TIDMVOD
Vodafone Group Plc
20 September 2021
20 September 2021
THE BROADBAND COMMISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
VODAFONE URGE ACTION TO CONNECT 3.4BN PEOPLE WITH SMARTPHONES BY
2030
-- First multi-stakeholder initiative to address global mobile
internet access gap has been launched by Vodafone Group and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as co-chairs via a
dedicated Working Group under the auspices of the ITU/UNESCO
Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development .
-- Of the 3.7 billion people not connected to the internet, 3.4
billion live within range of mobile networks but are currently not
accessing the internet, partly due to a lack of smartphone
ownership(1) .
-- Accelerated use of digital public services during the
pandemic, mobile money, and the need for digital skills for jobs
has made mobile internet access through a smartphone more important
than ever.
UNGA, New York : A major new initiative has been launched by
Vodafone Group Plc and ITU, the United Nations' specialised agency
for information and communication technologies, to address the
global digital divide, with the aim that an additional 3.4 billion
people could have the ability to access and use the internet
through a smartphone by 2030.
With mobile broadband (4G) networks now covering 82% of the
population of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), the mobile
usage gap is 6x larger than the mobile coverage gap.(2)
In line with the Broadband Commission Global Targets 2025 on
affordability and connectivity, the new Working Group will identify
policy, commercial and circular-economy interventions to increase
smartphone access.
Co-chaired by Vodafone Group CEO, Nick Read, and ITU
Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, the Group's launch partners also
include: the Alliance for Affordable Internet; GSMA; the government
of Ghana; Safaricom; Smart Africa; Vodacom Group; and the World
Wide Web Foundation.
Mobile accounts for 86% of connections to the internet in
LMICs(3) , emphasising the importance of mobile in addressing this
issue. Yet billions of people continue to use 'dumb' feature
phones, without an internet connection, and the 2G market continues
to grow. That means the digital divide is widening as the global
pandemic has accelerated the emergence of digital societies and
smartphones are increasingly an essential gateway to access public
services - including education and medical support - financial
services, jobs and to run businesses.(4)
Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group, said: "Vodafone is honoured to
be part of this monumental global initiative with the UN, to
improve the lives of billions of people through smartphone access.
As our societies become more digital, everyone should have the
ability to find jobs, be able to get public services, financial
services and critical information that are increasingly only
available through the internet. This is such a complex challenge
that no network operator, device manufacturer, financial services
provider or national government can solve on their own - but
working together we can break through the barriers."
Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the ITU, said: "Achieving the
Broadband Commission Global Targets requires a multi-stakeholder
approach. I am pleased to co-chair this newly established Working
Group, which will also help address the challenges posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that we put smart devices in the hands
of those who are left behind."
Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of
the United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, said:
"The UN Secretary General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation aims to
achieve universal connectivity by 2030. Smartphone access is a key
element of this in low- and middle-income countries where mobile is
the principal route to the internet. As such, this working group
can have an important role in ensuring that the shift to digital
technology is beneficial and makes our societies more equal and not
less."
The Honourable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications
and Digitalisation, Ghana, said: "While Ghana and other countries
have made great strides in the development of mobile infrastructure
and the usage of digital services such as mobile money, it is
noticeable that 45% of people in West Africa are covered by mobile
broadband networks but do not use the internet. Addressing the
mobile internet usage gap is vital for the long-term economic
development of my country and many others across the world and will
require new partnerships and focused action from a range of
organisations."
The Broadband Commission Working Group will produce a report and
set of concrete recommendations including:
-- original analysis and data on the smartphone access gap;
-- quantification of the social and economic impact of providing
everyone with smartphone access by 2030, including assessment of
moving users from 2G feature phones to 4G smartphones; and
-- analysis of initiatives or pilots designed to increase
smartphone access. Vodafone Group has committed to launch two pilot
projects on device affordability as part of this process.
"This partnership is key to expand access to the internet," said
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication
Development Bureau. "I am confident that the outcome report will
provide guidance to all our stakeholders as we prepare for the ITU
World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2022 to build a
world where no one is left off-line."
