Even as Nigeria struggles with its broadband penetration goals, particularly in meeting its 70 per cent target set in the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025), it is not alone in its challenges.
Concerns around access and affordability extend far beyond its borders, troubling even the world’s top ICT bodies. The United Nations (UN) agency for information and communications technology – the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are deeply worried.
The two organisations jointly established the Broadband Commission in July 2010 with a clear mandate: to ensure global broadband connectivity as a core component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But when the Commission convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 6, 2025, to mark its 15th anniversary and evaluate progress, the conclusions were sobering. UNESCO’s assistant director-general, Tawfik Jelassi said: “In this landmark year for the Broadband Commission, it is heartening that 95 percent of humanity is within reach of broadband. However, the real challenge is ensuring that everyone can afford access, express themselves and use information in a meaningful way.”
Jelassi added that UNESCO, alongside its partners, is striving to dismantle barriers – particularly those involving skills development and local language content – to ensure that connectivity becomes a sustainable development reality for all. His remarks underline a pressing reality: while 95 percent of the global population may technically have broadband access, access alone is insufficient if affordability and digital literacy are not addressed. Are the ITU and UNESCO in a dilemma? The Geneva meeting certainly raised that question.
Carlos M. Jarque, speaking on behalf of Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helú, co-chair of the commission, said: “The Broadband Commission’s work over 15 years has helped change global connectivity and digital development. Since 2010, the number of Internet users has grown by the billions. To expand on this progress, we need to encourage forward-looking regulatory frameworks, strong investment, digital transformation in businesses and public institutions and digital skills among the population.”
Despite this progress, some 2.6 billion people around the world remain offline. The commission’s initiatives continue to serve as a key policy and programmatic compass for national and international actions aimed at achieving universal broadband access. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who co-chairs the commission, noted: “Fifteen years ago, we began with the simple conviction that broadband must reach everyone, everywhere, because it is an essential driver of sustainable development. Today, broadband powers economies, expands access to knowledge in rural as well as urban areas, and brings communities closer together across continents.”
This year’s meeting in Geneva also coincided with two other major events in the global ICT calendar: the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High-Level Event 2025 and the AI for Good Global Summit 2025. Both events took place in the Swiss city and further reinforced the urgency of addressing digital inclusion. Since its creation in 2010 by the ITU and UNESCO, and under the co-chairmanship of Kagame and Slim Helú, the Broadband Commission has transformed from a high-level think tank into a powerful force in elevating broadband to the centre of global policy discourse. Commissioners – including world leaders, CEOs and heads of international organisations – have consistently framed broadband as essential to economic growth and sustainable development.
Once considered a technical infrastructure issue, broadband has become a central pillar in determining a nation’s competitiveness and delivering essential services that benefit economies, governments, and societies. ITU Secretary-General and co-vice chair of the commission, Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasised: “Since our first gathering in 2010, this commission has put broadband at the front and centre of every global development conversation and consistently championed connectivity by setting ambitious targets for access, use, affordability, skills and policy. This work has been transformative for expanding digital connectivity, and is a valuable precedent for future collaborative, multistakeholder work to connect the unconnected.”
As part of the anniversary activities, the commission reviewed the results of the ‘Data Governance Toolkit: Navigating Data in the Digital Age’. The toolkit offers actionable guidance for policymakers grappling with data regulation, cross-border flows, and the ethical use of data in an era increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. The report of the commission’s Working Group on Data Governance was formally released on July 8 during the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025. The publication is expected to offer new directions for policymakers seeking a balance between innovation and data protection.
The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development was founded with the explicit aim of placing broadband on the international development agenda and ensuring its expansion in every country. With a vision of accelerating progress toward national and global development targets, the commission is co-chaired by Kagame and Carlos Slim Helú and jointly led by ITU’s Bogdan-Martin and UNESCO director-general, Audrey Azoulay. Its over 50 commissioners are from diverse backgrounds, including CEOs, policymakers, international agency heads, academia and civil society.
The urgency of the commission’s work is underscored by data from ITU’s Facts and Figures 2024, released on November 27, 2024. According to the report, an estimated 5.5 billion people were online in 2024 – an increase of 227 million compared to revised figures for 2023. This surge indicates progress but also highlights the deep and persistent disparities in access. Bogdan-Martin noted: “While an estimated 68 per cent of the global population is now online and all indicators tracked in the report show improvement, stubborn digital divides persist and about one-third of the world’s people remain offline. Facts and Figures 2024 is a tale of two digital realities between high-income and low-income countries. Stark gaps in critical connectivity indicators are cutting off the most vulnerable people from online access to information, education and employment opportunities.”
The statistics are telling. In high-income countries, about 93 per cent of the population is estimated to be using the internet in 2024. In contrast, only 27 percent of people in low-income countries are online. Among the least developed countries (LDCs), the figure is 35 percent. For landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), just 39 percent of the population is connected. An estimated 2.6 billion people were still offline in 2024, representing 32 per cent of the global population. While this is a reduction from 2.8 billion in 2023, it remains a glaring gap.
Director of ITU’s telecommunication development bureau, Cosmas Zavazava remarked: “The world is inching towards universal access at a time that it should be sprinting. While we continue to make progress on connectivity, our advances mask significant gaps in the world’s most vulnerable communities, where digital exclusion makes life even more challenging. We must intensify our efforts to remove the barriers that keep people offline and close the usage gap and renew our commitment to achieving universal and meaningful connectivity, so that everyone can access the Internet.”
In this context, the Broadband Commission’s continued work remains as vital as ever. As the world grows increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure, the divide between the connected and the unconnected risks becoming the new face of inequality. The commission’s call to action is clear: broadband access must be universal, affordable, and empowering – not just a technological achievement, but a human right.
