Digit Debates: Connectivity – OECD perspectives and policies to expand network coverage and quality
17 November 2021
1:00pm-2:00pm
Summary
Connectivity is at the heart of the ongoing transformation to a digital economy. However, while connectivity is increasing in countries around the world, there are still significant divides in access, use and skills. Verena Weber, Head of the Communication Infrastructures and Policy Unit at the OECD, discusses current state of communications infrastructures and the policies that can help expand network coverage and quality.
Bio
Dr Verena Weber is Head of the Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy Unit at the OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation. She has more than a decade of experience working with the OECD on topics relating to the Digital Economy and is currently responsible for OECD’s work on connectivity and communication infrastructure policy and regulation. Her current projects focus on trends in communication infrastructure and markets, the security of communication networks, convergence, network neutrality, cloud computing, and ICTs for development. Recent projects include the work leading up to the 2021 OECD Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity, OECD Telecommunication and Broadcasting Reviews of Brazil and Mexico and the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2020. Between 2014 and 2015 she worked as an Internet Governance Advisor to the ICT Minister Diego Molano and the head of the Comisión de Regulación de Comunicaciones (CRC) in Colombia where she developed an Internet governance strategy. She also served as a country representative on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) Government Advisory Committee (GAC) and is a past representative of the OECD to the Internet Governance Forum.