 Working together to connect. 46.4% of people worldwide cannot access communication services. Many live in rural and remote communities, where affordable broadband remains out of reach. They are left out of the digital marketplace and are unable to access key e-services. We need to connect rural and remote communities to achieve sustainable development goals. Telecommunication slash ICT infrastructure is closely linked to economic development. However, installing infrastructure in rural and remote communities is challenging and costly, often resulting in poor quality of service and high service fees in these regions. Electricity and access roads for transport are needed to build the necessary infrastructure. ITU members have co-created a report on telecommunications slash ICTs for rural and remote areas. 94 case studies were received and analysed between 2018 and 2021. The report looks at the challenges affecting the creation, upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure and recommends policies for affordable infrastructure installation and low service fees, including the creation of local content to stimulate demands for ICTs, strategies and targets for high-speed broadband networks to facilitate 5G, as well as flexible universal fund policies and measures to cut infrastructure deployment costs, such as dig once policies for burying empty pipes for fibre optic cables at the construction stage. Universal access is an essential development tool and universal service funds offer an opportunity for economic growth in developing countries. Access to ICTs enables people from rural and remote communities to participate in the digital economy, transform their local economies and improve the quality of their lives and their livelihoods. Mobile communications have allowed rural communities to take big steps forward and a number of countries are turning to 5G to connect people in rural areas. More work is needed to look at how emerging technologies can transform rural and remote areas into digital economies. Working together to connect www.itu.int.