WTSID Event - From Connectivity to Capability: Building Inclusive Digital Societies
17 May 2026 - Hosted by MXR.world, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP), and Crowd Product
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Speakers: Craig Polk - IEEE; Ashish Nainwal - Nokia Solutions & Networks India; Suchit Nanda - Reliance Foundation; Osama Manzar - Digital Empowerment Foundation; Anriette Esterhuysen - Association for Progressive Communications; Amir Ullah Khan - Centre for Development Policy and Practice / Telangana State Public Service Commission; Chetan Kapoor - Tech Mahindra Foundation; Sonia Jorge - Global Digital Inclusion Partnership; Shalini Kala - Rural Development & Agriculture Specialist, ex-IDRC, WFP; Abdul Kayum - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; Sally Wentworth - Internet Society
Moderator: Dr Madanmohan Rao - MXR.world
Opening Remarks and Framing the Session
Dr Madanmohan Rao opened the session by welcoming participants from multiple continents to the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day dialogue. He explained that the event aimed to examine how global connectivity efforts must evolve beyond infrastructure deployment toward building inclusive digital societies centered on human capability, participation, and empowerment. He thanked the speakers, sponsors, and partner organizations and expressed hope that the gathering would become a recurring annual platform for collaborative reflection on digital inclusion.
Telecom Evolution and Social Inclusion
Craig Polk discussed IEEE’s “Connecting the Unconnected” initiative and the organization’s broader work in standards development, mentoring, and community engagement. He explained that IEEE’s approach combines technology development with local participation, business models, and policy frameworks to support rural connectivity and digital inclusion. Polk highlighted IEEE’s global challenge programs, innovation summits, and mentorship efforts, which since 2021 have supported dozens of projects focused on community-driven connectivity solutions. He stressed that solving the “last mile” challenge requires direct engagement with local communities and that standards must support local realities rather than abstract technological goals.
Polk also described IEEE’s work in India around 5G and 6G innovation testbeds, which provide open access for students, researchers, and communities to experiment with advanced telecommunications technologies. He emphasized that local empowerment, field validation, and entrepreneurial participation are necessary to ensure that emerging technologies generate meaningful social outcomes rather than remaining confined to elite or urban contexts.
Ashish Nainwal presented a historical overview of India’s telecom journey, beginning with the first mobile call made in India in 1995 using Nokia equipment. He traced the country’s progression from 2G voice networks to 3G mobile Internet, 4G broadband, and now 5G systems characterized by low latency and high-speed connectivity. He noted that India now has approximately 1.2 billion subscribers and some of the world’s highest levels of mobile data consumption.
Nainwal focused particularly on the transition toward AI-native networks. He explained that the future of telecom infrastructure will increasingly involve not only connecting people but also supporting intelligent devices, autonomous systems, AI applications, immersive services, and massive IoT ecosystems. He described how AI-driven traffic patterns are reshaping network architecture and increasing demands on resiliency, scalability, and uplink capacity.
He also outlined Nokia’s Smartpur initiative, a rural digital inclusion program operating across multiple Indian states. Through Smartpur centers, volunteers help rural communities access healthcare, governance services, and education while building digital capabilities at the local level. Nainwal argued that digital inclusion requires resilient infrastructure combined with socially relevant applications and long-term community engagement.
Suchit Nanda approached the discussion from the perspective of media evolution, digital culture, and grassroots empowerment. Drawing on his involvement in India’s early Internet and bulletin board system movements, he described the progression from radio and television to the Internet, mobile computing, and now AI. He argued that each wave of communications technology fundamentally changes society while also creating new forms of exclusion and inequality.
Nanda emphasized what he called the “three Vs” of inclusion: voice, video, and vernacular language support. He argued that language barriers remain one of the most significant obstacles to meaningful digital participation in India, where the overwhelming majority of people do not use English as their primary language. He stressed that connectivity alone is insufficient if digital systems, educational content, government services, and economic opportunities remain inaccessible in local languages.
