Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development

Acronym: BCSD

Established: 2010

Address: Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

Website: https://www.broadbandcommission.org/Pages/default.aspx

Stakeholder group: International and regional organisation

The Broadband Commission is a high-level public-private partnership fostering digital cooperation and developing actionable recommendations for achieving universal meaningful connectivity as a means of advancing progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Established in 2010 by ITU, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Mr Carlos Slim Helú of Mexico, its mission is to boost the importance of broadband on the international policy agenda and expand broadband access to every country. Today, the Commission is composed of more than 50 Commissioners representing a cross-cutting group of top CEOs and industry leaders; senior policymakers and government representatives; and experts from international agencies, academia, and organisations concerned with development.

The Commission is leveraging the strength of its membership and collective expertise to advocate for meaningful, safe, secure, and sustainable broadband communications services that reflect human and children’s rights.

Contents

Digital activities

The Commission develops policy recommendations and thought leadership focused on the use of broadband connectivity to accelerate progress towards achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and universal and meaningful connectivity. To mobilise efforts to bring the life-changing benefits of digital transformation to everyone, the Broadband Commission puts broadband connectivity at the forefront of global policy discussions.

The Commission’s efforts are detailed in our flagship annual collaborative State of Broadband Report , and throughout the year, take the form of thematic Working Groups and their publications, regular meetings, and advocacy activities on the margins of other key events such as SDG Digital, GSMA MWC, HLPF, WSIS, and UNGA.

The Broadband Commission outlines its seven objectives in its 2025 Broadband Advocacy Targets. These targets reflect ambitious and aspirational goals and function as a policy and programmatic guide for national and international action in sustainable and inclusive broadband development.
Each year, the Commission hosts Working Groups to dive deeper into prominent issues affecting broadband access, affordability, and use. Working Groups are proposed and led by Commissioners, with the support of external experts. The outcome of the discussion and research of these groups is a consensus-based collaborative report which provides policy recommendations for achieving the issues examined, in alignment with the Commission’s targets and elements of the UN 2030 Agenda.

Digital policy issues

Digital infrastructure

The Commission promotes the adoption of best practices and policies that enable the deployment of broadband networks at the national level, especially among developing countries. The Commission engages in advocacy activities aimed at demonstrating that broadband networks are fundamental to modern societies and the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Each year, the Broadband Commission publishes a State of Broadband Report, providing a global overview of the current state of broadband network access and affordability and use, an update on the Commission’s 7 Advocacy Targets, and insights/impact stories from Commissioners on multistakeholder actions for accelerating the achievement of universal meaningful connectivity.

The most recent report, ‘The State of Broadband 2024: Leveraging AI for Universal Connectivity’, offers an initial overview of how AI applications are already shaping development in areas as diverse as e-government, education, digital health, digital finance, and the environment. The report highlights how AI can potentially help connect the 2.6 billion people still not connected to the internet, while also discussing challenges associated with AI, risks and implications for the digital divide. The report reviewed how AI solutions can accelerate progress on broadband advocacy targets aimed at getting everyone online and achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The Commission has launched a number of working groups focused on connectivity infrastructure and financing, including the World Bank-led Digital Infrastructure Moonshot for Africa and the Working Group on 21st Century Financing Models for Sustainable Broadband Development. These initiatives aim to provide governments and policymakers, as well as the private sector and development partners, with a set of holistic policy recommendations to accelerate broadband connectivity, close digital gaps, and foster innovative financing and investment strategies to achieve the Commission’s targets for broadband and to provide universal and affordable access to the internet. The Working Group on School Connectivity has also identified a set of core principles to help governments and other interested stakeholders to develop more holistic school connectivity plans.

The Commission has established specific Advocacy Targets to assess progress in broadband access and identify remaining connectivity gaps. The Commission tracks progress on the Targets in its annual flagship State of Broadband Reports. Advocacy Target 1 focuses on making broadband policy universal by 2025, calling for all countries to have a funded National Broadband Plan or include broadband in their Universal Access and Service Definition. As of 2022, 155 countries have a national broadband plan or strategic document emphasising broadband, which is a decrease from 165 in 2021. The Commission notes that implementation and operationalisation of existing national plans are key challenges, especially for boosting broadband access in rural areas.

Access, skills and use

When advocating for the rollout of broadband infrastructure and bridging the digital divide, the Commission underlines the increasing importance of internet access and adoption as an enabler of inclusive sustainable growth and development.

The Commission pays particular attention to aspects related to infrastructure deployment in developing countries, inclusive and relevant digital content creation and education, connectivity for small businesses, and access to broadband/internet-enabled devices.

Recent broadband reports covering these topics include the Commission’s working groups on Connectivity for MSMEs, Smartphone Access, and Data for Learning. These working groups aim to advance progress on the Commission’s 2025 Advocacy Targets on micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), universal connectivity, and digital skills development.

The Broadband Commission Working Group on Connectivity for MSMEs, co-chaired by the GSMA and the International Trade Centre (ITC), has released the ‘Making Digital Connectivity Work for MSMEs’ report, identifying a five-part framework for addressing barriers and challenges to MSME connectivity, including: Access (secured connectivity, devices, and digital services); Affordability (services and devices must be affordable); Knowledge and Digital Skills (awareness of tools and skills to use them); Relevance (awareness of benefits and ecosystem of platforms); and Safety and Security (trust in online services and addressing risks).

The Broadband Commission has also developed the compilation of impact stories from its members on their impressive work to narrow the gender digital divide. The 2024 International Impact Story Compilation is focused on Advocacy Target 7, which emphasises that ‘gender equality should be achieved across all targets’ by 2025. This entails eliminating gender disparities in broadband policy, affordability, online access, skills development, e-finance, MSME connectivity, and more. By prioritising gender equality within its advocacy efforts, the Commission aims to foster an environment where everyone can fully participate and benefit from the opportunities afforded by broadband connectivity.

Sustainable development

The Commission advocates for actions to be taken by all relevant stakeholders with the aim of closing the digital divide, a crucial step towards achieving the SDGs. The Commission’s annual State of Broadband Report looks at the progress made in implementing broadband networks in various countries around the world, which it regards as an essential element in addressing the digital divide. In addition, the Working Group on Smartphone Access examines the smartphone access gap and provides strategies for achieving universal smartphone ownership so that all communities may benefit from access to digital services.

In support of SDG Digital, an event hosted by ITU and UNDP with the aim of bringing digital SDG solutions to scale, Broadband Commissioners offered insights into various use cases for digital technologies to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs, highlighting the crucial importance that everyone plays in harnessing the power of digital for a brighter future.

Interdisciplinary approaches: Digital cooperation

The Commission prepared a contribution to the Global Digital Compact, calling for the Compact to be anchored in the vision of a connected, inclusive, and sustainable world and expresses the need to ensure consistency between existing multilateral and multistakeholder forums and mechanisms, avoiding duplication and ensuring that efforts complement, build on, and reinforce existing frameworks and successful activities, which have proven to be impactful.

Through its various Working Group initiatives and the advocacy of our Commissioners, the Broadband Commission is an exemplary initiative of SDG 17: ‘Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development’ in action. The Commission’s policy recommendations advocate for global digital cooperation, providing considerations for all sectors to enhance collaboration to reach the goal of universal meaningful connectivity.

The Commission is also contributing to other UN processes, actively participating in key United Nations initiatives and conferences, working to elevate broadband to the forefront of the international policy agenda, for example, with annual inputs to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) or WSIS.