According to Hamadoun Touré, the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for the development of broadband networks worldwide, a clear and stable regulatory framework should be provided by the governments.

Touré, who will present to the UN a report on the broadband market from the Broadband Commission for Digital Development on 19 September, said in London on Thursday that governments around the world should push investment in broadband, so as to help the UN meet its Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Pointing to the fact that most countries had started understanding the advantages of broadband, Touré said that, during the course of his ITU tenure, the number of countries having clear frameworks has increased notably from 25 in 1999 to more than 160 at present.

Noting that “broadband technology, particularly mobile broadband, will dominate this decade,” Touré said that the required growth in mobile networks would not have been possible “without investment from enterprises.”

Terming broadband as “transformational technology” of the present times, Touré added: “Through services such as e-health, e-education and e-government, broadband will power economic and social progress in the 21st century.”

Talking about yet another pertinent issue, cyber security, Touré said that efforts are on to develop a common international framework within the ITU; and added that there are still numerous hurdles that need to be overcome.