The African broadband agenda has got new targets in place to connect the continent.
Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele has concluded successful engagements at the 2018 United Nations’ Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development Spring Meeting and the Smart Africa Summit which were held on Kigali, Rwanda this week.
The Broadband Commission is seeking ways to connect the half of the world’s population who remain unconnected to the internet. Most of these people are in developing countries and on the continent.
Cwele is one of 52 global broadband commissioners that are drawn from leaders in government, business, academia, policy makers and international agencies.
The Broadband Commission Spring Meeting adopted seven targets to be met by 2025 towards connecting the people who remain offline:
* All countries should have a funded national broadband plan or strategy, or include broadband in their universal access and services definition.
* Entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries, at less than 2% of monthly gross national per capita income.
* Broadband/Internet user penetration should reach: 75% worldwide, 65% in developing countries, and 35% in least developed countries.
* 60% of youth and adults should have achieved at least a minimum level of proficiency in sustainable digital skills.
* 40% of the world’s population should be using digital financial services.
* Unconnectedness of SMEs should be reduced by 50%.
* Gender equality should be achieved across all targets.
“We welcome the new targets because they continue to encourage us to improve,” Cwele says. “There is still a huge rural and gender divide in developing countries. Partnerships such as the Internet For All are crucial to closing these gaps. We must measure our progress through statistics to determine how far we have come and how much further we need to be.”
The Smart Africa Summit aims to use ICT as a driver of socio-economic development and to promote accountability, efficiency and openness. It seeks to put in place policies and a regulatory environment that encourages partnerships, entrepreneurship, job creation and knowledge sharing.