A Global Broadband Plan for Refugees

Why broadband for refugees?

Many of the problems refugees and their host countries face can be mitigated and made easier to solve if connectivity gaps are closed.

Download the Brief

Read the Plan

There is increasing recognition that the world’s growing refugee population requires investments in long-term solutions as well as the emergency responses that have dominated policymaker and humanitarian organization attention for the past several years. 

In today’s connected world, a sound investment strategy should include initiatives that increase refugee access to broadband. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has demonstrated many ways in which information technologies can aid refugees, such as keeping in touch with families and communities, helping them remain safe, etc. 

This brief, written by Blair Levin, Paul De Sa, and T. Alexander Aleinikoff, lays out a suggested framework for a global broadband plan for refugees.

With the goal of connecting un- or underserved  populations, the brief’s foci are to foster an understanding of refugee host countries’ broadband strategies and concerns while also bringing together various philanthropic efforts to connect refugees.