At the first meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, the UPU said the postal network needs broadband to facilitate financial and digital inclusion.
UPU Director General Edouard Dayan, one of 44 commissioners, said that broadband could help protect the security and authenticity of people on the Internet via the UPU’s .post initiative.
The Commission met to discuss the importance of accelerating universal access to broadband networks, define a vision to achieve this goal and show how broadband can help the United Nations achieve their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, said governments share the responsibility of implementing broadband as they digitally connect post offices, healthcare networks and other public services, creating a demand for more effective and efficient use of these critical services.
“The global deployment of broadband networks will be as powerful a transformational force for the 21st century as the progressive installation of electricity networks was in the first decades of the 20th century,” said ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré. “Just as connection to the power grid is now seen as a basic element of social and economic empowerment, ubiquitous connectivity to broadband networks will be vital to the ongoing development of every nation worldwide.”
The Commission discussed its 10-point action plan in development for the deployment of broadband. It will present its report to the United Nations secretary general on 19 September during the MDG summit in New York.
The Broadband Commission was launched in May by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Sunday’s meeting in Geneva was co-chaired by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Carlos Slim Helú, honorary lifetime chairman of Grupo Carso.