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First ITU/UN ESCAP Interactive Terrestrial Transmission
Information Superhighway maps to help bridge digital divide
Powerful digital tool to take stock of ICT metrics
Bangkok, 18 November 2013 – Ground-breaking new maps of the
Global Information Superhighway, which will help bridge the digital divide in
Asia-Pacific, were today jointly released by the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU).
For the first time ever, the ITU Interactive Terrestrial Transmission/ESCAP
Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Maps will show policy makers and investors
where the missing links in terrestrial transmission are across the region,
assisting ESCAP in its efforts to bring affordable information and communication
technology (ICT) and broadband connectivity for all.
Only 7 per cent of people in the Asia-Pacific region have fixed broadband
access and it is the most digitally divided region in the world, with Republic
of Korea at 37.56% fixed broadband penetration, compared to Myanmar with only
0.01%.
“We have seen significant progress in the area of broadband connectivity with
the landing of submarine cables in many countries, along with the expansion of
national and cross-border fibre backbone networks, as well as mobile and
wireless services,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré. “The ITU
Interactive Terrestrial Transmission/ESCAP Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway
maps will demonstrate the current status of ICT connectivity around the globe,
empower network planners policy-makers and regulators from developing countries,
while also industry with a powerful tool to assess market opportunities.”
In addressing today’s Connect Asia-Pacific Summit in Bangkok, Dr Noeleen
Heyzer, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP
said the Information Superhighway mapping will play an important role in
addressing this digital divide.
“In Asia and the Pacific, what we call the ‘digital divide’ is in fact an
income divide, a gender divide, an education divide and a knowledge divide,” Dr
Heyzer explained.
“Rising inequality – both income and non-income – poses one of the greatest
challenges in Asia-Pacific and technological progress has often widened these
gaps, separating those with education and knowledge from those without.
“Together we must bridge the ICT divide by building a seamless information
and communication space in the region through the Asia-Pacific Information
Superhighway. Our efforts must be global in ambition, regional in scope, and
local in execution.”
“These new online interactive maps, developed with the assistance of ESCAP
and the United Nations Cartographic Section, will serve as a powerful tool to
facilitate the development of broadband connectivity worldwide,” said ITU
Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré. “These authoritative, cutting-edge ICT
data-mapping platforms will take stock of national fibre and microwave backbone
connectivity, as well as other key metrics of the ICT sector.”
Dr Heyzer stressed the importance of public-private people partnerships,
saying the full potential of ICTs will only be realized if transformative
technologies are accompanied by shared values, shared commitment, and shared
solidarity for inclusive and sustainable development.
The need to synchronize the deployment of fibre-optic cables with the
construction or maintenance of railways and roads was also highlighted at
today’s launch, as up to 90% of the costs of laying out fibre are associated
with civil-engineering work that is regularly performed when roads or railways
are constructed.
The ITU Interactive Terrestrial Transmission/ESCAP Asia-Pacific Information
Superhighway maps will feature the region’s main transport networks – the
Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railways –as it is critical that fibre-optic
cables can be laid in coordination with the construction of railways and roads
to ensure appropriate cost savings.
The ITU Interactive Terrestrial Transmission/ESCAP Asia Pacific Information
Superhighway Maps are available at
www.unescap.org/idd/maps/asia-pacific-superhighway/
For more
information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Francyne Harrigan
Chief, Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section, ESCAP
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About ITU...
About ESCAP
Headquartered in Bangkok, UNESCAP is the largest of the UN's five Regional
Commissions in terms of its membership, population served and area covered. The
only inter-governmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, ESCAP
works to promote sustainable and inclusive economic and social progress. For
more information, please go to:
http://www.unescap.org or follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/UNESCAP, on our
Twitterfeed www.twitter.com/UNESCAP
or on YouTube at
www.youtube.com/unescap
.