Knowledge Café - Meaningful Connectivity by Design: Exploring Practical Pathways and Solutions Together

Tomas Lamanauskas highlighted the significant progress made in global internet connectivity over the past two decades, noting a rise from 16% of people online in 2005 to approximately 75% today. However, he emphasised that the job is far from finished, with 2.2 billion people still lacking access. He also noted that new technologies continually create fresh challenges to address.

He cited statistics showing a rise from 16% of people online in 2005 to roughly three-quarters of the global population, equating to 6 billion people now online , while noting that 2.2 billion remain unconnected and that new technology always requires catching up .

Lamanauskas argued that connectivity is not simply about being online; it must be reliable, affordable, and secure, and must be accompanied by access to affordable devices and the necessary skills to use them. He described this fuller conception as 'meaningful' connectivity. This framing sets the agenda for the broader discussion at the event.

He stated that connectivity must be reliable, affordable, and secure, and must include access to affordable devices and skills, which he collectively termed 'meaningful' connectivity .

Lamanauskas made the case that technical standards are not merely bureaucratic documents but are essential tools that lower costs, enable systems to work together, and give investors the confidence needed to fund digital infrastructure. He drew on a World Bank framing to underscore the economic importance of digital infrastructure. This positions standards as a foundational enabler of global connectivity.

He described standards as key instruments that reduce costs, increase interoperability, and increase investor confidence in digital infrastructure , and referenced the World Bank's description of digital infrastructure as 'the invisible infrastructure of modern economies', comparable to courts, roads, and power grids .

Lamanauskas argued that the standards-making process should be inclusive, drawing in a wide range of stakeholders including innovators, academia, and civil society. This inclusive approach ensures that requirements are built from diverse perspectives and then translated into concrete technological implementations. The ultimate goal is standards that open up meaningful connectivity for everyone worldwide.

He expressed hope that standards for connectivity could bring everyone around the table - innovators, academia, and civil society - to build requirements and deliver them into clear technology implementations, resulting in further progress in meaningful connectivity for all .

Dorothy Stanley acknowledged the progress made in connecting the first 75% of the global population but stressed that the remaining 25% presents far greater challenges. These populations tend to be rural, geographically dispersed, and harder to reach with conventional infrastructure. She called for innovative thinking to address both the physical deployment and the broader access requirements.

She noted that in some sense the first 75% was the easy part, and that the remaining population involves rural communities and much more geographically distributed areas that are harder to reach , requiring innovative thinking for physical deployment and continued emphasis on meaningful access aspects .

Stanley highlighted the enduring partnership between IEEE and ITU, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to participate in WSIS and support its goals. She framed this collaboration as a valued relationship that contributes to the broader effort of advancing global connectivity through standards. This sets the institutional context for the event.

She acknowledged the long history of IEEE and ITU working together and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to participate in WSIS and support the effort .

Stanley highlighted a specific IEEE standard — 3527.1 — focused on digital literacy skills and readiness, describing it as a framework for evaluating educational course material against defined criteria for literacy and readiness to use digital systems. She presented this as a critical complement to physical connectivity infrastructure. The standard addresses the need to ensure that newly connected populations can actually use the internet effectively.

She described IEEE Standard 3527.1, titled 'Digital Literacy Skills and Readiness', as providing a framework to evaluate course material against criteria defining literacy skills and readiness to use systems , and noted the need to provide additional training alongside physical connectivity deployment to unconnected rural populations .

Stanley argued that some IEEE AI standards are specifically designed to embed ethical principles into systems from the outset, rather than as an afterthought. She drew a parallel with security, noting that both ethics and security must be designed in from the beginning because they are difficult to retrofit. This reflects a broader philosophy of building essential components into systems by design.

She explained that some AI standards deal with ethical use of AI and address the design of ethical principles into a system at the very beginning , and drew a parallel with security, which she described as always needing to be designed in from the start and as essentially a 'cat and mouse game' that must be continuously addressed .

Speaker 1 argued that connectivity is only meaningful if it enables people to learn and develop themselves. Simply being connected without the skills or ability to use that connectivity renders it worthless. The speaker used an analogy to illustrate this point about usability.

The speaker stated that if you are connected but not using that connectivity to develop your life and yourself, it is not meaningful connectivity , and used the analogy of having a book in a language you do not understand - such as a French book for a non-French speaker - to illustrate the meaninglessness of connectivity without usability .

Speaker 1 introduced the dimension of resilience and reliability into the definition of meaningful connectivity, arguing that connectivity which can be destroyed is not truly meaningful. Drawing on personal experience as a Ukrainian, the speaker highlighted how Russia's attacks on connectivity infrastructure since 2022 have made the ability to restore and maintain connectivity a matter of life and death.

