Could telecommunications and the information society contribute to
sustainable development?
Since 1969, World Telecommunication Day (WTD) has been annually celebrated on May 17th, commemorating the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865 in Paris. This observance was officially established at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973 under Resolution 46. Meanwhile, World Information Society Day (WISD) came into being in November 2005, following the call by the World Summit on the Information Society for the UN General Assembly to designate May 17th as WISD. This designation aimed to highlight the significance and challenges associated with information and communication technology (ICT). Notably, alongside telecommunications, information technology, particularly the internet, has surged in importance, warranting greater public awareness. 1
Since then, every year, a specific theme is chosen for WTISD. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about the opportunities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) can bring to societies and economies, as well as ways to bridge the digital divide. 3
This year, the focus is on how digital technologies could help tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, such as fighting climate change, eliminating hunger and poverty,
connecting everyone, and unlocking sustainable prosperity for all. 4
However, before delving into how WTISD could contribute to achieving some of the goals
established by the SDGs (17 Sustainable Development Goals), let's first address the following questions: what is telecommunications, and what does it mean that we currently live in an information society?
Telecommunications entails the exchange of information over vast distances through various mediums such as fiber optics, electromagnetic fields, light, and cables. It involves both a transmitter and receiver, facilitating communication across great distances. Telecommunications devices, like
smartphones, have seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, proving essential for the success of businesses and facilitating basic day-to-day operations among suppliers, employees, and clients.
Thanks to telecommunications, we enjoy the privilege of accessing, processing, and exchanging information rapidly and efficiently. It's difficult to imagine where we'd be without it. Since its inception, telecommunications has experienced exponential growth with each passing decade. From
humble beginnings such as smoke signals, it has evolved to encompass groundbreaking inventions like the internet, revolutionizing communication with innovations like wide-area networks, WhatsApp messaging, emails, and broadcast networks including radio and television. 5
“Voice was the original medium of communications, but these days, video, data, and text are also sent back and forth to communicate” (Mitel, 2024).
However, telecommunications continue to expand, and we are far from its culmination, particularly
within our information-driven society. Here, the creation, distribution, and utilization of information
and knowledge hold pivotal roles in driving social, economic, and cultural progress 6 .
ITU, the UN specialized agency for ITCs, is working towards harnessing digital innovation for development and connecting everyone to ensure a better future for all 8 . ITU believes that digital technologies and data can help achieve 70% of targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda highlights 34 digital solutions which are helping to advance the SDGs. Indeed, it is estimated that digital technologies, such as mobile devices, digital public services, and emerging innovations including Artificial Intelligence are reshaping the global
landscape. They are working towards financial inclusion, increasing the effectiveness of government
and providing people and providing people with platforms and channels to make sure that their voices are heard. But what is the relationship between digital maturity and SDG progress? Firstly, economic growth and wealth have a significant role in both SDGs progress and digital maturity.
Analysis of more than 120 countries with different income levels enlightens that counties expanding their digital infrastructures and turning mobile data more affordable in the past decades have made more progress towards the achievements of the SDGs than other countries in the same income group. 9
Let’s explore how the digital technologies could contributing to achieving some of the 17 SDGs:
2. Zero hunger: drone technology can monitor crops and provide information on how much water is needed. Software systems available through mobile apps can monitor and analyse data to help farmers to decide when to plant, fertilize, irrigate and harvest their crops.
4. Quality education: accessible and affordable connectivity allows young people to use open, free and high-quality digital skills and training platforms. Smart digital platforms can be made accessible in local languages and used to align curricula with internationally recognized standards and certification.
5. Gender equality: connectivity enables women and girls to access information and communicate for their safety and development. It can allow girls to reach support services, learn about sexual and reproductive health and express their views.
7. Affordable and clean energy: next-generation digital networks have lower energy consumption, and smart grids can support electrification and more affordable connectivity.
Artificial intelligence technology can be used for predictive maintenance of electrical utilities, enabling automatic backups and limiting downtime.
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructures: mobile digital technologies are enabling high-quality communications infrastructure and networks to expand into underserved remote and rural areas. Data and artificial intelligence technologies can accelerate innovation and productivity in key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
10. Reduce inequalities: digital public goods and applications such as mobile money are enabling access to financial and other services for all members of societies, including women and girls, rural communities and displaced people.
12. Responsible production and consumption: digital technologies such as 3D printing, the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing and blockchain can support a circular economy and supply-chain resilience, particularly in manufacturing industries.
13. Climate action: information and communication technology solutions can help to cut nearly 10 times more carbon dioxide than they emit. Digital technologies combined with ecological design can help to reduce the amount of natural resources used in products by up to 90 percent, lessening the impact of material extraction.
14. Life below water: satellite imaging and machine learning can help find and collect the 5 trillion pieces of plastic trash in the ocean. Online portals and mobile-based tools can
connect the plastics supply chain, track the flow of waste materials, and help create transparent digital marketplaces for plastic waste.
16. Peace justice and strong institutions: public technologies and government services, where well designed and applied, enable people to access public services, reduce waste and
corruption and create data that allow public institutions to target needs more effectively.
17. Partnership for the goals: partnerships between States, private sector and civil society
leverage the capacity of digital tools to provide solutions for development across the
Sustainable Development Goals. Examples include the Digital Public Infrastructure Alliance, the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability and public-private partnerships for disaster response. 10
Digital technologies have the potential to greatly benefit society and address numerous global challenges. However, are these impacts solely positive, or are there also negative and potentially dangerous aspects associated with the digital society?