Connecting Everyone To Internet 'Would Add $6.7 Trillion To Global Economy' (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: A report, titled Connecting the world: Ten mechanisms for global inclusion, and prepared for Facebook by PwC, says that global economic output would increase by $6.7 trillion if internet access was brought to the 4.1 billion people in the world who do not currently have it. It's estimated that this would raise 500 million people out of poverty. The company behind the report says affordability, rather than infrastructure, is the main barrier to internet adoption in most areas. More than 90% of people live in areas where the infrastructure exists to get them online, but most of them can't afford to do so. The report describes a 500MB data plan that costs more than 5% of one's monthly income as "unaffordable." Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Philippines, for example, would need to cut the price of internet access by over 90% in order for 80% of their populations to get online. Improved technology, or even installing existing technology in developing nations, will be sufficient in bringing much of this cost reduction. Facebook's Internet.org project, aimed at partnering carriers in developing nations to give low-cost internet access, has been criticized for allowing users to access some websites, like Wikipedia and Facebook, without paying for the data they use. Others say such an approach is worth it in the long run. "The important thing here is to get things moving," says Jonathan Tate, technology consulting leader at PwC. The report' authors estimate that the last 500 million people to get online won't be able to rely on piecemeal improvements. Instead, they'll need new "disruptive technologies" being created by companies like Google, with its Project Loon plan to mount internet access points on balloons, and Facebook, with its solar-powered, laser-armed 4G drone called Aquila.

Comments

In education alone, the gains are huge.

[GoodNewsJimDotCom]

Don't underplay how valuable the Internet is for education! For the extra education alone, the internet would be vital in places where people might not get a great primary education. If you could buy everyone on earth an encyclopedia set, we'd do it. Well the Internet is much more valuable than that thousands of times over.

I'm wondering

[codeButcher]

I have two questions on my mind (that don't necessarily get answered by the article, or not in a credible fashion):
1. Do the connectees have control over how and when they are connected and to what subset of "services"? Or is that up to solely the connectors (sometimes a.k.a. Big Brother)?
2. Will those 6.7 billion USD be received by the connectees, the connectors, or the advertisers?