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30-679: A4AI was created with the goal of obtaining global broadband internet access priced at less than 5% of average per capita income globally; the target of the UN Broadband Commission . It cites the lack of investment in infrastructure, competition in the market, and inefficient taxation, amongst other policy and regulatory obstacles, as being major constraints to reducing prices. It claims the internet as being an essential source of information and services for all and advocates an open, competitive broadband and telecommunications market, regulated by an independent agency. Particular attention

60-882: A high-level meeting on the side of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and are specifically targeted at government policy-makers, as well as those engaged with setting the UN's Post 2015 development agenda. Each report includes a country ranking based on key indicators for Internet-user penetration and Internet access affordability. In addition to its annual reports, the Broadband Commission employs working groups to address specific action items or focus areas. Working groups examine such issues as Science, Health, Climate Change, Youth, Education, Gender and Finance and Investment; and reflect

90-805: A major priority for A4AI is that LDC governments adopt neoliberal policies as outlined in their guiding principles. Broadband Commission for Digital Development The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (until 2015: Digital Development) was established in May 2010 as a joint initiative by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote Internet access , in particular, broadband networks in order to help achieve United Nations development goals, such as

120-741: Is an international civil servant and current Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union . She was elected at the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, and as the first woman in the 157-year history of the ITU to become the Secretary-General. Previously, she was the first woman to become an Elected Official of the ITU, as the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of

150-733: Is certified in Accountability and Ethics by the United Nations Leaders Programme. Bogdan-Martin began her career as a Telecom specialist at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration , US Department of Commerce in 1989. In 1994, Bogdan-Martin joined the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Development Bureau as a Policy analyst. She was instrumental in

180-582: Is paid to internet freedom and the rights of online expression. It works closely with governments and local stakeholders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America on policy and regulatory reform through a combination of advocacy, research and knowledge-sharing activities. The initiative was officially launched on October 7, 2013, at the "Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Forum" in Abuja, Nigeria. The launch

210-841: Is the first woman to serve as the ITU Secretary-General. Bogdan-Martin an affiliate of the Harvard University Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society and a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Virtual Reality(VR) / Augmented Reality(AR). She is a Generation Unlimited Champion and a Champion of the EDISON Alliance led by the World Economic Forum. Other advisory bodies she serves on includes

240-573: The International Telecommunication Union Doreen Bogdan-Martin , and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay . Members of the commission include, policy-makers and government representatives, international agencies, academia and organizations concerned with development. In addition to its chairs and vice-chairs, 53 commissioners included Jeff Sachs , Hans Vestberg , Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka , and Henrietta Fore. Leaders in their field,

270-560: The Millennium Development Goals . The Commission was renamed the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, following the adoption of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015. The commission is jointly chaired by H.E. Paul Kagame President of Rwanda and America Movil owner Carlos Slim , and jointly vice-chaired by the heads to the two founding UN agencies, the Secretary-General of

300-569: The 2010 United Nations MDGs Summit in New York. The document constitutes a concise, high-level report that directly reflects inputs from the Commission's community of high-level business executives and policy-makers and contains a number of policy recommendations and "Declaration of Broadband Inclusion for All". In September 2015, the Broadband Commission released a report on cyber violence against women, which addressed online harassment targeted at women. As part of its advocacy work, in 2011

330-405: The Commission's stated goals is to advocate that broadband infrastructure be given the highest priority level in future development policy and city planning frameworks. To date, the Commission's output has included several major reports, including A 2010 Leadership Imperative: The Future Built on Broadband , presented to then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in September 2010, before

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360-608: The Commissioners believe strongly in a future based on broadband and offer rich insights and experience in how to deploy and use broadband networks and services to the benefit of communities and end-users. The Commission embraces a range of different perspectives in a multi-stakeholder approach to promoting the roll-out of broadband, as well as providing a fresh approach to UN and business engagement. The Broadband Commission engages in high-level advocacy to promote broadband in developing countries and underserved communities. One of

390-1209: The Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative, the SDG Lab Advisory Board, the UN Technology Innovation Labs, and the Alumni Expert Council of the Internet Governance Lab of American University in Washington D.C. Bogdan-Martin is a member of the Amateur Radio League, and the IEEE. She previously served as member of the Board of Governors of the UN Staff College, Chair of the United Nations Strategic Planning Group, and Member of

420-774: The Governing Committee of the Swiss Network for International Studies. Bogdan-Martin is married and has two daughters and two sons. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish. She is an active Amateur Radio operator holding callsign KD2JTX and, in 2014, arranged for school students in Switzerland to talk live with astronauts in orbit through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station . On 23 September 2021 Bogdan-Martin

450-849: The ITU (the Secretariat of ITU-D ). Born in Monmouth County, New Jersey , Bogdan-Martin graduated from American University with a Master's degree in International Communications Policy, and with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware . She holds a post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne , Switzerland, and

480-509: The LDCs. These, he argues, all rest on neoliberal assumptions, rather than allowing them to be tested alongside other ways of looking at things. Whilst these guidelines include an evidence-based approach, Gurstein argues that if all the research is carried out on neoliberal assumptions the results will be highly pre-determined by the input principles. He raises concern that this approach will allow for private companies to exploit making developments in

