While 2019 marked the crossing of a number of major thresholds in global Internet adoption, there is an urgent need to find new ways of reaching the half of the world that still remains unconnected as growth stalls.

Traditional approaches to driving Internet network roll-out and uptake are failing to reach the estimated 3.7-billion of the global population still unconnected, a new report by Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development highlights.

The ‘State of Broadband 2019’ report, released in September, indicates slowing global growth particularly in developing and least-developed countries, which recorded a 17.5% growth in 2018, a slide from 19.1% growth in 2017.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) data shows a slowdown in overall household adoption, with growth in households with Internet access flat between 2018 and 2017.

The ‘State of Broadband 2019’ reveals that global growth in the terms of the percentage of households connected to the Internet is slowing, rising only slightly to 54.8% from 53.1% last year.

In low-income countries, household Internet adoption improved by 0.8% on average.

The report also notes that, while almost one-billion new mobile subscribers have been added in the five years since 2013, at a 4.2% average yearly growth, the speed of growth in mobile connections is also slowing.

Mobile network coverage improved much more slowly in low-income countries, with a 22% improvement in fourth-generation coverage in the past five years, compared with a 66% increase in lower-middle-income countries.

The data also shows that, of the 730-million people expected to subscribe to mobile services for the first time over the next seven years, half will come from Asia-Pacific and just under a quarter from sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, as 2019 marks the thirtieth year of the World Wide Web and the Web browser, as well as 25 years since the first online ecommerce transaction, it is also the year that marks the first full 12 months when more than half of the world – 51.2%, or 3.9-billion people – started participating in the global digital economy by logging onto the Internet.

As of March 2019, Facebook’s monthly active user community reached over 2.3-billion people worldwide, with over 1.5-billion people logging into Facebook daily.

Google has over 1.5-billion active users just for its email product, Gmail, and WeChat, owned by Tencent, is China’s biggest social media platform, with more than one-billion active monthly users.

To counter slowing global growth, the report advocates for new collaborative strategies to drive the concept of “meaningful universal connectivity” through greater emphasis on resource sharing and a more holistic approach that treats broadband as a basic public utility and vital enabler of global development.

This encompasses broadband that is available, accessible, relevant and affordable, as well as safe, trusted and user-empowering, leading to a positive impact.

“This year’s State of Broadband report encourages us to think in terms of meaningful universal connectivity, because digital inclusion can only be meaningful and effective if and when Internet users feel empowered to use the technology – and when the technology is affordable, attractive and safe,” says ITU secretary-general Houlin Zhao.

This should underpin policymakers’ new digital strategies as governments seek to find new ways of financing network deployment and reaching unconnected populations.

“Our collective ownership to implement the commission’s recommendations will necessitate all of us providing resources – both financial and technical know-how – to create the much-needed impact of our work,” adds Rwanda Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Innovation Minister Paula Ingabire.

“Connecting the world’s population to the Internet is about collaboration, collective approaches and partnerships – among different stakeholders, across different sectors and across borders,” says commission co-chairperson Carlos Slim.

It is also about understanding connectivity and literacy needs, access to content in different formats and languages, and services, as well as lowering the costs of services and devices, while empowering those who lack standard basic ICT skills with the means to participate in the digital ecosystem.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation director-general Audrey Azoulay stressed the vital importance of improving digital literacy.

“Today, the main factor preventing people in developing countries from using mobile Internet is not affordability but poor literacy and digital skills.”