The United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development was formed in 2010 as a result of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's call to increase efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Since its original formation, the Broadband Commission has become increasingly involved in global broadband policy and has published a series of reports, including a recent "Call to Action" encouraging the global community to meet five broad goals related to broadband access.
In its largest effort to date, the Commission recently published a comprehensive global broadband assessment entitled "The State of Broadband 2012: Achieving Digital Inclusion For All, analyzing global broadband deployment around the world, and recommending policy initiatives for countries to undertake.
The State of Broadband 2012: Achieving Digital Inclusion For All
Read About the UN's Broadband Call to Action
More recently, the global body has been debating regulations brought forward by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to regulate the Internet. The Obama administration recently announced that it will refuse to sign the agreement under consideration. The U.S. objection stems from provisions that would give the United Nations the authority to declare censorship and regulation of the Internet.
In addition to raising global awareness about broadband, another extensive report published by the UN's Broadband Commission links the societal and economic benefits of broadband with the environmental impact broadband can have on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
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