Industry advocates and policy makers alike have long held that broadband connectivity can boost economic growth and increase access to services like education and health. With the release of four country case studies, the effort has more evidence to back it up.
The Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a joint effort between UNESCO and the International Telecommunications Union, recently released four studies focused on Macedonia, Romania, Panama and the Philippines at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum being held in Geneva.
Commenting after the release, ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré said that everyone should have access to the broadband’s benefits.
“This is not just about delivering connectivity for connectivity’s sake, or even about giving people access to the undoubted benefits of social communications,” Touré said. “It is about leveraging the power of broadband technologies, and especially mobile technologies, to make the world a better place.”
The commission highlighted Macedonia and Romania as two countries that took steps to adopt pro-information and communication technology policies, establish effective regulatory frameworks and develop strategic private and public partnerships. The result was increased broadband access, affordability and demand.
Macedonia has a broadband penetration rate of 32%. School Internet access and Wi-Fi-based public Internet access points have been rolled out throughout the country, including in remote areas. In Romania, which is among the top countries for broadband speed, the average cost of a baseline monthly broadband subscription is less than 5% of resident’s average monthly income.
The Central American country of Panama and the East Asian Philippines were cited as examples of broadband’s economic effect. In Panama, for instance, an analysis for the period of 2000-2010 revealed that fixed broadband contributes an annual .44% of GDP, with the indirect effects of fixed broadband use estimated to have contributed almost 9.6% of total national economic growth.
