A Facebook-led effort to connect the world's poor to the internet won't be easy or offer huge profits. A third of the planet already logs on, and the 2.4 billion people earning less than $2 a day aren't quite an advertiser's dream. But communication aids development, and improved data compression and transmission technologies benefit everyone.
Mobile phones have become almost ubiquitous, with 1.75 billion sold last year according to research firm Gartner. But connections to the internet aren't nearly as common in developing countries, especially in rural areas. Cellphone services are far cheaper and easier to set up than computers and cable.
The Facebook-led effort to connect the next five billion people, called Internet.org, has enlisted other companies including Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm. The firms say they are working together to reduce the price of smartphones, improve data compression and transmission and produce simpler versions of applications that will work better on phones and tablets. If all that happens, the internet really could displace the basic mobile phone, even in the middle of nowhere. But there's no guarantee it will work. It's difficult to make companies and teams of engineers co-operate - Facebook rival Google, for example, is exploring its own initiative to spread internet access to remote places using balloons. New technologies don't magically appear on schedule. And internet connections are no panacea. As Bill Gates recently pointed out, internet balloons don't do much for someone dying of malaria.
It's still a praiseworthy effort. Improved communications are correlated with economic growth, especially in poor countries. Full-on internet access could improve significantly on what's possible with limited cellphone tools, providing farmers and small businesspeople with access to new markets and sources of capital, improving education and medical care, and facilitating broader contact with the world. Of course, online service providers like Facebook and smartphone makers such as Samsung see a new market, even if it's limited for now. But engineers and innovators thrive on new challenges. Figuring out better, more efficient ways to blast data over limited wireless connections and making apps load faster could improve everyone's web experience. As well as helping the companies involved, the new initiative could help the world's poor - and you.
