From Data to Decisions: accelerating meaningful connectivity through the Connectivity Planning Platform (CPP)

Nino argues that connectivity policy and regulation should be based on reliable evidence rather than assumptions. She explains that Georgia is building practical tools, including a broadband map and a single information point, to improve deployment planning, transparency, cost reduction and digital inclusion.

She states that at Comcom, decisions on broadband deployment, infrastructure investment and digital inclusion should be based on reliable data rather than assumptions . She gives concrete examples from Georgia, including the development of a national broadband map to show broadband availability and a single information point to gather information on existing physical infrastructure so as to facilitate network deployment, improve transparency and reduce deployment costs .

Nino argues that effective planning depends on knowing both where infrastructure already exists and where unmet need is greatest. She presents Georgia’s broadband initiatives as examples of how evidence can guide investments towards underserved and rural communities.

She cites the Log In Georgia project, implemented by the government with support from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, which aims to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure particularly in underserved and rural areas . She adds that maximising the impact of such investments requires understanding both current infrastructure and where the greatest needs and opportunities lie .

Nino presents connectivity as a cross-government and cross-sector challenge rather than a narrow telecom matter. She argues that cooperation works better when all parties use the same evidence base, because shared data creates a common language for coordination and implementation.

She says successful implementation requires cooperation among regulators, ministries, infrastructure owners, local authorities, operators and international partners . She explains that data provides the common language for this cooperation, and that when everyone works from the same evidence, planning becomes more coordinated, investment more efficient and implementation easier .

Nino argues that trusted evidence improves public policy and reduces uncertainty for investors. In her view, integrated datasets and common analytical tools help stakeholders coordinate better and direct investments where they will generate the greatest social and economic return.

She says that participating in the testing phase of the Connectivity Planning Platform allowed Georgia to explore how integrated datasets can support smarter national planning . She adds that bringing multiple datasets into one analytical framework creates common understanding among regulators, ministries, operators and development partners, and that trusted evidence strengthens public policy, increases investor confidence and helps ensure investments deliver the greatest possible social and economic impact .

Nino argues that meaningful connectivity should be assessed by its human and developmental outcomes rather than engineering metrics alone. She stresses that the real objective is the opportunities connectivity creates for people.

She says it is important to invest not only in infrastructure but also in the quality of data and planning tools that support smarter decisions . She then explicitly states that meaningful connectivity is not measured by kilometres of fibre or the number of base stations, but by the opportunities that connectivity creates for people .

Archana argues that data becomes valuable when it is converted into actionable insight for decision-makers. She links high-quality evidence to better planning, better investment and faster progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity, presenting CPP as a tool designed for that purpose.

She explains that stakeholders need reliable evidence to understand connectivity gaps, identify underserved communities and prioritise resources . She says data, when transformed into actionable insights, helps decision-makers move beyond assumptions, assess technology and investment options and develop targeted strategies . She then states that the Connectivity Planning Platform was developed by ITU to support this objective and concludes that better data leads to better planning, better investment decisions and faster progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity .

Archana argues that evidence-based policymaking is necessary because governments and institutions cannot afford to waste limited resources. She frames CPP as an important optimisation tool that helps maximise impact while addressing the large number of people still unconnected.

In her closing remarks, she says this is an important tool because evidence-based policymaking maximises impact when resources are finite . She also links this to the continuing scale of disconnection and the need for meaningful connectivity that supports needed services rather than connectivity for its own sake .

Archana presents CPP as part of a broader ITU readiness agenda. She argues that its value lies in consolidating multiple layers of information into one comprehensive view of the connectivity ecosystem to support coordinated decision-making.

She states that CPP was launched to supplement ITU’s new digital readiness framework . She explains that the platform combines information on population distribution, network coverage, infrastructure assets, connectivity demand and other key indicators to provide a comprehensive view of the connectivity ecosystem and support more informed decisions and stronger coordination .

Archana likens CPP to digital platforms that evolve into ecosystems as usage grows. Her point is that the platform’s usefulness and richness will increase as more actors participate and contribute data.

She draws an analogy with big tech companies that began as platforms and turned into ecosystems connecting telecom infrastructure with a broad range of services . She then says CPP will get richer the more it is used and the more people join it, making participation itself a source of added value .

Gonzalo argues that trusted data is the foundation for planning and that CPP is built around a decision chain from data to evidence and then to better investment outcomes. He presents this as the core narrative of the platform and the panel discussion.

He says the session is about showing how trusted data, collaboration and evidence-based planning help countries make smarter connectivity decisions . He then summarises the platform’s logic explicitly: from data to better evidence, from evidence to better decisions, from decisions to better investments and from there to better connectivity .