The speaker, identifying as Ukrainian, described how connectivity infrastructure has been daily destroyed by Russia since 2022, making the ability to restore connectivity and provide people with connectivity that saves lives a critical aspect of meaningful connectivity .

Speaker 1 provided a comprehensive list of barriers to meaningful connectivity identified at their table. These ranged from the high cost of building infrastructure and the affordability of devices and data for individual citizens, to regulatory environments that constrain operators, energy availability challenges, and the shortage of local digital expertise.

The speaker listed barriers including constant infrastructure costs, affordability at both the country and citizen level for devices, regulatory constraints on operators' ability to develop networks, availability of energy especially in the context of the climate crisis, and digital skills gaps on both the engineering and citizen sides .

Speaker 1 highlighted that a lack of reliable data and statistics about the state of connectivity within a country is itself a significant barrier. Without this information, it is impossible to have a clear overview of the situation and to plan effective responses. The speaker therefore emphasised the importance of research in this area.

The speaker noted the importance of the absence of data or statistics in a country, stating that not having an overview of the connectivity situation is a barrier, and emphasised that research is therefore very important .

Speaker 2 offered a nuanced perspective on connectivity, acknowledging that while digital tools and social networks have increased international and community connectivity, they may simultaneously be eroding face-to-face and intergenerational relationships. This raises questions about what kind of connectivity is truly meaningful and whether standards are needed to protect human social bonds.

The speaker noted that while there is now more international and community connectivity through social networks and the internet, there is less connectivity between generations and between neighbours, suggesting that online connectivity is coming at the cost of everyday human connection .

Speaker 2 identified several persistent barriers to meaningful connectivity, including the divide between urban and rural areas, the gap between generations in their ability to use digital tools, and the fundamental lack of electricity in some developing areas. Without electricity, digital connectivity is simply impossible.

The speaker highlighted barriers between generations and geographical divides between large cities and countryside areas , and noted that in developed versus non-developed areas, the absence of electricity makes it impossible to connect people at all .

Sajith Wijesuriya summarised his table's discussion by emphasising that meaningful connectivity must be functional and secure, not merely present. He also stressed the importance of catering to the specific needs of vulnerable clusters within the population, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

He noted that the key point from his table was having connectivity reach all people while also catering for the needs of specific vulnerable clusters, and that connectivity must be useful and functional rather than merely secure in name .

Wijesuriya identified reliable energy supply as a foundational prerequisite for connectivity, arguing that without it, neither advanced connectivity infrastructure nor AI tools can be effectively deployed. This was described as a key item discussed at his table and linked to broader discussions at the conference.

He identified the backbone of energy supply as a key barrier enabling connectivity, noting it had been discussed throughout the conference, along with related equipment .

Wijesuriya argued for a sequenced approach to connectivity: first ensuring that minimum connectivity resources are universally available, and only then expanding to more advanced technologies such as AI. He warned that without this foundation, tools like AI cannot realistically be used by the populations that need them most.

He stated that one of the steps is making sure that minimum sources are available for everyone first and then expanding to more high-level advanced technology, noting that without this foundation, tools like AI cannot realistically be used .

Wijesuriya highlighted that meaningful government participation is essential for bringing stakeholders together and enabling the coordinated deployment of connectivity and emerging technologies. This was raised by younger participants at his table as a particularly important point.

He noted that the younger generation at his table pointed out the meaningful participation of government as an important item that should enable everybody to come together in a defined way .

Speaker 3 argued that meaningful connectivity is a two-part challenge: first, physical infrastructure must reach even the most remote areas, and second, people must have the digital literacy to actually use the tools available to them. Quality of connectivity, not just quantity, was also emphasised.

The speaker stressed that infrastructure should reach the remotest areas and rural populations , and that what matters is not just the quantity but the quality of connectivity and whether people are actually able to connect and use online tools . They also highlighted the importance of culture and language in enabling people to utilise online information .

Speaker 3 argued that international cooperation is both a key enabler and a critical necessity for meaningful connectivity. The speaker pointed to the example of Russia's disruption of Ukrainian internet infrastructure as evidence of how geopolitical conflicts can undermine connectivity, and argued that coordinated global action is needed to prevent and respond to such disruptions.

The speaker cited the Russia-Ukraine issue, noting that Russia may have disrupted internet lines, as an example of why international cooperation is essential for keeping people connected online .

Speaker 3 argued that meaningful connectivity cannot be achieved without an ecosystem of affordability that encompasses not just access infrastructure but also the devices people use and the data costs they incur. Without affordable devices and data, physical connectivity infrastructure alone is insufficient.

The speaker called for an ecosystem of affordability where devices should be affordable and data should be affordable, framing this as essential for people to actually benefit from connectivity .

