International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has disclosed that fresh $9 billion has been committed to further bridge the global connectivity gaps.
ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who made the announcement, said the over $9 billion in investment were commitments from mobile operator groups to extend global connectivity.
The announcement was made, yesterday, at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The UN Digital Agency also announced that additional 1,000 industry, academia and organisational members to its 193 member states. Nigeria is a strong member of ITU.
According to the body, this milestone marks the largest, most diverse membership in the agency’s history.
The new industry commitments raise to over $46 billion the total current value of planned investment in infrastructure, services and support to ITU’s Partner2Connect Digital Coalition since the platform opened in March 2022.
“Universal meaningful connectivity is within our grasp,” said Bogdan-Martin, adding: “Thanks to these new commitments, millions of people will benefit from accessible and affordable connectivity across the world.”
The commitments announced at Mobile World Congress include: e&, which committed $6 billion between 2024 and 2026 for accessible and affordable network connectivity and digital services across countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
China Telecom is committing $1.4 billion to rollout fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), providing high-quality information and communication services to over 80 million people in remote administrative villages across China.
Ooredoo will donate $1.1 billion for connectivity in the developing markets ranging from North Africa to the Indian Ocean and VEON, $600 million in building the infrastructure of Ukraine, providing connectivity and digital services essential to the reconstruction of the country.
Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA, John Giusti, said: “I applaud the ITU Secretary-General’s focus on the importance of infrastructure investment to enable the digital economy.”
