This report explores the role that broadband plays in underpinning inclusive and sustainable development, and the necessary framework conditions to enable affordable, universal and available Internet access to be achieved. 

It highlights strong signs of growth in global broadband connectivity, with 300 million more people connected in 2016 than in 2015, putting the number of people online by the end of 2016 to 3.5 billion. However, more than half the world’s population (some 3.9 billion people) remains offline, with the majority located in remote, rural areas, consisting disproportionately of poorer, minority, less educated, and often female, members of society.