Bogdan-Martin Wants Wireless Sector to Cooperate on Sustainable Development Goals

The kind of “digital cooperation” facilitated by the ITU is “needed now more than ever before,” new ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s told Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday. “I strongly believe that we can’t separate people from technology,” she said. Bogdan-Martin said it remains unclear whether the world will meet the U.N.’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) (see 1702280042): Under the worst-case scenario, “we fail to rescue the SDGs, development is stalled, or it’s going backwards, the climate crisis has overwhelmed us, and mistrust is rampant in terms of technology. Gender equality is a distant dream, and more and more people actually question the very value of connectivity.” What can we do to challenge the status quo? she asked. Finite resources like spectrum and associated satellite orbits “are the building blocks of our advanced global communications system, for all humanity,” she said. They need to be shared “equitably, responsibly, while avoiding harmful interference.” The world needs to “speak the same language” and “reach consensus on global technology standards,” she said. The ITU vision for 6G for 2030 and beyond will be completed later this year and will make energy efficiency and environmental sustainability part of the technical specifications for the first time, she said. She also supports more partnerships to bring down the cost of connectivity. Bogdan-Martin urged the wireless industry to unite behind the SDGs “because failure is not an option.” She said when she spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a few weeks ago “he stressed the importance of digital technologies and how ITU can be a pioneer.” There “are risks, and those risks are growing, but I ask, what are the risks if we do nothing?” Bogdan-Martin asked.