India’s ranking in broadband penetration drops: United Nations

United Nations, Sep 22: India’s global position in broadband penetration dropped from 125 in 2013 to 131 in 2014 out of 189 countries, according to the State of Broadband report by the United Nations. The UN Broadband Commission’s report said 57 percent of the world’s people remain offline and unable to take advantage of the enormous economic and social benefits the internet can offer.The report was released just ahead of the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit in New York and the parallel meeting of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development on September 26. The Broadband Commission comprises more than 50 leaders from across a range of government and industry sectors.India ranked 80 among 133 developing countries on percentage of households with internet in 2014. The broadband penetration level was 15.3 percent in 2014 compared to 13 percent penetration in 2013. India scored 136th position in individuals using the internet in 2014, with 18 percent individuals using the internet.It was an improvement over the 142nd position in 2013. “The UN SDG remind us that we need to measure global development by the number of those being left behind,” International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said. ”The market has done its work connecting the world’s wealthier nations, where a strong business case for network roll-out can easily be made,” Zhao, who serves as co-vice chairman of the commission with Unesco director-general Irina Bokova said.