He credited Reliance Jio with dramatically reshaping India’s connectivity landscape through low-cost data access but argued that affordability alone does not guarantee empowerment. Large segments of the population remain digitally invisible because they lack the skills, literacy, confidence, or support needed to engage fully in digital systems. He warned against measuring success only through traffic statistics, SIM card numbers, or subscriber counts, arguing instead that digital transformation should be evaluated through concrete improvements in livelihoods, healthcare, education, and human opportunity.
Nanda also raised concerns about environmental sustainability, cultural preservation, AI bias, and data sovereignty. He stressed that future digital systems must be inclusive not only socially and economically but also environmentally and culturally.
Education, Grassroots Participation, and Meaningful Use
In the first discussion segment, Dr Rao asked panelists to identify the single most important lever for advancing social inclusion through digital technologies.
Suchit Nanda emphasized digital literacy and education, arguing that societies cannot simply inject technology into communities and expect meaningful outcomes without helping people understand how to use it safely and effectively. He noted that digital systems increasingly shape all aspects of daily life and warned that inadequate literacy creates vulnerability to fraud, misinformation, and exclusion.
Ashish Nainwal argued that telecom infrastructure becomes socially meaningful only when paired with impactful use cases in sectors such as healthcare and education. He suggested that successful 5G adoption will depend less on technical specifications and more on whether communities see practical value in the services enabled by advanced connectivity.
Craig Polk stressed grassroots participation and local ownership. He argued that communities themselves must shape the deployment and use of technology, noting that adoption accelerates dramatically when people are actively involved in designing and implementing solutions.
Osama Manzar then challenged the panel by questioning whether successive generations of telecom technology have actually deepened exclusion by forcing users into continual device upgrades and increasing costs. He argued that each transition from 2G to 3G to 4G to 5G leaves behind populations unable to afford or justify new technologies.
Responding to this critique, Suchit Nanda argued that technology development too often starts with the technology itself rather than with actual community needs. He described how many successful grassroots projects initially relied on simple tools such as SMS, IVR systems, voice services, and basic video because those matched local realities more effectively than advanced platforms.
The discussion later turned toward sustainability concerns surrounding AI infrastructure. Nanda highlighted the growing challenges of power consumption, water usage, and physical infrastructure demands associated with data centers and AI systems. He urged participants to stop measuring telecom success solely through traffic volumes or connectivity metrics and instead focus on human outcomes such as improved livelihoods, health resilience, and social empowerment.
Access, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship
Opening the second segment, Osama Manzar provided a data-driven critique of dominant narratives surrounding India’s digital progress. He pointed out that despite rapid growth in connectivity statistics, enormous portions of the population remain excluded from meaningful digital participation.
He cited figures suggesting that hundreds of millions of Indians still use feature phones rather than smartphones, that large portions of rural India remain disconnected from smartphones and digital services, and that nearly half of the population remains offline altogether. He also highlighted major gender disparities, noting that many women in India have never used the Internet.
Manzar criticized the use of telecom subscription numbers as a proxy for meaningful access, arguing that many statistics overstate actual participation because they count inactive or duplicated SIM cards. He also highlighted major gaps in public infrastructure, including limited Internet access in rural schools and healthcare facilities.
A major theme of his intervention was the growing problem of “digital-only” governance. He argued that governments increasingly require digital authentication and online access for essential services such as banking, welfare distribution, and food access, even though many citizens remain excluded from reliable digital systems. He warned that societies are normalizing exclusion by assuming universal digital participation where it does not exist.
Anriette Esterhuysen expanded the conversation through an African perspective, distinguishing between supply-side and demand-side dimensions of digital inclusion. She argued that affordable infrastructure remains a major challenge across much of Africa, but that meaningful inclusion also depends on relevant content, safety, skills, and local empowerment.
