What should the telecom sector do to grab opportunities through better social engagement?
We think that companies need to ramp up investment in networks, bridge the digital divide, further improve the attractiveness of workplaces, expand cybersecurity services, improve reporting on ESG issues that are both financially material and socially impactful, and enhance ESG accountability.
Investment in networks
It is estimated that narrowing the global digital divide by half in the next five years will need US$2.1tr of investment, which will need to be dedicated to education, building trust in using ICTs, and advancing digital solutions in sectors such as healthcare and financial services. This vast amount of investment means that impactful financing is needed.
Companies in the telecom sector can then be the enabler of more inclusive and affordable technologies to narrow the digital divide – and they are indeed ramping up their efforts to promote digital inclusion. Orange has offered digital literacy skills to more than 40,000 unemployed women in Africa and Europe since 2015. Telefonica’s digital inclusion programmes include enhancing inclusive access, training about digital skills, providing innovation-related services, and promoting the safe and responsible use of technology. Verizon’s Innovative Learning initiative has reached 1.5 million students and the company plans to train more than 10 million youth with digital skills by 2030.
These efforts mostly focus on expanding access to and increasing the quality of ICT networks, as well as educating more people about digital skills. But if we recognise the wider definition of digital inclusion, these efforts are not enough. For telecom companies, digital inclusion also means improving device subscription affordability with a special focus on disadvantaged people, including people with disabilities, minorities, as well as people with low literacy.
Moreover, companies should not only focus on building ICT networks but also evaluate the potential negative effects stemming from the misuse and overuse of technological devices. ICT overuse can result in health issues and contribute to addiction.
It is also worth noting that the cost of launching a full network is high, and governments have been playing a role in providing subsidies to companies that are expanding their networks. In the EU, a fifth of the €723.8bn Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plans to improve digital capabilities, with a prominent role for fibre deployment. Subsidies to bolster fibre network rollouts could support the telecom sector's capital spending. In the US, the Biden administration has recently launched the $45bn “Internet for All” Initiative to bring affordable, reliable high-speed Internet to as many Americans as possible. Companies can therefore actively work with governments to bridge the social-economic divide, which is partly based on access to digital services. Government subsidies could render services profitable in remote areas where a traditional business case is not profitable. Since digital connectivity becomes increasingly important for economic productivity growth (think digital farming and online education), such subsidies are often a prerequisite for economic growth.
|
