When choosing a place to live, there are a few non-negotiable factors which I consider before making a final decision. One of those factors is a high-speed internet connection. It has only been 60 years since ARPANET, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, was established and we now have internet connections with speeds that go up to more than 1 Gbps.
Less than 30 years ago, I remember using dial-up modems, the highest transfer speed of which was 56 kbps. Nowadays, those speeds are paltry and will no longer hold to the current standards. Fiber-to-the-home technology has enabled households to have at least 50 Mbps speeds, which can be considered decent, although the minimum recommended internet speed is 100 Mbps. With this, one can enjoy everything that the internet has to offer without latency, which allows for efficiency and higher productivity, especially since work-from-home setups have risen since the pandemic.
Needless to say, a decent internet connection has become essential to 21st century humans. And it's easy to see why. The internet has enabled us to gain access to a vast library of information, to transcend geophysical barriers to communicate with others at the soonest possible time, to establish businesses without significant capital investments or cash outlays, to express one's creativity through shared platforms as well as monetize one's output, and connect with people who share the same interests in online communities.
The cyberspace is a frontier of endless possibilities, and that's why there are movements and organizations whose sole purpose it is to ensure 100% connectivity throughout the world. As it stands, only two-thirds of the world's population are online, despite only 5% of people living in places which practically cannot have an internet connection.
That means, in theory, 95% of the world's population should be able to connect to the internet, but that's not the case. Only 67% of those who theoretically should have access to the internet are actually connected.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency associated with the United Nations whose objective is to facilitate global connectivity in communication networks, has identified two main reasons why 2.6 billion people still don't use the internet. These two reasons are the coverage gap and the usage gap.
The coverage gap is the reason why 5% of people cannot connect to the internet. Due to lack of infrastructure development, especially people living in rural areas or low-income nations, this portion of the populace literally have no access to the internet. And it's understandable since it would be difficult for internet service providers to make investments in those areas where it won't be profitable for them to establish a service.
The usage gap is why only 67% of the 95% who, theoretically, should be connected to the internet are actually online. Several factors affect these people's access to the internet. One major factor is the cost of being connected to the internet. In places where investments in network infrastructure are low, the cost of an entry-level mobile broadband subscription is about 20 times higher than developed nations who have sufficient infrastructure.
Of course, we also consider the standard of living in those places. Another reason why people aren't able to connect to the internet even if, say, there is enough infrastructure, is that they cannot afford to buy the necessary hardware i.e. smartphones, computers, etc., to access the internet.
With regard to this, there are different groups, programs, and initiatives that are trying to close the digital divide. One of which is the alliance launched by the ITU, called the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition. What they do is to get groups to pledge to invest resources that would help foster universal connectivity and digital transformation.
Other initiatives like UK charity unconnected.org aim to provide free internet for schools in rural and underserved areas, and other companies like telecom provider IndoSat have also given out free data packages as well as conducted digital training to 100,000 people in Indonesia.
So far, not even more developed regions have 100% connectivity to the internet. As the chart above shows, even Europe, the region with the highest percentage of individuals using the internet, is still just at 91%.
There's still a long road ahead before the whole world can be fully connected to the internet. And it would take more than just the efforts of a few organizations or agencies. If governments will prioritize initiatives that will not only ensure that internet access is available for everyone, but also that everyone will have the capacity for internet access, then I think the work will be much easier.
Just imagine what it would be like if the entirety of the world's population has access to the internet. Will the world become a slightly better place for everyone?
(Image credit: Discover Savsat/Unsplash; ITU, Facts and Figures 2023)