Work on a white paper called “Internet for All: An Investment Framework for Digital Adoption” began with a question:

You’ve shown us a very nice framework, but how much is this going to cost?”

The question came from a minister of information and communications technology at an event in Kigali, Rwanda, last year in response to a presentation on four barriers to global internet access: Limited infrastructure; lack of affordability; poor digital skills and awareness; and an absence of relevant online content.

The World Economic Forum, which brings partners together to take on global challenges including internet access, drew on its work to close the digital divide in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan to build a model to help government and business leaders understand how they can contribute to the estimated $450 billion that will be needed to connect the next 1.5 billion people to the internet.

Devex takes a look at some of the key ideas that have emerged:

  • No ‘one size fits all’ solution. “There’s no magical solution, one solution, either in respect to technology or business that you can use to serve all of the earth’s problems in connectivity,” said Marian Croak, vice president of access strategy and emerging markets at Google, at New America’s The Next Three Billion event in Washington, D.C., in February.
  • New business models. New business models are disrupting the traditional models of mobile network operators, which face challenges including growing demand for video streaming.
  • Turning calls to action into results. “The key to any country's internet growth, and vibrant internet ecosystem, and capability of standing on its own feet, is strong local technical expertise,” Steven Huter, director of the Network Startup Resource Center

Read the full article by Catherine Cheney about internet for all from Devex International Development