Bridging the digital gap: Why we should never give up on universal broadband connectivity

Over the past year or so, digital transformation accelerated at an unprecedented rate in societies around the world. Whether we were working, learning, or staying in touch with friends and family, being online became more critical than ever. Even as vast numbers of people were adapting to their new realities, it became increasingly apparent that equally large numbers of people were shut out from being able to do so. Given that the theme of this year’s Telecommunication & Information Society Day, which took place on 17 May, is "Accelerating Digital Transformation in challenging times," it’s worth examining how big that gap is and how it can be bridged.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, approximately 800-million people are not connected to the mobile internet. Of those, some 520-million can access the mobile internet but don’t, because of factors such as smartphone penetration and lack of skills while 270-million cannot access the mobile internet because they don’t have the requisite coverage. Across the region, 4G broadband coverage is at just 21 percent.