OkCBP

Connecting the
unconnected
ICT is increasingly recognized as an essential means of boosting social and
economic development. We need to scale for impact in order to make the full range
of possibilities in the Networked Society affordable and accessible to all.
From boosting livelihoods and promoting
financial inclusion and gender equality to
improved access to health, education,
government services and more, ICT is an
essential part of every aspect of our lives.
It also helps advance equality, democracy,
governance and freedom of expression.
Today those benefits are available to
more people than ever before with the
rapid growth of mobile communications.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly
affordable. This means people in
regions with low levels of internet penetration,
such as sub-Saharan Africa, will be
able to take advantage of full connectivity
for the first time via their smartphones.
Connecting the unconnected
Despite these positive trends, an estimated
2.5 billion people remain unconnected to
mobile devices, and 4.4 billion of the world
population still do not have access to internet.
In a business as usual scenario, 1.7
billion will still be unconnected to mobile
devices in 2020. This digital divide is more
prevalent in rural areas and affects the
least-developed countries and marginalized
populations disproportionately.
In connecting the unconnected, there
are huge opportunities for business, and
society, but this transformation will not
happen on its own. Through use of our
technology, we combine mobility, broadband
and cloud services to improve
access to healthcare, education and
livelihoods around the world. If affordable
and fully accessible, the internet extends
opportunities to all, allowing everyone to
benefit from the digital age on more equal
terms, which leads to positive impacts for
business, people and society.
Greater efforts are needed by industry
and governments to close this gap as market
forces are not sufficient in the near
term in order to address the three main
barriers to progress: infrastructure, affordability
and usage.
While strong economic growth in the
developing world has helped lift millions
out of poverty, global population growth,
modern lifestyles and consumption are
now stretching the limits of the planet’s
resources. ICT has radically transformed
communication and daily life, opening up
new possibilities for helping to put the
world on a more sustainable path.
Making a difference
We apply our innovation and technology to
develop solutions in response to global
challenges; the use of M-Commerce as an
innovative business platform to address
financial inclusion is just one example.
In our belief that technology is a force
for good, we are also committed to making
a contribution, in partnership with others,
to address the many humanitarian crises
the world faces, from refugees to health
and education to disaster relief.
85% of the growth
in 3G and 4G connectivity
will be in Asia Pacific, the
Middle East and Africa.”
Source: Ericsson Mobility Report
(November 2014)
Measuring our impact
In 2013, Ericsson set an objective to positively impact 2.5 million
people directly through our Technology for Good initiatives by
2016. In 2014, we exceeded that goal, positively impacting over
4 million people. This has inspired us to revise our objective to
5.5 million people positively impacted by 2016.
While often difficult to establish exact causality between
ICT and a specific outcome, we have a number of ongoing monitoring
and evaluation activities. For the time being, we have
determined that the most reliable indicator to track our progress
is to measure the number of people positively impacted by our
Technology for Good programs, the additional people covered
by Ericsson-enabled mobile broadband networks in low-and
medium-HDI (Human Development Index) countries, as defined
by the UN Development Programme, and the number of people
with increased access to financial services resulting from
deployment of Ericsson technology and solutions.
Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014
41