Broadband has become more than just a fast way to go online. It has become the critical enabler of the 21st century, much as electricity was in the early 20th century.
In wealthy countries broadband drives productivity growth and supports new kinds of commerce, social connections and entertainment.
But it is in the developing world, with its limited physical infrastructure and pressing social and economic needs, where broadband can make the biggest impact.
Recent studies have shown that increased internet adoption is an economic growth multiplier. A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study of Bangladesh, for example, says that a 10% increase in internet penetration would lead to a cumulative 2.6% annual expansion of the GDP each year until 2020.
For this reason ICTs are at the center of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set by the United Nations ten years ago, aimed at halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
The key underlying technology is mobile broadband. It is the platform for all other apps and services, and it is also close to ubiquitous. According to the ITU, by year-end mobile networks will cover 90% of the world’s population, most of it 2.5G or 3G.
But the network alone is not enough. The UN Broadband Commission said in a report issued in September 2010 that while broadband infrastructure was crucial, “connectivity and content go hand in hand.”
It urged world leaders to help find ways to “develop local content and applications in order to meet the MDGs and other development priorities.” It pointed to health, education, agricultural and environmental information as sectors that should become integrated into mobile broadband.
Ian Koh, Head of Practice for Industry Verticals, Ericsson Southeast Asia & Oceania, says it is the scale economies of broadband that make it such a powerful tool for development.
Ericsson is a corporate backer of the MDGs and is also working with African cellcos and other organizations on the Millennium Village Project, aimed at bringing connectivity to half a million people in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Bonsaaso, Ashanti, in central Ghana, it has helped deploy an m-health application that allows local health workers to test locally for disease and order medicines online.
With the nearest health clinic up to 40 kilometers away, the difference can be life-saving for diagnosing and treating new mothers diagnosed with malaria. Health workers can also use the web to file health data and get children immunized and registered.
The case study shows how, with a broadband network, healthcare becomes viable, says Koh. “Previously, you couldn’t do these because there was no broadband. Combined, digitization and broadband take away distance as a barrier.”
Ericsson also conducted a pilot telemedicine project with Apollo Hospitals in India, where 750 million people have no access to specialist healthcare.
The trial involved an HSPA network in 18 villages, allowing patients to connect remotely to a doctor. It included remote ECG, blood pressure and heart beat measurements, teleconsultation and basic medical check-ups. Patients can also see the test results on the PC and talk directly with the doctor.
These trials show that private enterprise and governments can provide good healthcare while at the same time lowering the cost, Koh said. “The economics can become sustainable because you have increased the number of patients. Suddenly you can see that this is possible.”
But obstacles remain, such as the current limited use of digital technologies by healthcare organizations and doctors themselves. Governments need to take “active steps in pushing ICT into hospitals,” he said.
“This means that they have to start to view ICT as a basic infrastructure, like electricity and roads, and start to more actively include ICT as part of their national development plans.”
Digital health is not just a game-changer for emerging markets, however. Online health services could also help trim the spiraling cost of health in developed economies.
A McKinsey report for the GSM Association says healthcare spending has outpaced GDP growth by about two percentage points a year in most OECD countries, and shows no sign of slowing.
Half a dozen OECD countries could be spending more than 15% of GDP on healthcare by 2030, it warns.
The report urges healthcare organizations to apply the lessons of other sectors, such as banks and telcos, in deploying new technologies.
It says mHealth in particular has the “potential to make a huge difference,” citing remote diagnosis or the use of health monitoring (RHM) devices, which could save roughly 15% of healthcare costs. Initiatives like the Digital Health Initiative and the mHealth Alliance are becoming increasingly important, and aim at bridging the gap between the sectors, ICT and health.
Early trials have shown the promise of how ICT can be a powerful tool for development. It is now up to governments and collaborations in the industry to use these opportunities to shape a more sustainable future.
Suggested Links:
Broadband Commission for Digital Development Report
Challenges and Opportunities in Scaling digital Health
Millennium Villages Monitoring and Evaluation Report