Why 5G Fixed Wireless Access Is Integral to Bridging the Digital Divide

By Angela Baker | Chief Sustainability Officer, Qualcomm
Jan 17, 2023 5:05 PM ET
Illustration of connections being made across the world
Digital divide ... Roughly 37% of the world’s population has no internet access and many more have poor connectivity. Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Originally published by World Economic Forum

  • Roughly 37% of the world’s population has no internet access and millions more have poor connectivity.

  • High-speed broadband access improves opportunities for people in education, health and finance.

  • The next frontier is 5G Fixed Wireless Access which can help close the digital divide by providing cheaper and faster connectivity.

Our future is an intelligently connected world where everyone has access to education, healthcare, entertainment, work, and much more through smart connected devices. According to World Economic Forum data, more than 60% of global GDP in 2022 is expected to depend on digital technologies. Yet, 37% of the world population, close to 3 billion people, remain offline and many others only have access to unreliable internet connections.

It is time we created awareness of the issues and more importantly, the advanced yet affordable solutions available to solve them. For instance, 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) provides the perfect opportunity for public-private collaboration on global digital literacy goals and programmes.

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