This publication, “Closing Broadband Connectivity Divides for All: From Evidence to Practice,” is a key deliverable of the fourth phase of the Horizontal Project “Going Digital”. It leverages expertise from the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI); the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE); and the Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD). The report was drafted by Alexia González Fanfalone (STI), Claudia Baranzelli (CFE), Frédéric Bourassa (STI), Eleanor Carey (DCD), Lauren Crean (STI), Robert Dawson (STI), Josep Espasa Reig (CFE), Charles Laverdure (STI), Michelle Marshalian (CFE), and Hokuto Nakagawa (STI), with contributions from Karim Bensassi-Nour (STI), Sean Brish (STI), Kohsuke Ikeda (STI), Anthony Kiernan (DCD), and Lou Turroques (DCD).
This book was co-ordinated by Alexia González Fanfalone, Head of the Connectivity Services and Infrastructures Unit within the Digital Connectivity, Economics and Society Division (DCES) of STI. Editorial work was undertaken by Mark Foss. Angela Gosmann and Meral Gedik prepared the report for publication.
Third-party source data on the availability and quality of broadband for 61 countries (38 OECD Member countries and 23 selected partner economies) are used in this publication. The partner economies selected include countries currently in the accession process to the OECD, focus countries for development co-operation, key partners, and countries of particular relevance for this study. Special thanks go to GSMA Intelligence, Ookla, and Opensignal for providing data used in this report, along with data from OECD Member countries. In particular, thanks go to Pau Castells from GSMA Intelligence; James Carroll, Bridget DuPuis, Katie Jolly, Katherine Macdonald, and Chip Strange from Ookla; and Ceri Howes, Matthew Harrison-Harvey, Giulio Sinibaldi, Ilaria Bencivenga, and Sylwia Kechiche from Opensignal, all of whom provided integral support and data throughout the drafting of this book.
The OECD Digital Policy Committee (DPC) declassified the report on 19 June 2025 by written procedure. The OECD Secretariat prepared it for publication. It benefitted from comments and contributions by delegates of the DPC and its Working Party on Connectivity Services and Infrastructures (WPCSI) regarding their country experiences on policies to bridge connectivity divides. It also received input from delegates of the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC), the Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), and the Working Party on Rural Policy (WPRUR) regarding their country experiences on subnational statistics and place-based policies. Thanks go to senior management in the OECD Secretariat for their comments on the publication, including Jerry Sheehan (Director, STI), Audrey Plonk (Deputy Director, STI), Molly Lesher (Acting Head of the DCES Division, STI), Rüdiger Ahrend (Head of the Economic Analysis, Statistics and Data Division, CFE), Dorothée Allain-Dupré (Head of the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division, CFE), and Ida Mc Donnell (Senior Policy Analyst for Development Co-operation Research, DCD).
This publication also benefitted from the expertise of the country-led OECD Expert Group on Broadband Mapping. This Expert Group met during the 2023-24 period and was composed of 35 broadband mapping experts from nine OECD Member countries (Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States), Brazil, the International Telecommunications Union, GSMA Intelligence, and Packet Clearing House. The OECD Secretariat acknowledges the contributions of all the experts and delegates who informed the findings in this book.