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1.5 billion more people to get Internet by 2020

Xinhua, October 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

At least 1.5 billions people are expected to gain access to the Internet by 2020, said the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Zhao Houlin.

In an interview with Xinhua in Tunisia, Zhao said that as a United Nations specialized agency, the ITU's objective is to ensure everyone benefits from the advance of internet technology.

According to the ITU, around 4 billion people globally still have not connected to the Internet. "This world would be totally different if they all get access to the Internet," said Zhao.

He noted that the ITU encourages developed countries to transfer their technologies to the developing world to the benefit of populations living in remote and underdeveloped areas.

Zhao presided earlier this morning over the opening ceremony of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly. The meeting has attracted over 1000 participants from about 100 countries this year.

By 2020, Zhao estimates that 5G mobile technology will come into wide use, along with the popularized use of some wearable devices.

The ITU was established in 1865, and one of its aims is to set up a universal standards for global communication, explained Zhao, adding that standardization plays a major role in the economy and society at large.

"Over 95 percent of the data on the Internet is transferred thanks to the standards set by ITU, including video coding standards."

Industrial standardization has been dominated by some big enterprises from developed countries, while nowadays some enterprises from developing countries have also entered the field, said Zhao, adding that some small-and-medium-sized enterprises have provided communications solutions that could be applied worldwide.

He pointed out some young ICT enterprises from China, such as Huawei and ZTE who have extended their reach globally, are brilliant examples for small-and-medium-sized enterprises in developing countries.

Zhao praised China for its devotion to innovation in the telecommunication industry, illustrated by its growing number of registered patents. Endi