Today’s digital technologies are transforming almost every sector of the economy by presenting new business models, introducing innovative products and services – and, ultimately, changing the way countries around the world harness socioeconomic development. Digital technologies, and the benefits that they bring, can connect citizens to services and opportunities, and help them build a better future. However, for markets to functi...
Today’s fundamental funding challenge is to make rural and low-income areas and marginalized populations “worth” the investment risk for the private sector and co-investors, as the economic cost of exclusion is higher than the cost of closing the digital divide. Designed to provide practical guidance to ITU members and other stakeholders, this new report will contribute to reviewing and rethinking funds as a concept, exploring alternative models using a combination of monetary and non-monetary contributions and implementing innovative risk-mitigation mechanisms and financial solutions for smarter investments. It also provides guidance on the policy and regulatory frameworks needed to attract greater…
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This report has been designed to help developing countries embrace the opportunities offered by AI and big data deployment, to highlight the main challenges and to offer hands-on suggestions for regulators and policy-makers. Drawing on case studies and initiatives in five domains of AI and big data application (health, mobile big data, agriculture, education and open data), this report describes how developing countries can benefit from the identification and implementation of adequate big data and AI technologies, the removal of regulatory and policy barriers and the incentivization of AI and big data uptake. It illustrates the significance of these opportunities…
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The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) was first launched in 2015 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to measure the commitment of 193 ITU Member States and the State of Palestine1 to cybersecurity to help them identify areas of improvement and encourage countries to take action, through raising awareness on the state of cybersecurity worldwide. As cybersecurity risks, priorities, and resources evolve, the GCI has also adapted to give a more accurate snapshot of cybersecurity measures taken by countries. This report aims to better understand countries’ commitments to cybersecurity, identify gaps, encourage the incorporation of good practices, and provide useful insights…
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According to the ICT Regulatory Tracker, Rwanda is a fourth-generation (G4) regulator. As a country that has put ICTs at the centre of its development since 2000, Rwanda has duly earned its recent entry into the small but growing club of African countries to be rated at the G4 level. G4 is characterized by integrated regulation, led by economic and social policy goals. G5, which is well within Rwanda’s grasp, has the important additional aspect of deep and meaningful collaboration as a means of achieving development-oriented digitalization and digital transformation.
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The ability to successfully collaborate, is one of the key building blocks of a digital economy, and a key marker of a fifth generation (G5) regulator. In an information and communication technology (ICT) sector known for change, G5 regulation represents yet another shift – not of technology, but of paradigm – for governments and regulators globally. G5 regulation forces the reconsideration of existing institutional frameworks and the harmonisation of policy priorities and regulatory rules in recognition of the interplay between digital infrastructure, services and content across industries and national borders.
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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been advocating in the past years the need to implement a new approach to ICT regulation, labelled fifth generation collaborative regulation. The underlying premise of such an approach is the need for countries to migrate to a regulatory and policy framework based on the collaboration among multiple sectors and cross-sector regulators within a scope that expands beyond the ICT space into that of the digital economy. In this context, as part of its Global ICT Regulatory Outlook, the ITU launched a pilot version of The Benchmark of Fifth Generation Collaborative Regulation (G5 Benchmark) in…
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With its ups and downs, the Republic of Moldova has experienced an expansion of the economy by an average of 4.6 per cent annually over the past 20 years.1 The global pandemic, however, has left a significant mark – the gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 7.0 per cent in 2020 and affected most sectors of the economy. According to a study by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the economic losses of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 affected some countries more than others. Countries with better broadband infrastructure and with broad use of ICTs among the population were able to…
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The United Nations Broadband Commission has commit-ted the international community to accelerate universal broadband, but the cost of meeting these objectives in the context of rapid technological change are not well under-stood. Using scenario analysis, this paper compares the global cost-effectiveness of different infrastructure strategies for the developing world to achieve universal 4G or 5G mobile broadband. Utilizing remote sensing and demand forecasting, least-cost network designs are developed for eight representative low- and middle-income countries (Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Pakistan, Albania, Peru, and Mexico), which provide the basis for aggregation to the global level. The cost of meeting UN Broadband…
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This study shows that ICT regulation has had a measurable impact on the growth of global ICT markets over the past decade. The analysis uses econometric modelling to pinpoint the impact of the regulatory and institutional frameworks on the performance of the ICT sector and its contribution to national economies. The modelling has allowed to capture fresh insights backed by authoritative data on the evolution of ICT regulation since 2007, the ICT Regulatory Tracker, and a global dataset on ICT markets economics. The new analysis points to regulatory features that can have a multiplier effect on ICT markets and consumer…
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This report is the culmination of the work completed under Question 1/1 entrusted to Study Group 1 of the ITU Telecommunications Development Sector (ITU-D), which examines strategies and policies for the deployment of broadband in developing countries. The report includes country experiences and best-practice guidelines to promote affordable broadband networks; strategies to stimulate investment in broadband networks; information on methods of broadband infrastructure deployment; overview of basic principles of transition from narrowband to high-speed, high-quality broadband networks; case studies associated with operational and technical issues of deploying broadband networks; examples of removing practical and regulatory barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment;…
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