A new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has revealed a concerning – and persistent – gap in connectivity and Internet access for citizens in rural areas, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries.

The latest ‘Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures 2020’ report shows that virtually all urban areas in the world are covered by a mobile broadband network, while connectivity challenges persist for developing economies.

“Connectivity gaps in rural areas are particularly pronounced in least-developed countries, where 17% of the rural population live in areas with no mobile coverage at all and 19% of the rural population is covered by only a second-generation network,” says ITU telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

Worldwide, about 72% of households in urban areas have access to the Internet at home, compared with just 38% in rural areas.

The report includes small island developing States and landlocked developing countries for the first time.

“For the first time, our research contains estimates of the connectivity status of small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in addition to least-developed countries. This is a very important milestone in our efforts to achieve sustainable development for all,” Bogdan-Martin notes.

The ‘Measuring Digital Development’ report shows that about a quarter of the population in least-developed countries and landlocked developing countries and about 15% of the population in small island developing States do not have access to a mobile broadband network.

“How much longer can we tolerate the significant gap in household connectivity between urban and rural areas?” ITU secretary-general Houlin Zhao questions, noting that, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many to work and study at home, the data from the report sends “a clear message” that accelerating infrastructure roll-out has become one of the most urgent and defining issues.

“This edition of ‘Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures’ is released at a challenging time as Covid-19 wreaks havoc on lives, societies and economies around the world,” he says.

However, mobile broadband network deployment slowed in 2020, the ITU reports.

Between 2015 and 2020, fourth-generation (4G) network coverage doubled globally and almost 85% of the global population was expected to be covered by a 4G network at the end of 2020.

However, yearly growth has been slowing down gradually since 2017, and coverage in 2020 was only 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2019.

In addition to infrastructure roll-out, the digital gender divide, lack of digital skills and affordability continue to be major barriers to meaningful participation in a digital society, particularly in the developing world, where mobile telephony and Internet access remain too expensive for many.