Broadband Commission to recommend ‘broadband inclusion for all’ to UN

The international Broadband Commission is preparing to file a report with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 19 that will issue a declaration on “broadband inclusion for all.” The report of the Broadband Commission—a joint project of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—will land on the secretary general’s desk one day before a three-day world leaders’ summit in New York on the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “We will be coming forward with a declaration on broadband inclusion for all. We’ll be making a number of recommendations and proposing certain actions for follow up,” Doreen Bogdan, chief of strategic planning and membership at the ITU, said in an interview from Geneva, Switzerland. Recommendations will be directed at world leaders to promote the social and economic benefits of broadband, she said. The three-day MDG summit takes place Sept. 20-22 and will coincide with the start of a UN General Assembly session. Michael Gurstein, an expert in information and communications technologies development and director of the Center for Community Informatics Research, Training and Development in Vancouver, said in an interview that he expects the Broadband Commission to push the UN to adopt recommendations. He said Bogdan’s language could mean a resolution will be put to the UN stating the need for broadband access for all—or perhaps even declaring it as a right. Declaring broadband a right it would “create a big bang with relatively little effort”—but could be seen as controversial by some states, he said. “It opens up a can of worms in terms of obligations,” Gurstein said, adding that it would be a "good can of worms" to help advance broadband access in countries "on the wrong side of the digital divide." Gurstein said countries like Canada would be concerned about the potential legal obligations surrounding broadband access. “Broadband as a right has a considerable edge to it. It becomes the basis for legislation, and then potentially for court action,” he said. Remote areas, like Canada’s North, could conceivably launch class-action lawsuits on issues of broadband discrimination. Bogdan did not say what recommendations will be in the report, but alluded to national broadband plans in the United States and Australia, as well as Finland and Spain’s policies on the legal right to broadband Internet at minimum speeds of 1 Mbps. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has drawn up a $15.5-billion US broadband plan that would connect all Americans to 4 Mbps broadband Internet over 10 years. The Australian government has developed a $43-billion AU plan to build a national fibre network. Canada does not have any representation on the Broadband Commission. The Wire Report asked Industry Canada spokesman Michel Cimpaye whether Canada is sending a delegation to New York for the release of the report, to which he simply replied, the “Government of Canada does not participate in the Broadband Commission.” Cimpaye added that Canada’s involvement in international discussions on broadband development happen through the ITU, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) “and at other international organizations that focus on Information and Communication Technologies for Development.” Bogdan said the report’s recommendations will target developing and developed countries, encouraging their leaders to think about their economies. “There is a lot happening in developing countries but there are some developed countries that have not gone forward with national broadband strategies. We think it’s important for all world leaders to pay attention to this,” she said. “We look at it from an economic perspective, and we look at economic and regulatory models that can encourage the rollout of broadband infrastructure.” Members of the broadband commission—whose co-chairs include Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Grupo Carso chair Carlos Slim Helú, considered the wealthiest man in the world—will be promoting the report following its release. “Our contribution will be input into the summit. Of course, we can’t predict what will be the outcome of the summit,” Bogdan said. “There are direct linkages between broadband and the MDGs. By investing in broadband, we believe the progress toward meeting the 2015 deadline would be accelerated.” Gurstein said he expects the report’s recommendations and principles to be put to the General Assembly for a vote during the session that begins this month. He said he does not expect the UN to vote on amending the MDGs, but to vote on broadband principles that will speed up progress toward the goals. Secretary General Ban is calling on world leaders for an acceleration of progress toward achieving the MDGs as they meet in New York this month. Bogdan said the commission membership reflects private sector involvement—which she called “absolutely key” to the process. She said that when ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré originally asked Kagame to be a senior member of the commission, the Rwandan president said he would only accept the position if he had a co-chair from the private sector. “The report and the recommendations very much highlight the essential role of the private sector and the importance of public-private partnerships,” Bogdan said. The commission has yet to determine what will it do after Sept. 19. sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Broadband Commission to recommend ‘broadband inclusion for all’ to UN

News | September 8, 2010

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