ITU Connect Humanity Report estimates that at least $428B is needed to meaningfully connect 90% of the world population by 2030. Subsequent ITU findings suggest that a 10 per cent increase in broadband boosts per capita GDP by 2 per cent or better.

The costs of financing connectivity are not only related to ICT connectivity infrastructure, but also to devices and demand side costs such as: skills development, awareness raising, and production and deployment of relevant content. Additional key challenges include ensuring affordability and sustainability of connectivity, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Development States (SIDs).

Financing connectivity is recognized as a key priority in the United Nations Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. It is also critical to achieving the goals outlined in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, in particular SDG 10: “reduce inequality within and among countries”. How can governments be convinced to prioritize investment in connectivity when there are other urgent calls to the public purse? New models and innovative financing approaches which leverage both public and private funding are needed.

• The lack of digital access has intensified the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, hitting particularly hard already poor, excluded and vulnerable communities. As trillions of dollars are being poured into global recovery efforts, there is a need to direct these resources towards expanding digital access worldwide.
• Blended finance vehicles can help provide appropriate incentives for public funders and private investors to support connectivity, including in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs.
• Digital applications, if properly financed, can leapfrog other infrastructure development projects such as road construction.
• Innovative mechanisms like blockchain, can empower any participant, and all the stakeholders to be more vested in connectivity projects with specific rights and clear accountability.
• Connectivity creates a marketplace where the network and the infrastructure could be open sourced. According to one of the panelists, this could lower that estimated $428 billion costs by about 25%. Digital bonds and tokenized infrastructure could support inclusive financing mechanisms for local communities, while licence fees could be waived for the newly connected.
• Investing in ICT infrastructure is also about investing in the potential Social Impacts that can be achieved within communities by connecting the unconnected.
• There is a need for a fundamental mindset shift in the way financing connectivity is addressed. There are great opportunities to be tapped onto to avoid widening the gap and the exclusion of digital connectivity.
• Young people need to be seen not only as consumers of connectivity, but also as investors or co-partners in determining possible avenues to finance connectivity.
• The global community needs to find a way to gather all different opportunities and create a universal platform and a universal ownership approach. Financing connectivity needs to become a global movement. Failure to do this might be a detrimental impact on the portfolio of all financial investors as well as for the SDGs.