This coincided with the Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda and was co-hosted by His Excellency President Paul Kagame and Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA. The two-day event focused on global internet connectivity, vulnerable countries, epidemic preparedness, digital entrepreneurship and digital health.
“I was honored to join President Kagame in hosting this meeting of the Broadband Commission as we examine how we can accelerate the adoption of mobile broadband globally, but more importantly, how we can better equip society to participate in the digital world,” said Mats Granryd.
Mats took part in a panel that focused on examining the current status of 5G under development, and whether the mobile industry can afford 5G in an era of declining margins.The session took a broad approach in reviewing some of the issues surrounding the introduction of 5G and listened to some of the key movers driving the industry forward.
“As we will soon see the first 5G networks rolling out, it is more important than ever that governments and industry work together to ensure that all citizens benefit from this new era of hyper-connectivity.” he said.
During the meeting, the commissioners committed to concrete actions that will advance the roll-out of broadband around the world – and with it, much-needed digital connectivity, which is necessary for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The commission was established in 2010 with the aim of boosting the importance of broadband on the international policy agenda and expanding broadband access in every country as key to accelerating progress towards national and international development targets.