Good afternoon everyone!
- Many thanks for your kind invitation to discuss an extremely important topic in digital development: the affordability issue.
- Affordability is one of the main obstacles to universal and meaningful connectivity.
- That is why 'affordable connectivity' is one of the core priorities of the Telecommunication Development Bureau as set out in the Kigali Action Plan that governs our operational activities.
- This is a big topic. In today's session we refer mainly to devices, but in fact the affordability issue takes in both devices and services.
At the outset, I'd like to share some data.
- Last week, ITU released our annual bedrock indicators publication, Facts and Figures 2023.
- Our connectivity data shows growth, but divide persist.
- For example, an entry-level data-only mobile broadband basket with a minimum monthly allowance of 2 GB costs 4.5 per cent of the monthly income per capita in Africa. That's more than three times what it typically costs worldwide and eleven times what it costs in Europe.
- There is improvement, however, particularly in the last three years in Africa.
- But this is of course very far from where we want to be. Now, see the picture on the terminal side.
- According to data collected by the Alliance for Affordable Internet, the average cost of a smartphone in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to 39 per cent of the average monthly income in 2022, twice the global rate. By contrast, it cost 2 per cent of the average monthly income in North America, the region where it was most affordable.
- But that is not the whole picture. As of 2023, mobile phone ownership among individuals aged 10 and older in Africa has risen to 63 per cent, a notable increase from just over 50 per cent in 2019. This growth signifies a significant step towards technological accessibility in the continent.
- There are some specific factors here, too.
- Despite the increase in ownership, it's important to note that not all these devices are smartphones. A considerable number of these mobile phones are either not capable of accessing the internet or are not being used for this purpose. So, Internet access figures suffer. In Africa, 67 per cent of the population owns a mobile phone, but only 31 per cent uses the Internet.
- We need to improve this situation. How should we proceed?
- As we will see in this session, there are a number of tools available.
- Perhaps the most important will be the policy actions we are prepared to undertake.
- I urge all policymakers to look creatively at the entire value chain of the affordable device and connectivity ecosystem and determine which interventions and where are appropriate, and where we can lower barriers.
- Affordable devices and device ownership will be extremely important but they should also be seen in a more holistic view. In our thinking, we have to establish the clear link between capable devices and Internet access because there are very big implications here—of the totality of affordable connectivity.
Ladies and Gentlemen
- We need affordable connectivity, and we need it soon. The prospect of global digital transformation is making this an urgent agenda item.
- We cannot let the affordability issues define and overshadow Internet access. Without progress here, we are in danger of leaving people behind.
- Thank you…I look forward to our discussions on this panel.
Directed Q and A
Q1. How can ITU help in closing the affordability divide? (Question to BDT Director 2-3 minutes response)
In the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, or BDT, as we call it, our focus is on removing the barriers that stand in the way of universal and meaningful connectivity. One of them is affordability.
Affordable connectivity is a key priority at BDT, alongside digital transformation, enabling policy and regulatory environments, resource mobilization and international cooperation and inclusive and secure ICTs for sustainable development.
Enabling policy
In an age of affordable devices, all crosscut, but the focus of the affordable connectivity priority is on fostering an enabling policy and regulatory environment conducive to sustainable digital development that encourages investment in infrastructure and ICTs and increased adoption of telecommunications/ICTs.
This priority comprises key enablers that underpin ITU's work to deliver on the connectivity and digital transformation priorities.
An enabling environment can reduce costs and increase market opportunities. Policy harmonization across technical and operational sectors can help a lot here.
Getting system costs down through widespread conformance and interoperability
For example, we encourage widespread conformance and interoperability of telecommunication/ICT devices and systems to increase market opportunities and reliability and encourage global integration and trade. This inherently helps tackle the economy of scale problem that we see.
This takes a lot of detailed technical work in the background. I should mention our ITU-D Study Groups that engage in detailed technical questions concerned with broadband access.
In our Study Groups, we also look at harmonization of procedures that aim at minimum technical requirements to lower the cost of access to imported and produced devices, and quality and safety issues where devices are supplied to the general public.
Consumer protection and rights are another one of important Study Group questions here and something that directly addresses our topic today. It can only get more important.
Q2. How creative can we be in kickstarting the age of affordable connectivity? (Question to BDT Director 2-3 minutes response)
We need some big picture thinking. There are three frameworks we need to address: demand side initiatives, innovation-centric action, and partnerships/policy interventions. We need to be sharp and flexible. All these framework ideas are cross-cutting and synergistic.
