Addressing the Digital Divide

Overview

Although the world is more connected than ever before, not everyone currently benefits. This course focuses on both expanding mobile broadband coverage (especially in rural areas) and on accelerating mobile internet adoption, which is the biggest challenge we face in addressing the digital divide. Packed with the latest GSMA insights into the barriers to digital inclusion, the course also details concrete policy actions that can be used to address them.

Course Objectives

Gain a better understanding of the factors impacting the digital divide
Understand the policy levers that can help bridge the digital divide
Create an action plan to address the digital divide in your country

With Thanks To Our Partners

This training has been developed by the GSMA Connected Society programme, which is funded by UK International Development from the UK government* and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). It is also supported by the GSMA and its members.

*The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

Course Enrolment Criteria

This course is open to:

Regulators
Policymakers
Representatives from academia and international organisations working on regulatory or policy issues

We cannot accept applications from individuals working in the private sector or those not involved in policy or regulation.

Course Completion Certificates

All of our courses are certified by the United Kingdom Telecoms Academy (UKTA) and can be used as evidence of professional development.

To qualify for a course completion certificate, you must view all the course sessions and answer correctly all the quiz questions you will find as you progress through the sessions. You will also need to fill out the course survey.

You do not have to complete a final project to earn a course completion certificate but we strongly encourage you to create one. Putting together a final project will give you an opportunity to reflect on the principles covered during the course and help you discover how they could be applied to your own country. If you submit a final project the course trainer will provide you with valuable feedback that you may find useful in your day-to-day work.

Course Structure and Study Time

The course consists of five sessions and you will gain access to all of them on the course start date. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the content of the course during a live Ask the Expert session as well as on the course forum.

It should not take you more than two to three hours of study time per week to complete the course in four weeks. You will have, however, seven weeks to complete it. If after six weeks you have not completed the course, you will have to start it again the next time it is offered.

If you decide to submit a final project, it will probably take you four to six hours to put it together. You will have six weeks to submit your final project.

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Duration: 4 weeks

Start date: 29 August 2024

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Trainer

Anne Shannon Baxter

Senior Advocacy Manager, Connected Society, GSMA

As Senior Advocacy Manager, Anne Shannon is responsible for advocating for the digital inclusion of unconnected communities in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on policy and advocacy to address the usage gap and to further expand connectivity in areas that are not yet covered by mobile broadband.

Before joining the GSMA, Anne Shannon worked as Policy Manager at the global consultancy Access Partnership in London where she focused on digital policy in the tech sector. She developed and executed policy campaigns for the world’s largest technology companies, engaging with international organisations, government agencies and industry leaders to drive change in telecommunications regulation, digital policy, and sustainable development.

Prior to Access Partnership, Anne Shannon worked for a political risk consultancy in London where she focused on risk management for businesses operating in volatile environments.

Moderator

Daniela Gutierrez-Torres

Training Manager, GSMA

Daniela works on the GSMA’s Capacity Building program and manages the delivery of training content to regulators and policymakers worldwide and leads capacity building partnerships with the World Bank, ITU, among others. Before joining GSMA, Daniela worked at the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. She designed and delivered training to African graduate students to develop leadership and critical skills and coordinated the Programme for African Leadership’s wide range of operational and developmental activities.

Daniela holds an MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MA in Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex. Her interests and expertise lie at the intersection between social innovation, economic and social rights, and social development.