Countries around the world have been called on to do more to bridge the digital divide as internet connectivity becomes more important for remote working and learning amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Internet service providers reported a 60 per cent growth in traffic since the pandemic began as millions of people worked from home and pupils learnt online, according the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest Digital Economy Outlook.
However, the pandemic has thrown light on digital gaps within the 37-member bloc and developing economies.
The report shows that even within the OECD, the share of fixed broadband subscriptions varies widely.
South Korea and Japan, which have sophisticated digital economies and smart cities, have adoption rates of 82 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively.
In comparison, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel and the UK have adoption rates that are below 5 per cent, with rural areas particularly underserved.
OECD countries typically have twice the level of high-speed mobile internet subscriptions per person and three times the number of fixed broadband subscriptions of non-OECD nations.
OECD deputy secretary general Ulrik Knudsen said digital technology had helped countries in the bloc avoid a complete standstill during the Covid-19 crisis, and enabled them to learn more about the virus, hasten efforts to find a vaccine and track the development of the pandemic.
“We are at a turning point in the digital transformation, and the shape of our economies and societies post-Covid will depend on how well we can progress and narrow these divides,” he said.
The latest digital outlook showed that OECD economies had 113 high-speed mobile internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of June 2019, up from 32 per 100 a decade earlier.
Non-OECD countries, meanwhile, have 60 subscriptions for such services per 100 people.
A significant indicator of the pivot to an increasingly digital economy is the notable rise in online sales as a share of total sales, the report said.
Only a quarter of companies with more than 10 employees across the OECD bloc registered online sales before the pandemic, while a third purchased cloud computing services and more than half had a social media presence.
The share of people using e-government services rose from 43 per cent in 2010 to 58 per cent in 2019.
The OECD's recommendations to boost digital services come after the International Monetary Fund urged governments and institutions to speed up digitisation efforts.
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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