
millions more struggle with slow, costly
and unreliable connections, often through
remote locations like internet cafés. The
Broadband Commission for Sustainable
Development's 2020 State of Broadband
report, released at the Commission's 10th
anniversary meeting earlier today, includes
a rallying call to world leaders and heads
of industry to place universal broadband
connectivity at the very forefront of global
recovery and sustainable development
efforts. The State of Broadband 2020:
Tackling Digital Inequalities, A Decade
for Action, highlights stark disparities in
access to high-speed connectivity that
have prevented billions of adults and

5 SEP-OCT 2020