Description:
The last 20 years has seen some measure of progress. The question remains how long it will take to connect the next billion, and when it will take the earth to fully include the remaining underserved communities. While many reports and studies note the benefit of connected communities to support development and meeting the UN SDGs; yet there remain significant gaps in national level governmental public policies, especially in regulatory and legislative frameworks that support last mile and rural connectivity. This is often compounded by inadequate core infrastructure such as rural power sources, tower infrastructure and back-haul, with a commercial operators’ focus on the more lucrative urban rather than rural connectivity. Internet access is not feasible without affordable, reliable and sustainable energy sources. Energy and digital connectivity are enabling mechanisms for diverse industries, education, health care, trade which impacts communities globally. Whilst there has been substantive discussion in the past on bridging the divide, the reality remains that there is no simple answer to the remaining challenges of connecting those who are not connected, or who are under connected – e.g limited access, lack of digital skills, lack of useful content, lack of affordable power sources. Silo approaches, by regulators and Ministries in healthcare, agriculture, education, finance and economic development, need to be removed, and new technologies and innovation encouraged. There needs to be a multi-faceted approach of changing how electricity can be more broadly distributed, how community networks can augment and co-exist with existing communications and Internet Service Providers, and building skills through partnerships with NGOs and others to help to bring the rest of world into the digital age, regardless of whether they are in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, MENA, SIDS or in indigenous communities tangible support to bridge the divide in the developing countries.
