While the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is the oldest United Nations agency, it remains on the cutting edge of technology much as it did when it was founded by 20 European states in 1865.

The ITU celebrated its 150th anniversary Saturday at a gala celebration at UN headquarters in New York. ITU's mission is to support sustainable development and promote education by expanding broadband access.

When the agency was first established, electricity was just starting to appear in the world, and high-tech communication was done through the telegraph wires and a new invention called the telephone. The ITU was set up to bring orderly development to the emerging communication technologies of the era.

Today the agency is focused on broadband, said Houlin Zhao, secretary-general of the ITU. "If we can increase broadband penetration by 10 percent, we can increase a country's GDP by as much as 1.7 percent," he said.

Born in Jiangsu, Zhao graduated from the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and holds an MSc in Telematics from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. From 2007 to 2014, he served as ITU's deputy secretary-general.

Expanding access to broadband is difficult even for developed nations like the United States. While residents in urban areas enjoy almost universal access, rural areas find it difficult to provide the same level of service due to a sparse population spread over many miles and natural barriers like mountains.

Today, under developed countries face enormous obstacles in providing broadband. "In Africa, less than 10 percent of the population has reliable broadband access," Zhao said. An unreliable power grid and a lack of investment capital are some of the reasons why the continent struggles with broadband access, he said.

Zhao said the ITU has established a commission to expand broadband penetration in areas like Africa. Carlos Slim, billionaire Mexican businessman and philanthropist, is a member of the panel.

"The commission will work to expand broadband, particularly in the less developed parts of the world. They will research and come up with strategies for the next five years," Zhao said.

Zhao believes that increasing broadband access provides an ideal platform for public and private partnerships.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/27/2015 page3)