23 April 2012: The Broadband Commission for Digital Development has issued a call to action, asking the international community to acknowledge in the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) the potential of broadband to contribute to progress and sustainable development.The call was issued at the start of the second round of “informal informal” consultations on the zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document, taking place in New York, US, from 23 April-4 May.

The call to action highlights the potential of broadband to address many sustainability challenges and increase socio-economic development and quality of life. It outlines some of the sustainable development benefits of broadband use and investments, such as increased economic productivity and growth, job creation and increased returns. It concludes, “the time is right to leverage the transformational power of broadband to support the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference,” and calls for “broadband inclusion for all” to be one of the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs).

In addition, the Broadband Commission pledges to support a sustainable future for all by continuing to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as to support the definition of the post-2015 sustainable development framework. [Call to Action] [ITU Press Release]