The A4AI said the Internet was a lifeline in 2020, but not for everyone, therefore governments must act. The body described 2020 as the year of digital salvation and of digital deprivation. According to it, just as the world turned to the Internet to work from home, keep businesses alive, go to school online, and stay connected with loved ones, around 3.5 billion people — almost half the world — remained without Internet access.
The body noted that the most pressing challenge is bringing down the cost to connect, noting that while 85 per cent of the world is now within range of a mobile network, the cost of data remains too expensive for many. “To make the Internet affordable and accessible to all, we need increased investment, good policy and sustained political commitment,” it stated. Secondly, A4AI observed that the world is already moving in the right direction, saying that since its first report in 2015, it has seen the cost of 1GB data drop by more than half in the countries studied. The biggest drops, according to it, occurred in places where the fewest people are online.