The 11th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) took place from 06-07 May 2026 in a hybrid format at the UN headquarters in New York. It focused on the role and contributions of science, technology and innovation to the achievement of the UN SDG under the theme of “Transformative, equitable and coordinated science, technology and innovation for the 2030 Agenda and a sustainable future for all.”
The Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Government of India, together with the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA), hosted a side event at this year’s STI Forum entitled “Scalable Digital Infrastructure: Community Networks, Local Language AI, and Standards-Based Innovation – The Path to SDG Implementation”. This virtual session convened global experts Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Board, C-DOT, Government of India; Dorothy Stanley, IEEE SA President; Dr. Ashutosh Dutta, Chief 5G Strategist, Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University, and IEEE Fellow; Talant Sultanov, Chair and Co-Founder, Internet Society Kyrgyz Chapter; and Purva Rajkotia, Director, Connectivity and Telecom Practice, IEEE SA.
The discussion highlighted that despite reliable digital infrastructure being essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda, many communities remain underserved due to cost, limited capacity, and a lack of locally relevant services. This session showcased practical, scalable pathways combining community-led infrastructure, local-language artificial intelligence (AI), and standards-based innovation to advance the SDG implementation.
An impactful initiative covered included Community Radio (CR)-Bolo, integrating community radio, hybrid wireless networks, interactive voice response, and decentralized local-language AI for low-cost services; interoperable and secure public Wi-Fi architecture enabling affordable last-mile hotspots operated by village entrepreneurs; frugal 5G, demonstrating how standards support low-cost, energy-efficient broadband for rural areas; and solar-powered receivers for rural communication.
Additionally, using the example of Kazakhstan, scalable climate monitoring infrastructure was presented, showcasing how the Internet of Things, Low Range Wireless Area Network and Edge AI help rural communities with climate resilience and disaster risk reduction.
These use cases demonstrated how governments, standards bodies, and community networks can help reduce fragmentation, improve affordability and reliability, and promote inclusive innovation. Informed by deployments in rural India and aligned with SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals), panelists explored replicable models for inclusive digital ecosystems.To watch the session recording and view the presentations, please see the session page.