To coincide with the creation of the new Working Group,
Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom have also published the second '
Africa.Connected' report today on accelerating 4G for sub-Saharan
Africa. The report , by independent consultancy Caribou Digital,
suggests a multi-stakeholder approach with four key steps to
enhancing digital inclusion across African nations, where the
mobile usage gap is the largest in the world:
1. Making 4G devices more accessible - Nearly 2.5 billion people
live in countries where the cost of the cheapest available
smartphone is unaffordable. Expanding device financing schemes for
those with poor or no credit history; reducing the amount of tax on
4G smartphone imports and increasing local manufacturing of devices
within Africa are suggested as ways to address this issue.
2. Invest in the demand for 4G services - 375 million young
Africans are expected to enter the labour market by 2030 and will
need the skills to excel in a digital economy. The report suggests
increasing financing and support for digital start-ups and that
device manufacturers could create more inclusive products.
3. Providing targeted financing for underserved demographics -
Programmes need to take account of, and target, the large gender
gap and rural-urban gap that exist in respect of device ownership
in sub-Saharan Africa.
4. Re-farming 2G spectrum - Repurposing mobile spectrum
currently used for 2G devices would enable more people to use
4G.
- ends -
Notes to Editors
1. ITU, 2020, Measuring digital development. Facts and figures 2020. Available at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/FactsFigures2020.pdf
2. GSMA, 2020, Connected Society: The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2020. Available at: https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GSMA-State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2020.pdf
3. GSMA, 2020, Connected Society: The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2020. Available at: https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GSMA-State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2020.pdf
4. 1.6 billion people globally are now using the internet to
improve or monitor their health; 2.3 billion people now use mobile
financial services; and 2 billion people use the internet to access
education for themselves or their children. GSMA, 2020, Mobile
Industry Impact Report: Sustainable Development Goals 2020
Available at:
https://www.gsma.com/betterfuture/2020sdgimpactreport/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-Mobile-Industry-Impact-Report-SDGs.pdf?utm_source=better_future_site&utm_medium=search_engine&utm_campaign=2020_SDG_impact_report
For further information:
Vodafone Group
Media Relations Investor Relations
GroupMedia@vodafone.com IR@vodafone.co.uk
About Vodafone
Vodafone is a leading telecommunications company in Europe and
Africa. Our purpose is to "connect for a better future" enabling an
inclusive and sustainable digital society. Our expertise and scale
give us a unique opportunity to drive positive change for society.
Our networks keep family, friends, businesses and governments
connected and - as COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated - we play a
vital role in keeping economies running and the functioning of
critical sectors like education and healthcare.
Vodafone is the largest mobile and fixed network operator in
Europe and a leading global IoT connectivity provider. Our M-Pesa
technology platform in Africa enables 50m people to benefit from
access to mobile payments and financial services. We operate mobile
and fixed networks in 21 countries and partner with mobile networks
in 49 more. As of 30 June 2021, we had over 300m mobile customers,
more than 28m fixed broadband customers, over 22m TV customers and
we connected 130m IoT devices.
We support diversity and inclusion through our maternity and
parental leave policies, empowering women through connectivity and
improving access to education and digital skills for women, girls,
and society at large. We are respectful of all individuals,
irrespective of race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual
orientation, gender identity, belief, culture or religion.
Vodafone is also taking significant steps to reduce our impact
on our planet by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by
2025 and becoming net zero by 2040, purchasing 100% of our
electricity from renewable sources in Europe and across our entire
operations by 2025, and reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of our
redundant network equipment.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com , follow us
on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone
This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press
release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock
Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an
issuer is confirming that the information contained within this
announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are
identified with an orange label and the word "Reach" in the source
column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange's
website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory
service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use
a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK
regulatory news.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
NRABCGDCUDBDGBC
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 20, 2021 02:29 ET (06:29 GMT)
Vodafone (LSE:VOD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Vodafone (LSE:VOD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024