<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">I am attending the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Dialogue where Jac Kee mentioned the Alliance for Affordable Internet report. Looked up that report and find the following:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" class="gmail_quote"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:lora,serif">In 2011, the UN Broadband Commission established a </span><a href="http://iif.un.org/content/broadband-commission-digital-development" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;outline:none;color:rgb(29,116,148);font-family:lora,serif"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent">target</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:lora,serif"> for broadband affordability: entry-level broadband (defined as 500MB of mobile data) priced at 5% or less of average national income (as measured by GNI per capita). By early 2015, </span><a href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2015/MISR2015-w5.pdf" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;outline:none;color:rgb(29,116,148);font-family:lora,serif"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent">according to the ITU</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:lora,serif">, 111 countries — including all of the world’s developed countries and 60% of developing countries — had achieved this target.</span></blockquote><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:16.8px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;font-family:lora,serif"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The report shows estimates (2014) averaging $ 12 for 500 MB of data as cost for those with a monthly income of about $100, with the result that the cost of Access for those with less than $100 ( $ 3.1 per day ) amounts to as much as 12% of their income. In one or two countries it is as high as 35%</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default"><font color="#333333" face="verdana, sans-serif"><a href="http://a4ai.org/affordability-report/report/2015/#poverty_income_inequality_and_the_case_of_mistaken_affordability">http://a4ai.org/affordability-report/report/2015/#poverty_income_inequality_and_the_case_of_mistaken_affordability</a></font><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">What is striking is the disparity between the price of mobile broadband data and the price of wired broadband data.  I have a 120 GB wired broadband data limit for which I pay about $36 dollars per month, and offered 500 GB of data for a total price of $ 50.  This price more or less reflects the average global cost of wired broadband data, which could be even less expensive in the US or Australia.  If we project this pricing ( 500 GB for $ 50 ) onto the the UN definition of minimum data for basic access, the cost per 500 MB actually would amount to 50 cents per month, which would be less than a half percent of the monthly income of a person earning $ 3.1 per day.  In theory, if I offer tethered wireless connection from my wired broadband to 1000 users in the vicinity with a data limit of 500 MB data limit per user, my cost per user would be 50 cents.  </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The UN notion ( and the reality in some countries ) of the Internet NOT being affordable in some countries arises from this definition of requirement as 500 MB of data based on MOBILE data prices.  <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Make a wish that the phone companies offer mobile data at wired broadband prices !  I just did.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Sivasubramanian M.</div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sivasubramanian.muthusamy" target="_blank">Sivasubramanian M</a></div></div>
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