ICT access by population Total global population ~7.4 billion High-speed internet 1.1 billion Total internet users 3.2 billion Mobile phones 5.2 billion Within mobile coverage 7 billion
The world’s offline population Total internet users 3.2 billion High-speed internet 1.1 billion India 1.063 billion Countries outside of the top 20 China 755 million Indonesia 213 million Pakistan 165 million Bangladesh 148 million Nigeria 111 million Brazil 98 million Ethiopia 95 million Mexico 70 million Congo, Dem. Rep. 68 million Philippines 63 million Russian Federation 55 million Iran, Islamic Rep. 54 million Myanmar 53 million Vietnam 52 million United States 51 million Tanzania 49 million Thailand 48 million Egypt, Arab Rep. 42 million Turkey 41 million
Paul R. Ehrlich, 1968 “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate ...” - The Population Bomb
In India, only 96k of the 736k cell towers are 3G enabled, but more critically, only 35k of those towers have a fiber optic connection to the backbone, which results in inconsistent connection. “ Flaky connection - India's mobile Internet: The revolution has begun Avdendus (2013)
people side-load apps and other content from third parties who have these apps downloaded to a PC and for a small fee will install apps from their computers to users’ phones. “ Nigeria - Constance Okoghenun, konga.com
Downloading a typical app with 20 MB APK can take more than 30 minutes on a 2G network, and the download is likely to fail before completion, due to the flaky nature of the network. “ - How we built Facebook Lite for every Android phone and network
With space this limited, the user is comparing their personal photo collection with the adoption of a new app on their phone. “ - Mobile App Developers Are Suffering
Progressive Web Apps ▪ live on the server so no update distribution lag ▪ require no app store or gatekeeper ▪ are a normal website on browsers such as Opera Mini, Safari, Windows phones ▪ searchable, indexable, linkable ▪ can work offline
In Nigeria, the data needed to watch just 2 minutes of online video a day can cost more than sending a child to school for a month. “ Nigeria - How To Make Internet Affordable
an increase in Internet maturity similar to the one experienced in mature countries over the past 5 years creates an increase in real GDP per capita of $500 on average during this period. “ Internet matters - The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity (McKinsey Global Institute)
It took the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century 50 years to produce the same result. “ Internet matters - The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity (McKinsey Global Institute)