By 2015, all countries should have a national broadband plan or strategy or include broadband in their Universal Access\/Service Definitions.<\/em><\/p>\n
- \n
- Target 2: Making broadband affordable<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By 2015, entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation and market forces (amounting to less than 5% of average monthly income).<\/em><\/p>\n
- \n
- Target 3: Connecting homes to broadband<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By 2015, 40% of households in developing countries should have Internet access.<\/em><\/p>\n
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- Target 4: getting people online<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By 2015, Internet user penetration should reach 60% worldwide, 50% in developing countries and 15% in LDCs.<\/em><\/p>\n
The Broadband Commission has since revisited its targets with a view to aligning them with the United Nations Development Agenda 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Earlier this year, the Commission launched itself as the\u00a0Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development<\/a>, and published a revised suite of targets, under the framework, Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development 2025 Targets: Connecting the Other Half<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n
The premise of this new framework is the fact that only half of the world\u2019s population will be connected to the Internet by 2019 (Source:\u00a0 Broadband Commission<\/a>). Hence, targets to achieve universal broadband Internet access by 2020 are near to impossible. So once again, the Broadband Commission has adopted an aggressive set of targets, with the aim of accelerating the effort needed to achieve universal broadband Internet access. However, instead of four targets, there are now seven:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Target 1<\/strong>: By 2025, all countries should have a funded national broadband plan or strategy, or include broadband in their universal access and services definition.<\/li>\n
- Target 2<\/strong>: By 2025, entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries, at less than 2% of monthly gross national income per capita.<\/li>\n
- Target 3<\/strong>: By 2025 broadband-Internet user penetration should reach:\n
- \n
- 75% worldwide<\/li>\n
- 65% in developing countries<\/li>\n
- 35% in least developed countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Target 4<\/strong>: \u00a0By 2025, 60% of youth and adults should have achieved at least a minimum level of proficiency in sustainable digital skills.<\/li>\n
- Target 5<\/strong>: By 2025, 40% of the world’s population should be using digital financial services.<\/li>\n
- Target 6<\/strong>: By 2025, un-connectedness of Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises should be reduced by 50%, by sector.<\/li>\n
- Target 7<\/strong>: By 2025, gender equality should be achieved across all targets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
How well does the Caribbean measure up against the new targets?<\/h2>\n
With regard to those newly introduced targets, it is not yet clear how Caribbean countries measure up against all of them. Currently, it is only for Target 1, Target 2 and Target 3 that some data has been collected on a fairly consistent basis, which may provide some preliminary guidance.<\/p>\n
With regard to Target 1, most Caribbean countries have a national broadband plan or strategy, as reflected in Table 1. However, in some instances, they are dated, such as in the case of Jamaica, where its National ICT Policy was adopted 2007. Further, although countries may have a plan or strategy, they may not be funded, and their universal access and services policy may also need to be updated to include broadband Internet in its definition.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Availability-of-Boardband-Internet-Policy-or-Plan-as-at-2018.png?resize=640%2C210&ssl=1\")
Table 1: Availability of broadband Internet policy or plan select Caribbean as at 2018 (Source: Broadband Commission)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
With regard to Target 2, some insight into the affordability of broadband Internet service across the Caribbean region is presented and discussed in our Snapshot articles on fixed broadband Internet affordability<\/a>. However, due the wide variation in broadband Internet plans available, comparison can be challenging, especially, when done across the Caribbean region.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Percentage-of-Individuals-using-the-Internet-as-at-2017.png?resize=420%2C523&ssl=1\")
Percentage of Individuals using the Internet ins select Caribbean countries, as at 2017 (Source: Broadband Commission)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
For all targets, but particularly Target 4, 5, 6 and 7, which are completely new, and at the earliest opportunity, Caribbean countries ought to establish systems to generate and collect the data needed in order to determine whether or not they have achieved all of the targets set. More importantly, they ought to be prepared to conduct regular reviews of their performance against the targets, and to introduce measures, as appropriate to narrow the gap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Image credit:\u00a0\u00a0icon0.com (Pexels<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- Target 4: getting people online<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Target 3: Connecting homes to broadband<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n