Joint research between Ericsson and the Earth Institute at Columbia University highlights ICT’s role in accelerating achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030
Sergio Quiroga is at the Internet Governance Forum 2015 to emphasize that business-as-usual will not be sufficient to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals; governments, the private sector and academia will need to work together
ICT is market driven, has scale like no other technology, and can dramatically improve access to and quality of all SDGs

Today, in advance of the Internet Governance Forum 2015 at João Pessoa, Brazil, Sergio Quiroga, President of Ericsson Latin America & Caribbean will present key findings from new research “ICT and the Sustainable Development Goals.” The research highlights how Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and in particular mobile technology, can help accelerate the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals call for several breakthroughs by the year 2030, including an end to extreme poverty and hunger, while improving access to health care and education, protecting the environment and building peaceful and inclusive societies. The joint research highlights how ICT is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and can even help to accelerate their achievement.

Quiroga says: “We are making the findings of this research available because we believe that we are at an important crossroads. We will not be able to achieve these new goals without ICT, and without public-private partnerships between ICT companies, governments and academia. As world leaders gather, we want to build on this momentum and ensure everyone is aware of the opportunity before us.

“We believe the new goals need to leverage existing and widely deployed technologies, but also that future developments in ICT — including next-generation mobile broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, 3D printing and others — will provide the tools for unprecedented advances in health care, education, energy services, agriculture, and environmental monitoring and protection.”

One key point of the report is that governments need to ensure that the entire public sector, including service delivery in health care, education and infrastructure, is fully supported by high-quality ICT systems. This includes:
broadband connectivity of all public facilities by 2020;
ICT training for all relevant public officials and service providers;
ICT-based delivery systems for healthcare, education and infrastructure;
deployment of IoT (remote sensing and control of connected devices) for public infrastructure and environmental management;
encouragement of universities to scale up education and incubation relating to ICT solutions, including through partnerships with the private sector;
deployment of an ICT-based Sustainable Development Goal information system that connects public services and facilities, the private sector and the public.
One example that shows how ICT can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is seen in the fight to end extreme poverty. Quiroga says: “We have seen that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration leads on average to one percent sustainable GDP growth. However, in some countries, the increase is even higher: up to 5 or 10 percent. That can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

By 2020, 90 percent of the world’s population will have access to mobile broadband networks. This scale brings unprecedented opportunity to address global sustainable development challenges. In the Networked Society where everything that can benefit from being connected is connected, Ericsson is the leading advocate of Technology for Good.

In addition to Quiroga, also present on the November 11 panel on the internet economy and sustainable development will be Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Economic Development Lenni Montiel and Columbia Business University Professor Raul L. Katz, among other industry leaders. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) enables debates on public policy issues related to internet governance topics. The Internet Governance Forum takes place from November 10 through 13 at the Poet Ronaldo Cunha Lima Convention Center, in João Pessoa, Brazil.

Ericsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society – a world leader in communications technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, business and society to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.

Our services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud – are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.

With approximately 115,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and development ensure that our solutions – and our customers – stay in front.

Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2014 were SEK 228.0 billion (USD 33.1 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.

Ericsson has been present in Latin America since 1896, when the company established an agreement in Colombia and delivered equipment for the first time in the region. In the early 1900s, Ericsson increased its presence in Latin America by signing commercial deals in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Today, Ericsson is present in 56 countries within South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, which combined count the region as one of the few with complete Ericsson installations, including a Production Unit, R&D Center and Training Center. Ericsson is the market leading telecom supplier, with over 40% market share in Latin America and more than 100 telecom service contracts in the region.