510-629: The Regulatory and Market Environment Division, managing programmes on regulatory reform , economics, and finance and advising governments on ICT reform and policy issues. In January 2008, Bogdan-Martin became Chief of the Strategic Planning and Membership department, the senior most position in the ITU's General Secretariat, and the first woman to ever occupy this position. She advised the ITU Secretary General and oversaw

540-717: The aim of strengthening collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world from 2020. Built around three pillars: (1) Resilient Connectivity, (2) Affordable Access, and (3) Safe Use for Informed and Educated Societies, the agenda serves as a framework for the Commission's 50+ Commissioners and their organizations to share their own initiatives, make new commitments, and foster collaboration and partnership. Donors include Grupo Carso , Digicel Group , Bharti Enterprises , Ericsson , and Cisco . Doreen Bogdan-Martin Doreen Bogdan-Martin (born 1966)

570-521: The commission established a framework of four "ambitious but achievable" targets that countries should strive to meet by 2015 in order to help achieve the MDGs through digital development. With the fifth target being added in 2013, designed to spur female access to the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs). In 2018, the commission launched a framework of now seven "ambitious but achievable" targets, that countries should strive to meet by

600-542: The commitment of the Broadband Commission to mobilize efforts to achieve the 'Global Goal of Universal Connectivity' in support of the UN Secretary-General 's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and other connectivity initiatives. Finally, it calls on all stakeholders to collaborate to: Since 2012 the Commission has published an annual State of Broadband report, positioned as a snapshot of the global broadband industry. The reports are issued every year during

630-770: The creation of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), the only global gathering for the world's ICT regulators; as well as the ICT Regulatory collection tool and portal (ICT-Eye). In 2003, she became head of the Regulatory Reform Unit, leading the Regulatory Reform Programme and co-authoring the annual "Trends in Telecommunication Reform" report from 2003 through 2007. In 2005, she became head of

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660-712: The digital divide, co-creator of the Giga school connectivity program with UNICEF, and creator of the Generation Connect initiative. As Director, she has focused on delivering new partnerships, global initiatives on connectivity, innovation, digital transformation and youth engagement. On 29 September 2022, Bogdan-Martin was elected as the 20th Secretary-General of the ITU at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania. She received 139 votes out of 172, defeating Russia's Rashid Ismailov. She

690-633: The group issued an Open Letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Panel of Eminent Persons, as well as a broadband manifesto in September at the 69th session of the General Assembly. The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development has adopted an "Agenda for Action" outlining immediate measures that governments, industry, the international community and civil society can take to shore-up digital networks, strengthen capacity at critical connectivity points like hospitals and transport hubs, and boost digital access and inclusivity, with

720-552: The more readily reliable markets of the urban environment, while extending such services to less viable rural markets will be left to inadequately funded public initiatives. He further points to the championing of the use of Universal Service Fund facilities (a structure promoted by the World Bank ), which often attract million or even billion dollar budgets but where control is retained by private service providers and which often do not match local needs. This leads to his claim that

750-646: The organisation's Membership, Corporate Communications and External Affairs. She served as Secretary to the ITU governing body, and as Coordinator of United Nations affairs for the organization, where she created the ITU liaison office to the UN in New York. Bogdan-Martin also served as the Executive Director of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development , Co-Founder of the EQUALS Global Partnership to bridge

780-677: The wide-ranging impact of broadband technologies across multiple sectors. Past outputs from working groups include reports, consultations and workshops. During the countdown to 2015 and the due date for the MDGs , the Commission's advocacy and policy outreach has increasingly been directed towards actors responsible for setting the Post-2015 Development Agenda , to recognize the importance of ICT/broadband infrastructure, networks, applications and services for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. In April 2013

810-629: The year 2025. The Broadband Commission targets were developed at ITU, and launched at the World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos . A Commission Manifesto issued in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary State of Broadband Report was published in 2020. It calls on the global community to recognize digital connectivity as the foundational element of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . The Manifesto affirms

840-442: The “1 for 2” target as the new standard for affordable internet. Michael Gurstein wrote a critical article about A4AI in which he raised concern that the organisation was more about encouraging Less Developed Countries (LDCs) to adopt neoliberal policies than actually getting "affordable access". Quoting their documentation, he says that they advocate a set of "guiding principles" for adoption as policy and regulatory practice by

870-652: Was awarded the American University 's Outstanding Technology Policy Changemaker Award for technology policy and creating a more just, equitable, and productive society. On 27 February, GSMA awarded Bogdan-Martin the 2023 Chairman's Award for "outstanding achievements of individuals or organisations from across the mobile industry" - specifically for creating the Partner2Connect initiative (a global leadership platform to facilitate partnerships aimed at expanding digital inclusion). On 28 March 2023 it

900-460: Was covered by many news sources. A4AI was briefly discussed in relation to Internet.org , a Facebook-led initiative for Internet accessibility, by David Talbot in an article for Technology Review . The A4AI has also coined the term "affordability threshold" in its "1 for 2 target". It considers the affordability threshold to be at 1GB of mobile broadband data priced at 2% or less of average monthly income. The UN Broadband Commission has adopted

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