The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says the importance of internet broadband should not be underestimated by governments since it has a huge impact on every national economy.
Already, the ITU has urged governments to expand broadband spectrums in their countries in order to prevent mobile phone congestion.
According to the ITU’s latest report titled “Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2010-11”, even though the contribution of broadband, which is described as the technology that enables high speed transfer of data, to economic growth varies, it plays a positive role in a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
The report said, broadband has been found to have a positive impact on productivity and evidence generated both at the micro-economic and macro-economic level appears to confirm this effect.
The report added “Broadband does contribute to employment growth, both as a result of network construction programs and spill-over effects on the rest of the economy.”
Beyond economic growth and job creation, broadband has a positive effect on consumer surplus in terms of benefits to the end user that are not captured in the GDP statistics, the report indicated.
The ITU noted in the report that broadband has received massive investment over the years around the world.
“Investment in broadband has soared around the world”, it says.
The report said policies are necessary to realize the potential of broadband’s contribution to economic growth and the creation of jobs, and reviews best practices in countries that have succeeded in reaching a high level of performance in the development of their broadband sector.
“However, policymakers must also focus on facilitating the supply of, and promoting demand for broadband applications and services” it added
By Ekow Quandzie