Gonzalo explains that CPP handles different technology types by defining a structured dictionary of required and optional parameters. This standardisation allows the platform to ingest data consistently and run technical models even when some values must initially be estimated.

In response to a question on standards, he explains that different technologies require different parameters, such as antenna height, transmission power and polarisation for mobile and point-to-point wireless modelling . He says CPP defines its own dictionary, sets mandatory and optional parameters, checks that all required columns are present before ingestion, and allows users to overwrite estimated values with accurate ones later .

Gonzalo argues that CPP depends on cooperation between public and private actors, not just on technical design. He presents the platform as a joint effort in which trusted data, partnerships and evidence-based planning are mutually reinforcing elements for national decision-making.

He introduces himself as working at Ericsson and teaming up with ITU in the co-development of the Connectivity Planning Platform . He then says that trusted data, collaboration between private and public institutions, and evidence-based planning are all essential for countries to make smarter connectivity decisions and prioritise investments .

The video argues that investment and effort alone do not guarantee impact if planning is not based on evidence. It presents CPP as a tool that makes gaps visible and helps ensure planning starts from insight and clarity rather than guesswork.

The video states that impact does not always follow because planning without evidence leaves outcomes to chance . It asks whether decisions could be guided by clarity, whether gaps could be made visible and whether connectivity planning could start with insight, before presenting CPP as the solution .

The video frames connectivity as a pathway to social benefits, not merely physical infrastructure. It argues that CPP creates public value by improving the quality of decisions that shape infrastructure investment, even though the platform itself does not build networks.

It says digital infrastructure and connectivity are not just cables and towers but access to learning, healthcare and opportunity . It also states that CPP does not build infrastructure; instead it builds better decisions, and that planning guided by purpose and evidence helps deliver public value .

Walid argues that poor-quality infrastructure data is a major barrier to effective planning, so CPP includes automated validation tools to improve reliability. His point is that users should be able to upload data and have the platform automatically identify errors, clean records and flag items needing further investigation.

He explains that infrastructure data is often not validated and may contain obvious location errors, such as government offices appearing in the ocean or outside national boundaries because latitude and longitude were captured incorrectly . He says CPP therefore includes a built-in data validation pipeline and a free back-end validation platform that uses algorithms to check uploaded data automatically, clean it and indicate which records are validated or need more investigation .

Walid argues that interoperability is hindered because different operators and institutions use different descriptions and data structures for the same infrastructure assets. CPP responds by defining common dictionaries and harmonisation methods so data can be shared and compared consistently.

He says that after addressing data quality, CPP encountered another challenge: institutions and operators exchange information in incompatible ways . He gives the example that one operator may describe a tower, antennas and power supply differently from another, preventing seamless exchange of information . He then explains that CPP has implemented dictionaries and algorithms to harmonise definitions and ensure infrastructure is described in the same way across practitioners .

Walid argues that there is no single technical fix for universal connectivity, so collaboration around shared data is essential. He envisions CPP as a common space where stakeholders can exchange information, benchmarks and planning insights to support better and less risky investment decisions.

He says there is no silver bullet for bridging the digital divide and that achieving universal meaningful connectivity requires a collaborative effort with a marketplace for exchanging data, designs and supply chain information . He describes CPP as bringing forward that collaboration spirit, almost like a social network for infrastructure planning, where users can share selected data or insights to reduce the risk of high-risk investment cases .

Walid argues that CPP can support smarter public spending by generating realistic market benchmarks from collected project data. This helps governments assess whether proposed deployment costs are reasonable and avoid excessive subsidy allocations.

He gives the example of fibre digging labour costs, saying CPP can estimate average cost levels because it collects information from multiple projects and partners . He says there were cases where operators requested much higher margins than expected for deployments subsidised by universal service funds, and CPP enabled support to government budgeting decisions so that risk was reduced and more funds could be freed for additional deployment .

Walid identifies the main audiences currently using CPP and explains that its reach is expected to broaden. He presents the platform as already embedded in decision-making for de-risking loans and national infrastructure planning, with future plans to support broader economic impact analysis for finance ministries.

He says that in the first phase of CPP, key users include development banks using it within loan decision-making workflows for infrastructure de-risking, regulators using it for national planning and universal service fund decisions, and operators using it to exchange information . He adds that CPP may expand towards ministries of finance and economy because a planned module would estimate GDP impacts and wider economic effects of connectivity projects .

Camille raises the point that technical performance alone is not enough; CPP also has to address governance questions around how data is defined, safeguarded and controlled. Her intervention highlights concerns about standards, transparency and sovereignty in the platform’s data practices.

