Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have spread to practically all aspects of life. Only a decade ago, in some parts of the world, priority access to information and communication technologies was considered a luxury. Today it is widely recognized that investing in affordable, universal, and unconditional access to ICTs is essential to driving progress toward global priorities, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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It naturally follows that various assumptions, theories, hopes, and even frustrations are integral to the take-off of this 'digitalization' process. The various successes and failures of the transformative potential of ICTs have shown that the technologies themselves are neither positive nor negative nor necessarily neutral. Rather, new technologies are further evidence of the fact that political, civic, economic, and social empowerment are all building blocks, both for Global Goals and for transcendent visions and expectations of prosperity.
Information and communication technologies are advancing at an astonishing rate, but Internet access, especially via the World Wide Web, is perhaps the most important element for unlocking the potential of new technologies. The Sustainable Development Goals rightly acknowledge the vital role that information and communication technologies can play in achieving them. Target C, of SDG 9, in particular, calls for universal access to ICTs, especially in the least developed countries, by 2020—that is, months from now. Half of the world's population is expected to be online in 2019 (estimated initially for 2017). Of the approximately 3.9 billion people who remain offline, the overwhelming majority live in the Global South and 2 billion of them are women. Nine out of ten young people who are offline live in Africa or the Asia Pacific region.
At the current rate of progress towards Target C of SDG 9, only 16 percent of the world's poorest countries and 53 percent of the entire world will be connected to the Internet by 2020, according to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI). The coalition further notes that the impact of this delay in connectivity “will undermine global development across the board, contributing to missed opportunities for economic growth and preventing hundreds of millions of people from accessing online education, health services, political voice and much more.”
Mobile phones are widely considered the entry point into the digital economy, and "one of the most far-reaching technologies in history. ... while mobile communications are spreading rapidly, they are not spreading evenly", notes the International Mobile Network Association (GSMA). ), an association representing the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. Disparities in access to and use of mobile phones and the Internet trace urban, rural, gender, and geographic divides.
As an example, the GSMA notes that “in rural areas, the cost of building and operating mobile infrastructure can be twice as expensive as in urban areas, with revenues up to 10 times lower than in urban areas.” This would discourage telecom service providers from prioritizing these areas, which are often left behind on the infrastructure and other development avenues.
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