Esterhuysen criticized what she described as the dominant “grand narrative” that assumes large mobile operators alone can solve digital inequality. She argued that policymakers often treat spectrum allocation and large telecom companies as the primary solution while neglecting smaller operators, community networks, public access systems, and local innovation.
She also challenged the reliability of global Internet penetration statistics, noting that official definitions often count someone who connects only once every several months as an Internet user. This masks the depth of digital exclusion and obscures the experiences of communities with only minimal or inconsistent access.
Esterhuysen advocated diversified approaches that combine infrastructure development with local business creation, community participation, public access models, and skills development. She emphasized the importance of open standards, flexible spectrum policies, and locally driven partnerships that allow communities themselves to shape digital systems around their actual needs.
Amir Ullah Khan focused on how digital systems can unintentionally deepen exclusion when governments move public services online without maintaining alternative access mechanisms. Drawing from his experience overseeing public recruitment systems in Telangana, he described how online applications and computer-based exams disadvantage applicants from poorly connected areas who rely on intermediaries and cybercafés to navigate digital systems.
He explained that minor digital errors — such as incorrect spellings or birth dates entered during applications — can permanently disqualify candidates from public employment opportunities. Khan argued that excessive reliance on digital systems can create invisible barriers that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations.
He also discussed healthcare systems, noting that while digital technologies have improved diagnostics and expanded reach, they have also created new forms of exclusion for communities lacking stable connectivity or digital confidence. He argued that digital public service systems must remain flexible and inclusive rather than assuming universal readiness.
Ecosystem Collaboration and Policy Coordination
During the discussion on collaboration, Anriette Esterhuysen argued that diversification is the key principle for improving digital inclusion ecosystems. She stressed that no single actor — especially not only governments or large telecom firms — can solve the challenge alone. Instead, she advocated bottom-up approaches where communities actively shape connectivity systems and define their own priorities.
Osama Manzar criticized what he described as “policy paralysis,” where digital policymaking is isolated within technology ministries rather than integrated across sectors such as healthcare, education, and public administration. He argued that digital infrastructure policies must be developed in coordination with the sectors they are intended to serve.
Disability Inclusion and Assistive Technologies
Chetan Kapoor focused on the opportunities and challenges surrounding digital inclusion for persons with disabilities. Representing the Tech Mahindra Foundation, he explained that persons with disabilities may benefit disproportionately from technological innovation but are also among the most excluded populations.
Kapoor highlighted the enormous uncertainty around disability data in India while citing estimates suggesting that tens of millions of Indians live with disabilities. He stressed that disability inclusion requires highly specialized approaches because disabilities vary widely and require different forms of intervention across different life stages.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 lockdown period, Kapoor described how many existing digital systems failed speech- and hearing-impaired communities as well as visually impaired users because accessibility features had not been adequately considered. This experience reinforced the need for more accessible and affordable assistive technologies.
He identified three major barriers to assistive technology adoption: lack of awareness, challenges in adoption and training, and affordability. Kapoor then presented the “Ability Network,” a platform developed by the Tech Mahindra Foundation to connect persons with disabilities and caregivers with verified service providers, innovators, NGOs, and assistive technology resources.
The platform includes verified providers, innovation listings, and plans for AI-enabled accessibility tools and sign-language-supported interfaces. Kapoor stressed that no single organization can solve disability inclusion challenges alone and framed the Ability Network as a collaborative ecosystem intended to bring together stakeholders across sectors and countries.
Public Interest, Accountability, and Realistic Targets
Sonia Jorge centered her remarks on the importance of public interest principles in digital inclusion policy. She argued that many digital targets and milestones are disconnected from the realities faced by communities and marginalized groups.
Jorge stressed that policy goals should not simply express ambition but should directly address structural barriers preventing participation. She argued that policymakers must understand local contexts, lived experiences, and socioeconomic inequalities when designing digital strategies.
