The pandemic has pushed internet connections but many are still out. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a specialized UN institution, 4.9 billion people had access to the network in 2021, an increase compared to about 4.1 billion in 2019. A significant growth which, however, still sees a large number of offline individuals: 2.9 billion, or 37% of the world population. “Even though nearly two-thirds of people globally are online, there is still a lot to do to connect everyone to the internet,” said ITU secretary general Houlin Zhao.
“Our organization will work with all stakeholders to make sure we can connect the remaining 2.9 billion.” Beyond the boom in internet access, which the ITU links to the need to adapt work and training to remote modalities, a consequence of the pandemic, the 4.9 billion do not use the internet in the same way. The same organization explains that hundreds of millions of people, although able to use the internet, do so only on radios, with shared devices and with poor connection speeds. About 96% of those who have no chance of being online live in developing countries and face serious problems such as poverty, limited access to electricity or illiteracy. Then there are the costs of the data packages, necessary to surf the net. For the UN body, only 4 of the 43 countries where the connected population is minimal, offer subscriptions within the reach of users. Here, the average rent to the network is equal to about 2% of the average gross income, with peaks that can reach 20% for most of the states of the African continent. (HANDLE).
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Source From: Ansa
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