By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The GSMA has called for
stronger digital connectivity, infrastructure investment, security and
interoperability to ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence and the
digital economy reach more people, as the organisation took part in discussions
at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81).
The message emerged across a
series of engagements during the first day of UNGA81, with the GSMA stressing
that connectivity is foundational to digital transformation only when it is
built effectively, protected and made accessible to everyone.
At the GSMA’s Partners for
Impact: Building a Shared AI Future roundtable, discussions focused on the
network infrastructure on which AI depends, efforts to bring the 3.4 billion
people who remain offline into the digital economy, and the need to build trust
through security and global interoperability.
The GSMA also addressed the
issue of government-ordered network shutdowns at a Vodafone-hosted roundtable.
GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath reiterated that shutdowns should only be
used in exceptional circumstances and only when strictly necessary, proportionate
and lawful.
The GSMA noted that mobile
now accounts for 84% of global internet connections, meaning restrictions on
mobile connectivity can have effects extending beyond their intended purpose.
At UN Digital Cooperation
Day, Badrinath participated in a panel on Technology at the Frontlines of
Disaster Resilience, where discussions highlighted the role of mobile networks
in delivering early warnings at scale.
The GSMA said 96% of the
world is now covered by a network, but that a financing gap remains in the
deployment needed to strengthen disaster resilience. The organisation is also a
member of the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for AI initiative.
Digital inclusion was
another focus of the GSMA’s engagements. As a sponsor of ITU DigitalUNGA,
Badrinath opened a digital inclusion segment by highlighting affordability and
language as continuing barriers even where network coverage exists.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, an
entry-level smartphone costs around 76% of average monthly income for the
poorest populations, according to the GSMA. The organisation also noted that AI
is trained on only a handful of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages.
The GSMA also marked the
10th anniversary of EQUALS, The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the
Digital Age, which has worked to close the digital gender divide over the past
decade.
The GSMA is a founding
member of EQUALS alongside UN Women, United Nations University, the
International Trade Centre and the International Telecommunication Union. GSMA
Chief Regulatory Officer John Giusti represented the organisation at the
special UNGA affiliate session.
