The telecommunications sector in Kazakhstan is one of the most advanced in the North and Central Asia region. Significant efforts have been made to develop the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure with existing fibre-optic communications lines located along main highways and major cities. Telecommunications services are generally affordable, and as a result, a relatively high percentage of its population has access to broadband services.

Mongolia, a country of 3 million people, is located in Central Asia and is land-locked by Russia to the north and China to the south. It is the nineteenth largest country in the world with a total area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers. While Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world, with less than 2 people per square kilometer, two thirds of its population live in urban areas with more than one million people living in the capital city Ulaanbaatar.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that natural disasters can be an impediment to realizing the development goals. Earthquakes, landslides, floods, and droughts have detrimental impacts on overall country macroeconomic factors and further disproportionately affect the poor and marginalized groups. Therefore, it is imperative to develop multi-hazard assessments that address and map both physical and social vulnerabilities.

For the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), providing affordable and reliable communications facilities to all its citizens has always been a challenge due to the country’s rugged and mountainous terrain, small and scattered population, and landlocked nature. Nevertheless, recognizing the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) in boosting socioeconomic development, the RGoB has committed to the roll out of a national fibre-optic backbone infrastructure since 2015, through its National Broadband Masterplan Implementation Project.

Information and communications technology (ICT) has become an indispensable tool in our daily lives. The evolution of ICT through the Internet is making the globe a community that can create, share and acquire information and knowledge across locations and time. The impact of ICT on economic and social development is what we call the Third Industrial Revolution.