Post-2015 Consensus: Infrastructure Viewpoint, Alliance for Affordable Internet

Viewpoint Paper

While welcoming the Auriol-Fanfalone paper, the A4AI points out that the authors do not share any evidence of the impact of recent broadband investments in developing countries, nor do they cover the impact beyond economic growth. The implementation of policies that focus on driving down the cost to connect are critical to bringing people online. Achieving the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at or below 5% of monthly GNI per capita will enable the billions who are currently not online to connect to information and public services available via broadband. The Alliance’s 2013 Affordability Report and recently published country case studies provide several examples of developing countries that are making significant strides in making broadband access more affordable, and which are having a real impact on people at all levels of society.

A4AI recommends the following:

• Getting the cost of basic broadband below 2% of average income in every country by 2020
• Achieving universal Internet access — at least 90% active subscribers or users — in every country by 2030