For affordable connectivity, we must engage the demand side as well as the supply side.
Consumer awareness is very important. We need to create—what I call—a culture of digital to move forward.
I anticipate an enormous demand for appropriate digital skilling. Bridging the digital skills gap is crucial to advance digital inclusion and in BDT, we have configured many programmes to support this:
For example:
Our Digital Transformation Centre Initiative aims to reach underserved communities in developing countries. 8 centers are in Africa.
The Tech as a Driver of Women's Economic Opportunity initiative, implemented by ITU and financially supported by the Enhanced Integrated Framework, upskilled women and girls in the agricultural and textile sectors, including in Burundi and Ethiopia where I met them this year.
Girls in ICT Day, with a theme of Digital Skills for Life this year, inspires girls to digital career possibilities.
The ITU-D Women in Cyber Programme addresses gender and workforce gaps in cybersecurity through trainings, role-modelling and mentorship. Over the past three editions, over 500 women across the Arab, Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions have been trained to take on leadership roles in cybersecurity. This year alone 160 women in Africa were trained.
We provide highly sought-after specialist skills training. As part of the PRIDA programme this year, we trained over 140 women in Africa on spectrum management issues.
Innovation-centric action
The Age of Affordable devices and connectivity demands innovation on a substantial scale. We need an innovation focus to accomplish what we want, and we want it to kickstart and pump-prime everything else.
We have been focussing directly on innovation as a key initiative. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development, which I launched in January this year seeks to bring critical local enablers to this challenge. In an Age of Affordable Connectivity, we must seek local engagement and local empowerment in all we want to do.
Alongside this, we have instituted a Network of Innovation Centers this year to synergistically exploit knowledge and innovation transfer.
Partnerships and policy interventions
Now, partnerships. I have already mentioned some ideas, but the Age of Affordable Devices represents a big endeavour. It means calling on very big and very new partnership ideas to move us forward.
In BDT, we focus on platforms and network ideas for fast responsive engagement.
Here are some examples:
The ITU's Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, in short P2C, is a multistakeholder alliance launched to foster meaningful connectivity and digitally transformation globally, with a focus on hard-to-connect communities. About 260 of the pledges collected so far, valued at USD 12.42 billion, benefit African countries.
We recently launched even more partnerships including the Digital Regulation Network, and the Network of Acceleration Centers as I have mentioned. These are designed to promote fast and effective knowledge flows in policy and innovation, respectively. We need both.
We can go further, much further. We need to design entirely new partnerships in this Age of Affordable Devices.
We are now in an age of collaborative digital regulation that will determine the trajectory of our entire industry for decades to come. Policy interventions can shape the age of affordable devices and make it strongly positive.
This collaboration will be extremely extensive. Our partnerships therefore must include actors from the financial regulatory sector and other sectors.
At the Global Symposium for Regulators, our benchmark meeting for industry regulators, we have been doing just that—including regulators from other sectors.
For example, if we bring them to the table, dialogues with financial regulators could influence easing or removal of high taxation policies, or import tariffs. But we have to demonstrate that there will be genuine widespread societal benefits that help offset lower taxation revenues.
This brings me to policy interventions. We have an extensive opportunity now to analyse and exploit policy action including regulatory incentives especially if we exploit collaborative regulation ideas.
Many of these ideas are emergent and have been extensively discussed in our policy forums such as the Global Symposium for Regulators.
It is important for governments to adopt a sound tax policy strategy to foster digital economy including tax incentives or tax deductibility for new investments in infrastructure, tangible and intangible assets such as ICT equipment and remove sector specific taxes on digital services, devices and equipment, but we need to move beyond ideas of simple tax and subsidy actions into refined and shaped ideas targeting specific outcomes that have impact.
Sustainability and green development is bringing many new and important policy ideas to the table in terms of encouraging digital circular economies.
We can borrow and adapt ideas in our extensive network. In the bigger picture, regulators have developed extensive experience in Universal Service Funding to enable connectivity rollout and funded through telecom operators. We could potentially see these ideas transmitted throughout our affordable device value chain.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Great ideas demand great responses. My message today is: affordable connectivity is a priority for us, and should be for you. Affordable connectivity and affordable devices could be game-changing if we engage these ideas and we think on a very large scale.
Let's be creative and look towards the big picture—and the big future. We must look to collaborative and synergistic endeavours. We can solve this challenge.
Millions depend on our doing so.
Thank you!
