{"id":32698,"date":"2023-10-20T14:28:48","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/internet-for-all-remains-an-impossible-dream-no-matter-what-jimmy-wales-says-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:28:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:28:48","slug":"internet-for-all-remains-an-impossible-dream-no-matter-what-jimmy-wales-says-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/internet-for-all-remains-an-impossible-dream-no-matter-what-jimmy-wales-says-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet for all remains an impossible dream, no matter what Jimmy Wales says – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/em><\/span>From satellites<\/a>, to autonomous solar-powered drones<\/a>, or balloons<\/a>, there have been plenty of ideas recently on how to connect up the world. Facebook, Google, large international organisations, national governments, even Bono, have laid out ideas of a near future in which we are all hooked into the network<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the midst of all of this Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, who is speaking at the IP Expo in London<\/a>, recently made an interesting comment:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This hope \u2013 the inevitability of the world becoming an internet-connected society \u2013 is one that is widely repeated by other technologists, other policy makers and other thought leaders. However, hopes are one thing; how might this come about in reality? There are two ways in which this hypothetical future of universal, ubiquitous access to the internet could be brought about.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The first is a world where everyone can afford access. Affordability is obviously key, but as we demonstrated in our research about the costs of broadband worldwide<\/a> it\u2019s unlikely that just dropping prices will be sufficient.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There will remain as there are now billions of people making only a subsistence living, for whom even the cheapest internet access is unaffordable. The average worker in Ethiopia, for example, would need to spend more than one month\u2019s salary to pay for even a very cheap broadband subscription<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nOpen market<\/h2>\n