Speaker 3 argued that as connectivity and AI infrastructure demands grow, energy diversification — including nuclear and solar sources — is essential to ensure sustainability. The speaker framed this as a necessary complement to focusing on technology itself.

The speaker argued that besides focusing on technology, attention should also be given to energy, including nuclear and solar sources of energy, so that resources are not wasted .

Speaker 3 raised a forward-looking concern about the quality and provenance of data used to train AI models. As the internet becomes increasingly populated with AI-generated content, there is a risk that future AI models will be trained on data that was itself generated by AI, creating a problematic feedback loop.

The speaker noted that in the last four years AI has done a lot, and that a big issue is that the internet is now filled with AI-generated data, raising the question of how new AI models will be trained on such data .

Speaker 4 argued that meaningful connectivity must address the gender gap as a core component, not an afterthought. The speaker also emphasised that simply providing connectivity is insufficient; local users must be motivated and incentivised to adopt and regularly use it. Real-time data availability in sectors such as mining was cited as a potential incentive.

The speaker discussed meaningful connectivity in the context of the gender gap and the importance of closing it , and highlighted the mining sector as an example where real-time data availability could serve as an incentive for local users to regularly use connectivity .

Speaker 4 identified poor coordination among the various stakeholders involved in connectivity — including builders, users, and service providers — as a major barrier. Insufficient financing was also highlighted as a critical issue, covering not just the capital investment needed to build infrastructure but also the ongoing operating costs and the empowerment of those managing networks.

The speaker noted that a huge key barrier is connecting among stakeholders, whether builders, users, or service providers , and that financing of connectivity is very important not just for the build side and capital investment, but also for operating costs and empowering users and network managers .

Speaker 4 argued that having feedback mechanisms that genuinely listen to users is a critical enabler of meaningful connectivity. Without such feedback loops, connectivity solutions risk being misaligned with actual user needs, thereby creating more barriers than they resolve.

The speaker stated that having a feedback loop and listening to users is essential, and that if you do not do that, you will have more barriers than enablers .

Speaker 4 argued that sustainable business models for connectivity must include some element of free or subsidised access, as Wi-Fi connectivity is increasingly an essential service for humanity that cannot be purely pay-as-you-go. At the same time, these models must incorporate viable revenue streams to ensure long-term sustainability.

The speaker expressed support for sustainable business models that include some free access, questioning what part of Wi-Fi connectivity is an essential service for humanity that cannot be pay-only , while also stressing the need for sustainable revenue streams .

Speaker 4 argued that forward-looking connectivity planning must anticipate future demands on networks and build capacity proactively, before networks become saturated. This is particularly important as AI-enabled services and other emerging technologies place increasing demands on digital infrastructure.

The speaker highlighted the importance of anticipating the demands and needs that are going to go on a grid, and thinking about over-saturating it before or at the same time as building .

Speaker 4 raised data validation and interoperability as important considerations for the future of connectivity, particularly as AI-enabled services expand. The ability to share and validate data across systems is essential for ensuring that connectivity delivers real value.

The speaker mentioned data validation as something to talk about , and earlier noted that from a data perspective, operability is something to think about - not just connecting, but being able to share things .

Karen McCabe framed the central theme of the Knowledge Café by articulating that connecting people is insufficient on its own; what matters is what people are being connected to and whether that connection is safe, affordable, and usable. She highlighted that emerging technologies such as AI and immersive technologies make these considerations even more critical.

She noted that when connecting people, questions arise about privacy, security challenges, and literacy issues that need to be addressed , and that with new immersive technologies and AI coming into the digital environment, meaningful connectivity is more critical than ever .

Karen McCabe explained the structure and purpose of the event, emphasising its interactive nature and the goal of enabling participants to share experiences, gain insights from one another, and spark new ideas that could be carried back to their respective communities and areas of work.

She described the session as interactive and explained that table captains would facilitate conversations around a series of questions on meaningful connectivity, barriers, and enablers , and expressed hope that participants would walk away with insights, partnership ideas, and connections that could spark new approaches to addressing connectivity challenges .

Karen McCabe acknowledged that while connecting the unconnected is still an ongoing challenge, the conversation must also address the quality and nature of that connectivity. She framed this as the core question underpinning the concept of meaningful connectivity.

She stated that over the years the focus has been on connectivity and connecting the unconnected, which still remains a challenge, but that when connecting people, it is equally important to consider what they are being connected to .

Karen McCabe set out the forward-looking dimension of the Knowledge Café discussions, directing participants to consider how connectivity infrastructure and policy must evolve to accommodate AI-enabled services and the energy demands they create.

She outlined that one of the key questions for table discussions was how connectivity can evolve to support AI-enabled services and address energy challenges that are being faced .