Urugwiro Village, President Kagame joined the Commission to mark 15 years of change
More than two-thirds of the world’s population—an estimated 5.5 billion people—are now connected to the Internet.
This milestone, reached at the close of 2024, represents one of the most significant transformations of the 21st century.
It is the result of 15 years of global advocacy, policy reform, and public-private collaboration led by the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development—an initiative co-chaired since inception by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
A new report released this week, titled “State of Broadband – Advocacy Targets 2025,” documents the scale of progress achieved since the Commission was launched in 2010.
At that time, just over 30 percent of the global population had Internet access. Today, 68 percent are online, including 280 million new users added in 2024 alone.
The report attributes this growth to a mix of ambitious national policies, expanded digital infrastructure, and declining costs for mobile broadband in many parts of the world.
A Continental Voice in Global Connectivity
President Kagame, who this Sunday joined fellow Commissioners in a virtual session to mark the Commission’s 15th anniversary on Sunday, reflected on the journey and the work still ahead.
Alongside Mexican businessman Carlos Slim and ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Kagame has provided strategic leadership in pushing digital connectivity to the top of national and international development agendas.
What the Report Reveals
The 2025 report outlines how mobile broadband has become increasingly affordable across the world, with entry-level services now costing less than 2 percent of monthly income in most regions.
However, Africa remains an exception, where both mobile and fixed broadband costs continue to strain household budgets.
Even where mobile coverage exists, the cost of smartphones and digital devices remains a key barrier, with some users in low-income countries needing to save several months’ wages to afford a basic handset.
On policy, the report notes that 167 countries have adopted national broadband or digital strategies, a major increase from the fewer than 100 that had such frameworks in 2010.
Many of these plans have evolved into comprehensive digital agendas that also address artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and e-government.
Progress has also been made in addressing gender gaps in digital access. Between 2019 and 2024, the gender parity index for Internet use improved from 0.90 to 0.94.
While this marks a significant shift, the report emphasizes that women and girls in rural and conflict-affected areas still face major obstacles to online participation.
Other vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, continue to lag behind, even in high-income countries.
Kagame’s Influence at Home and Abroad
Under Kagame’s leadership, Rwanda has become a model for digital development in Africa. The country has achieved 96 percent 4G coverage of its populated territory, largely through innovative public-private partnerships.
The government’s Irembo platform has digitized access to over 100 public services, and digital skills training is being introduced at all levels of education.
These domestic reforms have had international resonance. Rwanda has consistently used the Commission platform to share its experiences, influence policy direction, and encourage other African nations to align their digital development plans with global standards.
The result is a growing recognition that broadband is not a luxury, but a basic utility—essential for inclusive growth, job creation, and state effectiveness.
The Next Frontier
Looking ahead, the Broadband Commission has set its sights on a more ambitious goal: achieving universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030. This next phase goes beyond simply bringing people online.
It calls for reliable, safe, and inclusive digital access—ensuring that users not only connect but can also benefit from digital public infrastructure, digital literacy, and secure online environments.
According to ITU Secretary-General Bogdan-Martin, reaching this target will require deeper investment in fibre-optic and 5G networks, reform of spectrum and infrastructure regulations, and strategic partnerships with the private sector.
The report warns that the risk of leaving entire communities behind is still high unless these challenges are tackled urgently and collectively.
From Vision to Reality
The Broadband Commission stands out as a rare example of multilateralism that delivers tangible results.
What began as a strategic initiative in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has grown into a platform capable of reshaping global development priorities. In this journey, President Kagame’s consistent leadership has anchored Africa’s voice in a conversation often dominated by large economies and tech giants.
However, 2.6 billion people remain without access to the Internet, and this digital exclusion is heavily concentrated in rural, low-income, and marginalized communities, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and parts of Latin America.
The barriers go far beyond infrastructure alone. In many of these regions, even when network coverage exists, households struggle to afford basic smartphones, monthly data plans, or electricity to charge devices.
For some families, the cost of entry-level connectivity exceeds what they spend on food or healthcare each month.
The divide is further compounded by limited digital literacy, a lack of localized content in native languages, and in some cases, restrictive social norms—especially for women and girls.
In least developed countries (LDCs), only 35 percent of the population is online, far below the global average of 68 percent.
The report warns that unless targeted interventions are urgently scaled up, these communities risk falling further behind in education, healthcare access, employment opportunities, and civic participation—all of which increasingly depend on meaningful digital inclusion.
