World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee is leading a cross-industry coalition to bring cheaper internet to the developing world.
Announced in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday, the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) aims to drive down global internet prices and campaign against anti-competitive pricing.
The coalition spans both public and private organisations, including Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, and the UK Department for International Development.
“The majority of the world’s people are still not online, usually because they can’t afford to be," said Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web and founder of the World Wide Web Foundation. "In Mozambique, for example, a recent study showed that using just 1GB of data can cost well over two months’ wages for the average citizen."
Everyday life seems unimaginable without internet
A4AI is an advocate for open, competitive and innovative broadband markets, aiming to help internet access prices fall to below the UN Broadband Commission's target of 5% of monthly income worldwide.
“Over the last twenty years the web has changed our own society so much that everyday life seems unimaginable without it," said UK secretary of state for International Development Justine Greening. "Internet access has been a driver of economic growth. It puts power in the hands of people and opens up societies."
Widening the digital divide
"The result of high prices is a widening digital divide that slows progress in vital areas such as health, education and science," said Berners-Lee. "With the advent of affordable smartphones, new undersea cables and innovations in wireless spectrum usage, there is simply no good reason for the digital divide to continue."
In the developing world, just 31% of the population has internet access, compared to the developed world's 77% internet connected population. For instance, in Africa, 16% of people have access to the internet, which is half the penetration rate of Asia and the Pacific.
A noble idea that could stagnate
The road to ubiquitous, affordable broadband access across the globe won't be easy, however.
"Looking at a region like Africa, the Alliance is on the right track in terms of tackling the cost of service, but the success of this will hinge on how much buy in they get from the service providers," said Spiwe Chireka, program manager, telecoms and networking, Africa for research firm IDC.
"Furthermore, we do not believe that managing the cost of internet services, independent of the lack of relevant content, access to devices and without addressing the priority of voice over data, will increase internet penetration as the Alliance seems to imply," continued Chireka.
"I believe it needs a more holistic approach to increasing penetration, as opposed to just the cost of broadband. It's a noble idea but could stagnate in the future if the other three factors of content, devices and voice priority are not addressed concurrently."