by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – NEARLY 3 billion more people are to access and use the internet through a smartphone by 2030.
The International Telecommunications Union and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development have ratified the first multi-stakeholder study aimed at creating practical tools and actions that could enable that.
It is a result of the realisatopn that a third of the global population still cannot or do not access the internet.
“Access to the internet and smartphones, are critical enablers of jobs, education, healthcare, financial services and much more,” said Nick Read, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group.
He co-chaired a Broadband Commission Working Group on Smartphone Access, alongside Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the ITU and Heidi Schroderus-Fox/ Rabab Fatima, UN High Representatives for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).
Zhao said the report moves the conversation forward by providing detailed case studies on initiatives implemented globally to address the challenges in providing affordable broadband and smartphone access.
“This report is just the first step,” Zhao assured.
– CAJ News