A major theme of her intervention was accountability. She argued that digital inclusion targets frequently fail because they are unrealistic, poorly implemented, or disconnected from local realities. According to Jorge, targets and milestones should function as accountability mechanisms that allow societies to evaluate progress honestly and adjust strategies when necessary.
She repeatedly emphasized that digital inclusion must remain grounded in public interest values rather than purely commercial objectives. She also stressed the importance of multistakeholder collaboration involving governments, civil society, local communities, and private sector actors throughout both policy design and implementation.
Jorge argued that no universal template exists for digital inclusion because each country and community faces distinct challenges. Effective roadmaps therefore require flexible, context-sensitive approaches rooted in local participation and sustained collaboration.
Rural Development, Sustainability, and Resilience
Shalini Kala focused on rural development, sustainability, and the need to connect digital transformation with broader social and agricultural systems. Drawing from her experience in international development organizations, she argued that rural communities require integrated solutions rather than isolated technology projects.
Kala emphasized that connectivity alone does not automatically improve lives unless it strengthens agriculture, food systems, healthcare, education, and local governance structures. She stressed the importance of trust-building, continuity, and long-term collaboration between governments, NGOs, local communities, and research institutions.
A recurring theme in her intervention was resilience. She argued that digital systems should help communities respond more effectively to crises, climate challenges, and economic instability. According to Kala, future digital inclusion strategies must align with broader goals of sustainability, food security, and environmental responsibility.
Video Messages
Abdul Kayum of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India emphasized the importance of regulatory frameworks that promote inclusive access, affordability, innovation, and long-term digital participation.
Sally Wentworth, President and CEO of the Internet Society, stressed that meaningful Internet access involves more than connectivity alone. She argued that digital inclusion must support trust, empowerment, opportunity, and community participation while preserving an open and globally connected Internet through multistakeholder cooperation.
Closing Reflections
In his concluding remarks, Dr Madanmohan Rao reflected on several recurring themes from the session, including empathy, education, engagement, accessibility, sustainability, and grassroots participation. He stressed the importance of transforming discussions into ongoing collaborative action and proposed future dialogues focused on issues such as environmental sustainability and disability inclusion.
The session closed with appreciation for the global participation of speakers joining from India, South Africa, the United States, and China, reinforcing the international and collaborative character of the discussion.
RESOURCES
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day — UN observance marked annually on 17 May, the occasion for this dialogue
MXR.world — co-host and convener of the session, led by moderator Dr Madanmohan Rao
Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) — co-host; Osama Manzar’s organisation working on last-mile connectivity and digital literacy
Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) — co-host; Amir Ullah Khan is Research Director
Crowd Product — co-host; Vinay Dora K’s events and audience engagement platform
IEEE Connecting the Unconnected (CTU) Program — Craig Polk presented this IEEE Future Networks initiative, with annual challenges and regional summits supporting digital inclusion
Nokia Smartpur — Ashish Nainwal described this Nokia/DEF digital village ecosystem now in 205+ centres across 11 Indian states
Reliance Foundation — Suchit Nanda outlined its reach across 36 states and 98,000 villages, with programs in agriculture, health and rural development
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) — Anriette Esterhuysen’s organisation, working on community-based connectivity and access policy globally
Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP) — Sonia Jorge spoke on public-interest targets and meaningful connectivity by 2030
The Ability Network (TAN) — Tech Mahindra Foundation’s platform launched by Chetan Kapoor connecting persons with disabilities to verified solution providers
Zero Project — Vienna-based international network for disability inclusion that TAN is partnering with across Austria, Singapore, and India
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) — Abdul Kayum, Advisor to TRAI, sent a video message on India’s digital transformation through BharatNet, 4G and 5G rollout
Samriddh Gram — DEF/Department of Telecommunications phygital village pilot Maitri Singh announced; first centre inaugurated in Umri Village, Madhya Pradesh