The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has elected American Doreen Bogdan-Martin to lead the United Nations agency as secretary general, the first woman to hold the post.

The ITU coordinates global spectrum and standards and advances broadband access.

President Joe Biden had called for her election as someone who would help close the global digital divide while promoting an “inclusive and accessible digital future, particularly in the developing world.”

Bogdan-Martin was the first woman to hold one of ITU's five elected positions in 2018 when she was elected director of the ITU's Telecommunications Development Bureau. 

She is a former official with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the chief telecom policy adviser to the White House and the agency overseeing government spectrum use.

Both Democrats and Republicans had backed her. “It is critical to have a leader with a proven commitment to an inclusive, open internet and universal connectivity as the next Secretary General for the International Telecommunications Union," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in supporting her nomination in advance of the vote Thursday (September 29). “Doreen Bogdan-Martin has the values, expertise and extensive experience on the global telecommunications stage necessary to help guide our digital future and I strongly support her.”

Kudos also came from the other side of the aisle. “With 30 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, Ms. Bodgan-Martin has shown a deep commitment to achieving universal connectivity and has a proven track record of strategic and innovative leadership,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said. “She is the right person to lead the ITU, and I am proud to endorse her."

Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), said: “We applaud the election of an expert veteran to lead the ITU, and support global efforts in maintaining internet freedoms that promote access to information and democracy. The ITU plays an important role in facilitating international connectivity in communications networks, and we look forward to working with ITU leadership to carry out the organization’s important mission.”

Jessica Rosenworcel, the first woman to be permanent leader of the Federal Communications Commission, also endorsed the decision. “I commend the ITU membership on electing Doreen to be secretary general, a proven leader who is dedicated to achieving universal connectivity for all people," she said. 

“At a time when almost one-third of the world lacks broadband access, she has the experience, skills, and dedication to help the ITU drive greater broadband access in all countries,” Rosenworcel added.

“Ms. Bogdan-Martin’s tireless work for universal connectivity and Internet openness makes her a proven leader in international telecommunications policy,” Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy for the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, said. “Her election by ITU member states shows the international interest in ensuring the technology and the policies that surround it empower individuals rather than become a tool of control for authoritarian regimes.”

FCC commissioner Geoffrey Starks also applauded the news. “Her election, confirmed with the overwhelming support of the international community, shows her vision for our collective digital future is the right one,” he said. “Additionally, I want to celebrate the fact that Doreen is the first woman elected to lead the ITU since its establishment in 1865. She made history today.” ▪️

According to just-released data from the International Telecommunications Union, over half (53%) of the world's population (3.9 billion people) are not online, even though the price of broadband continues to go down.

Although there are now far more people online in developing countries (2.5 billion) than developed (1 billion), penetration rates in developing countries are only half (40%) those of developing countries (81%).

That is according to the ITU's latest edition of its ICT (Information and Communication Technologies Facts and Figures, which was released Friday (July 22).

The report said that mobile broadband networks at 3G or above reach 84% of the world's population, but only 67% of rural populations.

Mobile broadband is leading the ICT price drop, with mobile service now on average half the cost of fixed broadband.

The ITU has set an affordability target for developing nations of less than 5% of average monthly income. It says that as of the end of 2015, 83% of developing countries had met that target. But it added that for many developing nations the percentage is more like 2%.

The International Telecommunication Union said Monday it has sent emergency communications equipment to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The ITU said that it had sent "35 satellite mobile phones and 10 satellite Broadband Global Area Network terminals along with solar panels and laptops" to help with the efforts to coordinate relief to Nepal, where the death toll is nearing 4,000, according to the New York Times, and aftershocks continue to hamper those efforts.

“Emergency telecommunications play a critical role in the immediate aftermath of disasters,” said Brahima Sanou, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, in a statement. “They ensure timely flow of information that is much needed by government agencies and other humanitarian actors involved in rescue operations.”

The ITU pointed out that much of the affected area is in rural and mountainous portions of the country with widely dispersed populations.

Some survivors trapped above the avalanches on Everest have been tweeting and posting on Facebook about their condition and situation, according to reports.

G.fast, the technology that will bring 1-Gig speeds to DSL, reached a milestone Friday as the members of the ITU awarded final approval to the standard.

G.fast aims to upgrade the speed capabilities of  DSL networks without the expense of deploying FTTP, but telcos won’t be able to take advantage of such speeds unless the loop lengths are relatively short.  

But in those situations, G.fast will give telcos a way to hold off on FTTP upgrades and unlock more DSL capacity in a way that makes the technology more competitive with cable’s current DOCSIS 3.0 platform and the coming DOCSIS 3.1 platform, which is targeting multi-gigabit speeds. G.fast could also position DSL to support more bandwidth-intensive services and applications such as 4K streaming and WiFi backhaul.

Friday’s ITU approval is for the physical-layer protocol aspects of G.fast, and follows approval in April of a companion text specifying methods to ensure that G.fast equipment will not interfere with broadcast services such as FM radio. Work on an “extended set of features” for G.fast, including the inclusion of a range of low-power states, is underway.

The ITU noted that The Broadband Forum has begun developing a test suite and certification program for G.fast systems, with a beta trial anticipated by mid-2015. Certified G.fast implementations are expected to appear on the market before the end of 2015, the ITU said. The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory is the first testing lab on board for G.fast certification testing.

“The time from G.fast’s approval to its implementation looks set to be the fastest of any access technology in recent memory. A range of vendors has begun shipping G.fast silicon and equipment, and service providers’ lab and field trials are well underway,” said Dr.Hamadoun I. Touré, the ITU’s Secretary-General, in a statement.

Chipmakers are already developing G.fast products, with some expecting to reach volume production by mid-2015.  Alcatel-Lucent and Adtran are among vendors that have been talking about upcoming G.fast trails with operators.

G.fast’s 1-Gig claim represents  the aggregate data capacity (upstream plus downstream) it's gunning for. And while G.fast, which requires a noise-cancellation technology called vectoring (in use already by telcos such as KPN of the Netherlands, Swisscom, BT, Belgacom, Deutsche Telekom and AT&T),  it's usable within 400 meters of a distribution point, though industry analysts hold that G.fast will need much shorter loop lengths to achieve a sizable data boost.

Given some of those limitations and questoins, analysts who track the broadband access market and are keeping tabs on G.fast aren’t ready to call it a home run. But they understand the value proposition.

“G.fast is going to have legs, but the question is how long are those legs going to be,” Teresa Mastrangelo, founder of marketing analysis and consulting firm Broadbandtrends, said in a recent interview with Multichannel News (subscription required). “The telcos are excited about the potential for G.fast and the speed that it can provide.”

At the time, Mastrangelo said operators will need loop lengths in the range of 25 meters to 40 meters to get the biggest bang out of G.fast, but notes that the initial trials are using more realistic loop lengths that enable speeds in the vicinity of 100 Megabits per second to 200 Mbps.