We highlight some of the key findings in 2019 State of Broadband Report, published by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, and share some thoughts on the state of broadband in the Caribbean region.
This past September, the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development published its latest State of Broadband Report, through which the organisation provides an update on the extent to which countries worldwide have access to broadband Internet services, and the degree to which they are leveraging that connectivity. Over the last few years, the targets set by the Commission have been adjusted in order to be better aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, to which all countries aspire.
In this article, we will highlight the seven targets set by the Broadband Commission, along with its most recent findings for each of the targets, Thereafter, we will share some thoughts on how the Caribbean region has been performing with respect to each of the targets.
Advocacy Target 1 Making broadband policy universal: By 2025, all countries should have a funded National Broadband Plan or strategy or include broadband in their Universal Access and Service (UAS) Definition.
According to the report, some progress has been made by countries in the establishment of broadband policieså, but only incrementally. The total number of countries with some semblance of a national broadband plan increased from 159 countries in 2018, to 164 in 2019. However, the Commission noted that some of those plans might be dated, and/or are not being effectively implemented.
In the Caribbean region, although some countries have national ICT plans, they were prepared before the Internet became the force it currently it. Accordingly, they may not have specified broadband universality, or including broadband in the country’s UAS definition. On the other hand, there are countries in the region that still have not yet adopted either a national broadband (or a national ICT) plan.
Although there is still time before 2025, the process to formulate a suitable policy will take some time, especially in order to ensure comprehensive consultation and wide stakeholder participation. More importantly, and in order for the policy to be implementable, it may need to be underpinned by legislation, which in turn, can be a protracted process. Hence, 2025 might not be that far away.
Advocacy Target 2 Making broadband affordable: By 2025, entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries at less than 2% of monthly gross national income (GNI) per capita
Recently, the Commission lowered its previous affordability threshold target, from less than 5% to less than 2% of monthly gross national income per capita. The report thus notes that although affordability has improved significantly since the initial target in 2011, costs remain high in many countries.
Relative to the 2% of monthly income, that threshold is still a challenge in the Caribbean, as highlighted in our Snapshot: 2019 update on the affordability of Internet service in the Caribbean. In that article, which focussed on fixed broadband Internet connectivity, and the rate payable for the slowest Internet plans in each country, only three of the 20 countries examined met the 2% or less of the monthly gross income threshold.
Advocacy Target 3 Getting people online: By 2025, Broadband-Internet user penetration should reach: a) 75% worldwide b) 65% in developing countries c) 35% in Least Developed Countries
According to the 2019 report, and across the three metrics, the performance for this metric is well below the targets set. Current estimates for internet users is 3.9 billion people, or 51% of the total population, which is considerably below the 75% target. Internet user penetration was estimated at 45% in developing countries, well below the 65% target, and in LDCs, internet adoption was estimated at 20%, again below the 35% target.
Broadband Internet use does not appear to be actively tracked in the Caribbean region. More authoritative data tends to be available with respect to subscription penetration. However, using the latter metric, and the results reported in our latest Snapshot: update on the state of telecoms in the Caribbean in 2018, the Caribbean – as a region – is still well under the target set for developing countries, with only seven countries achieving the target.
For fixed broadband, and averaged across the 13 countries for which data was available in 2018, the subscription penetration was around 15.5 subscriptions per 100 of inhabitants. On the other hand, mobile broadband subscription penetration was nearly 50 subscriptions per 100 of inhabitants, when averaged across the 24 countries examined.
Advocacy Target 4 Digital skills and literacy: By 2025, 60% of youth and adults should have achieved at least a minimum level of proficiency in sustainable digital skills
Much of the data presented by the Commission came from surveys conducted by the GSM Association, which approximated ICT proficiency based on the extent to which users could complete specific skills. As expected, developing countries performed the highest with respect to possessing basic, standard and advanced skills, but it was acknowledged that a more rigorous framework is needed through which to monitor and assess digital literacy.
In the Caribbean region, and outside of the Computer Science and Information Technology classes that are being offered at some high schools, it is likely that much of the populace would not be able perform at least one of the four basic computer-based skills, as outlined in the report:
- copying or moving a file or folder,
- using copy and paste tools to duplicate or move information within a document,
- sending e‑mails with attached files, and
- transferring files between a computer and other device.
It is also important to highlight that with most people in the region securing digital access through their mobile/cellular devices – and not a computer – the opportunity to learn those skills, although important, might not be readily available. Hence, it could be argued that having Internet access via a smartphone does not automatically mean that individuals will develop the broad range of skills needed in order to be considered digitally literate.
Advocacy Target 5 Digital financial services: By 2025, 40% of the world’s population should be using digital financial services
The report highlights, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex database, the number of people worldwide who have utilized digital financial systems in the previous 12 months increased from 42% to 52% in 2017. It also notes that around two billion adults worldwide are still without access to a bank account, but some 1.6 billion in that group have access to a mobile/cellular phone. Hence, there is an opportunity to leverage the widespread use of mobile/cellular phones as platforms for financial inclusion.
In the Caribbean region, there is still a quite a large segment of the population who are unbanked, or underbanked. However, mobile money and other digital payment platforms have been gaining traction over the last few years, especially in countries that had been devastated by storms and hurricanes, and are trying to regain some semblance of normalcy during the long recovery period.
Advocacy Target 6 Getting businesses online: By 2025, improve connectedness of Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) by 50%, by sector
There were no clear metrics for this target, which admittedly, are likely to vary by sector or industry. However, the Commission acknowledged the importance of MSMEs to be online, in order to “improves their competitiveness in expanding digital economies, where online business transactions are increasingly the norm”.
In the Caribbean region, relatively few MSMEs are conducting business online. However, it must be highlighted that digital/online payment facilities are still a challenge. Invariably they still tend to be too expensive and require resources that the typical Caribbean MSME might not readily possess, or can sustainably access.
Advocacy Target 7 Achieving gender equality in access to broadband by 2025: By 2025, gender equality should be achieved across all targets.
Finally, the Commission noted that in all areas of broadband accessibility and use, women and girls are left behind. It also shared some results from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on the gap in Internet use and Internet subscription penetration between the genders. Interestingly, the Americas is the only region globally where Internet use and subscription penetration by females exceeds that of males.
Once again, we do not appear to readily possess comprehensive data for this metric in the Caribbean region. However, the gap in broadband access between the genders is likely to be relatively slim. Having said this, and although gender equality in relation to broadband access is a laudable goal, it may also be instructive to also examine it through the lens of girls in ICT; that is the extent to which females in the region are opting to work in the ICT/tech-related fields.
Image credit: Pete Linforth (Pixabay)