She introduces herself as co-chairing a task group on data quality and says her questions concern the data quality measures used in CPP and who sets the data standards it follows . She explicitly adds that safeguarding, transparency and sovereignty are also part of the issue .

Juan argues that public infrastructure assets, especially postal sites, can strengthen connectivity planning by lowering deployment costs. He presents postal infrastructure as a practical input for planning because it offers existing locations and networks that can support broadband expansion.

He links his point directly to Georgia’s approach, saying that mapping existing physical infrastructure to reduce deployment costs is exactly what the Universal Postal Union has been doing with the CPP team . He explains that the collaboration is moving towards a broader framework that includes both concrete deployment planning and data integration .

Juan argues that CPP can directly improve procurement and deployment planning by providing credible cost estimates. His example shows how evidence from the platform can help governments make more informed decisions about public connectivity projects.

He describes a country case in which the government wanted to connect exactly ten post offices, and the CPP team helped estimate how those points of interest could be connected and what the likely costs would be . He says this evidence informed the procurement process because it provided a well-informed estimate of deployment cost, and it also allowed the team to estimate how many community members could be connected and what socioeconomic benefits the deployment might bring .

Juan argues that planning suffers when sectoral data remains isolated. He says postal and logistics data can complement telecom data, and that integration across these datasets would improve not only network deployment decisions but also planning for the broader service environment enabled by connectivity.

He says that postal and logistics sectors hold important national datasets, including data on the movement of goods, but these datasets often sit in silos . He explains that the work with CPP has focused on integrating these complementary datasets so that decisions on digital infrastructure deployment and the wider enabling environment can be better informed .

Juan argues that connectivity should be understood in functional terms, as a gateway to digitally enabled services rather than only internet access. He places particular emphasis on services such as e-commerce, digital finance and e-government as the practical outcomes that matter.

He says that postal networks now serve 1.2 billion users with financial services, showing that infrastructure can support much broader service ecosystems than traditional communications alone . He then explains that in UPU’s collaboration with ITU, connectivity is not seen as simply bringing internet access but as enabling e-commerce, digital financial services and e-government services .

Juan argues that sectors beyond telecom, especially financial services linked to postal networks, are highly relevant to CPP. His point is that these networks already reach large populations and can help connect infrastructure planning with practical service delivery.

Responding to the audience question, he says the post no longer mainly delivers letters and that postal networks now serve 1.2 billion users with financial services . He uses this to argue that connectivity should be approached as an enabler of digitally enabled services, including digital financial services .

Kelly argues that connectivity challenges are systemic and require multiple actors to act together. She rejects the idea that any one institution can solve the issue independently and frames partnership as a basic necessity.

She says connectivity is a collective action problem and that there is no single bank, operator or government that can solve the challenge by itself . She therefore frames the key question as how to work together and build the right partnerships to make connectivity a reality .

Kelly argues that successful partnerships depend on three core conditions: a shared evidence base, alignment of incentives and trust sustained over time. In her view, these factors help stakeholders move beyond debating facts and instead collaborate on practical solutions.

She identifies three core characteristics of good partnerships: a shared understanding of the problem, aligned incentives and trust with continuity over time . She explains that a trusted evidence base and common language stop stakeholders from arguing over different datasets and assumptions, while aligned incentives help governments, development banks and operators find mutually reinforcing outcomes . She also says the strongest collaborations are built through continuous dialogue and shared accountability rather than one-off exercises .

Kelly argues that infrastructure is only the foundation and should be valued for the development outcomes it enables. She stresses that meaningful connectivity should remain tied to wider goals such as education, health and economic opportunity.

She says connectivity is not just about infrastructure, even though infrastructure is the base and the core . She explicitly states that connectivity is about enabling education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and economic opportunity, and that partnerships succeed when those objectives remain central .

Kelly argues that collecting more data is not enough unless institutions can organise, validate and use it effectively. She therefore calls for institutionalised data-driven partnerships that build governance, capacity and sustained capability within governments.

She says that if she had to choose one priority, it would be institutionalising data-driven partnerships . She notes that countries and companies are generating more data than ever before, but that data is not useful if there is no way to organise or validate it . She also stresses the need to think about softer enabling infrastructure such as institutions, capabilities, skills and governance so that governments can use data sustainably over time .

Eric raises the argument that sectors beyond telecom, especially payments, may be important participants in CPP. His intervention broadens the discussion from traditional infrastructure actors to other industries that could lead or benefit from evidence-based connectivity planning.

He says CPP seems crucial and asks what sectors of industry can lead CPP needs, offering the payment sector as one possible example and inviting views on what other sectors should be at the frontier of the platform .