“If you don’t speak, you are not heard”, ITU speaks out on the inequality between countries
On May 29th, the International Telecommunication Union(ITU) debated about the equal access of digital technologies for developing countries. “If you don’t speak, you are not heard”, said Ms Dana Carmer, addressing the lack of global cooperation to advance telecommunication technology in developing countries through this quote.
Some member countries of the ITU debated that the ITU needs better policies for implementation of newer technologies for developing countries. According to the ITU’s “Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2025”, 2.2 billion people still remain offline due to the absence of technologies, showing the reality of how urgent change is in the situation. The delegate of Oman said, “It took Oman 7 years to deploy a single satellite into orbit, due to the regulations of ITU”, addressing the bureaucratic bottleneck not just within the country, but within the ITU, making it difficult for developing countries to implement the technologies over 10 years ago.
The delegate of Oman encouraged the ITU to guarantee member countries’ full sovereignty to avoid these bureaucratic bottlenecks from happening. Not all member countries agreed on Oman’s sudden change in the system such as the United States of America and Zambia seeking alternative solutions such as external funding for new projects. However, the delegations from France and New Zealand backed Oman’s move to free up access to telecommunication technologies.
At the end of session one, ITU has decided to focus on the global connectedness and internet access for developing countries. The resolution papers for each bloc are expected to be finished by the second session of ITU.
- Straits Times
Works Cited
International Telecommunication Union. (2026, January 3). Measuring digital development: Facts a nd Figures 2025. ITU’s Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2025.https://www.itu.int/e n/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx