Digital infrastructure investment: Industry players

Communities, businesses, and governments worldwide depend on a growing web of digital infrastructure. Access to it boosts education, health care, employment, civic engagement and financial services.

But an estimated 2.6 billion people remain offline, while billions more struggle with inadequate connectivity. Increasingly, infrastructure investment gaps hinder sustainable socio-economic development in low-income countries.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is working closely with development finance institutions and the annual G20 Presidency – first under Brazil and now South Africa – to mobilize funding for critical digital infrastructure worldwide.

The resulting Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative brings together leading multinational companies and other industry players in an unprecedented push to bridge digital divides.

Some of those key players offer their perspectives here.

Builders like SBA Communications are investing in telecom towers and similar network infrastructure to reach new territories, while the fibre community promotes a robust backbone for low-carbon home connectivity where people are sufficiently concentrated.

• Maria Alexandra Velez, Senior Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs, SBA Communications, puts the spotlight on telecom towers reducing costs and boosting broadband rollout.

• Vincent Garnier, Director General, FTTH Council Europe, promotes sustainable fibre for modern communities.

Microsoft, one of a handful of “hyperscalers” in our dawning digital age, relies on partnerships to advance high-speed Internet access in underserved communities.

• Vickie Robinson, Airband General Manager, Microsoft, highlights partnerships for high-speed Internet in underserved communities.

Investors such as Macquarie provide crucial capital to drive digital infrastructure expansion.

• Oliver Bradley, Senior Managing Director and IEC Global Head of Digital Infrastructure, Macquarie Capital, illuminates supporting with capital investment.

At the same time, mobile operators worldwide are pushing the envelope in both developed and developing markets, with e&, for instance, pledging to invest USD 6 billion to expand network access and digital services, while MTN is expanding broadband to close the coverage gap in Africa.

• Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer, e&, talks about pushing the envelope in developed and developing markets.

• Lele Modise, Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer, MTN, delves into expanding broadband to close the coverage gap in Africa.

Satellite operator Kacific, for its part, has transformed rural connectivity, making satellite-based telecom services affordable for over 600 million people across 25 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Christian Patouraux, Chief Executive Officer at Kacific, explains transforming rural connectivity via affordable satellite services.

Through ITU’s Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative, partners across the industry aim to step up collaboration to address investment gaps and bring meaningful connectivity to all by 2030.

Header image credit: Adobe Stock