1- Universal access to broadband

Anyone anywhere has access to broadband.

Telecommunications of the 21st century are based on broadband networks and services, the only ones that can foster the economy, develop entrepreneurship, create jobs, improve quality of living, and stimulate innovation. As director of BDT, my action will focus on the support and guide to states or communities to help them develop and implement realistic and appropriate broadband policies and regulations. In that way, the development of an effective broadband ecosystem will, among other things, improve subscription to broadband in the world which is today account for only 15.8 and 77.3 per 100 inhabitants for fixed and mobile broadband respectively (ITU, 2021). My vision as director of BDT is to connect 1/5 of the 3.7 million people worldwide who still don’t have access to broadband.

In the relatively recent past, the world witnessed shutdowns due to the Covi19 pandemic has highlighted the need for broadband to continue economic and social activities. Whether in standard times or even in possible future shocks, broadband will continue to be an important catalyst and a resilience tool for development. Our engagement in the years to come is to make broadband available to everyone worldwide as the critical lever for the development of the modern society.

2- Innovation, partnership and investments in the telecoms sector

BDT to Support innovation and strengthen investment through intelligible partnerships

One of the essential credos of the BDT will be to provide multifaceted support to the innovation and research in the ICT sector. For this purpose, the Bureau will take appropriate measures to monitor and support technological innovation. Innovation is the root of growth, job creation and opportunities enablement. Thanks to innovation, new systems and applications have been created in all human activities (education, health, agriculture, industry, administration, energy, governance, the Internet of Things). These new contributions will help build a better world than the one we live in! We will ensure that the Bureau (BDT), with the accompaniment of the partners, create a framework favorable to the development of national and community policies so that the ICTs support or even induce innovation. For that, a reinforced intelligence unit dedicated to innovation will be created within BDT. For North America, Europe and Asia, given the maturity of their environments (growth, long experience, broad markets), the Bureau will work to support partnerships between structures, such as the private sector and research.

Global flows of foreign direct investment have been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, they fell by one third to $1 trillion, well below the low point reached after the global financial crisis of 2008. Greenfield investments in industry and new infrastructure investment projects in developing countries were impacted especially hard.

In the IT sector, 1 billion 85 million foreign investments were expected in 2018 (UNICTAD, 2017); the contribution of mobile technologies and services is expected to reach 4,8% of the global GDP ($4.8 trillion) in 2023 as compared to 4,6% in 2018 (GSMAi, 2021). We will strengthen these trend forecasts by helping countries and communities to develop policies and regulations that promote investment. Depending on whether the government is established, creating or transitioning, the strategy to foster the local and foreign investment in the telecom/ICT sector will be different and appropriate. We will discuss with the private sector to put a permanent framework for exchange and action to foster innovative and efficient investments in coordination with the two ITU bureaus in charge of standardization and radio-communication.

3- Management, quality assurance, governance

A BDT that promotes quality assurance, leadership, and governance.

The performance in the management of BDT will be one of the important pillars of my action. We will establish quality KPIs with intelligently chosen metrics to track the performance of BDT officials, whether at the ITU headquarters in Geneva or in its 15 regional and sub-regional offices. Each office will be given a discussed roadmap; the objective is for the Bureau to help ensure that all staff contribute efficiently to the realization of our vision.

In the first year of my term, we will gradually launch action of setting and implementing within our offices a quality assurance system based on international standards to verify and validate that the office meets quality requirements at large. The ultimate goal is for the bureau to facilitate the execution of procedures and the continuous improvement of performances, accountability, and governance.

We will maintain and strengthen cooperation initiated by the Bureau with traditional project partners (countries, aid agencies, study and research centers, operators, and so on), and operate necessary reorientations in the way projects that already have been deployed. First, we will initiate the monitoring and assessment of projects that have already been implemented to draw on lessons learned to ensure that future projects are implemented in the best possible way that really facilitate digital inclusion. For that, we will work on good project selection, management in line with modern standards, and governance requirements.

4- Consumers’ Protection

A BDT that considers consumers protection as a major matter and act accordantly.

In the face of the increasingly complex telecommunications services characterized by broadband networks, smartphones, OTT, and social networks, and because of the imperfect information, consumers run the risk of being victims of all kinds of abuses, particularly by operators. In some cases, consumers are also victims of weak or non-existent laws or regulations that should protect them. The consequences of those abuses are among others: poor quality of service and businesses, violation of freedom, and negative impact on their social well-being. Our strategy and action on the matter will be to focus, anywhere in the world, on the empowerment of consumers, by tacking regulators’ performances, and ensuring their monitoring of operators’ activities.

Following this, we will ensure that consumers are empowered and that they are really involved in telecommunication issues. To do so, we will act by using awareness-raising, capacity buildings, and making involve governments, regulators, operators, consumers’ associations and media.

5- Sustainability in the telecommunications sector Industry

A BDT that contributes to the ecological transition in the ICT sector

The BDT will contribute to the unique role ITU plays in the acceleration of the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030).

We will make sure that this ambition is also achieved through the implementation of projects that foster technological innovation (Goal 9) and that the opportunities of digital technologies and broadband are further conducive to people’s well-being (Goal 3). In that way, by ensuring the regulation agencies work on tariffs, universal access and infrastructure sharing regulations, the ITU contribute to the reduction of inequalities in the world (Goal 10).

In terms of ecological transition by the telecom/ICT sector, there is an 8% annual increase in energy consumption due to digital technology and a 12% annual increase in the use of rare metals such as tantalum or coltan. This is responsible for an estimated 24% of the sector’s carbon footprint (GISW, 2010). By contributing to finding innovative solutions (deep transformation of energy systems, use of green energy, reduction of the energy consumption of ICT equipment, etc.), the ITU would contribute to the decarbonization of the telecom industry and promote then a sustainable society (Goal 16).

The BDT’s ultimate role will be to contribute reaching the energy efficiency by the means of the innovations in energy systems in the IT sect or so that the technology landscape of energy is transformed by new tools, added to appropriate policies, regulations capable of delivering clean and secure energy systems.