Digital divide pledges pass $121bn, UN says

Pledges to help close the global digital divide have reached $121 billion, passing a $100 billion target set for the end of 2026, the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union said Wednesday.

The Geneva-based ITU launched the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition in 2021 to use public-private partnerships to expand digital access in hard-to-connect communities. The agency said more than 1,000 pledges had been made over five years by governments, companies, international organisations and development banks in 149 countries.

The commitments cover projects in more than 190 countries, including digital infrastructure and skills training. The ITU said about 2.2 billion people worldwide were offline in 2025.

New pledges announced at the ITU's World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva included an Asian Development Bank plan to mobilise $20 billion in public and private investment by 2035 for an Asia-Pacific Digital Highway. The ITU said the project could improve connectivity for up to 650 million people in the region.

Microsoft also pledged to connect more than 450 rural and underserved community hubs in Kenya through satellite-enabled infrastructure, the ITU said. The agency estimated that achieving universal, meaningful connectivity by 2030 could require as much as $2.8 trillion.