Google, Microsoft and others team up to make Internet access cheaper

[nsane.forums]

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, Intel and other companies and organizations have announced their participation in the Alliance for Affordable Internet, which wants to make Internet access cheaper.

Making broadband Internet access cheaper to purchase worldwide is the goal of a new group that has Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and Intel among its members. The group is called Alliance for Affordable Internet, which was announced today.

The A4AI's press release states that their goal is to bring entry level broadband Internet access worldwide, but with a price tag that would cost below five percent of a person's monthly income. Currently, it is estimated that people in developing countries have to pay as much as 30 percent of their monthly income to get that same amount of broadband access.

The group will look into promoting changes in policy and regulations in many countries where the price of Internet access is artificially high. The A4AI will start working with the governments of three or four countries by the end of 2013 and 12 countries by the end of 2015. It will also issue an annual Internet affordability report, with the first released by the end of 2013. The press release adds that the groups members, " ... have a belief that that policy reform, underpinned by robust research and genuine knowledge - sharing, is one of the best ways to unlock rapid gains in Internet penetration rates."

Earlier this summer, Google announced a new effort called Project Loom which hopes to bring Internet access to parts of the world via floating balloons. Microsoft has also made inroads in making Internet access more available in parts of Africa thanks to their their 4Afrika Initiative.

View: Original Article

[DKT27]

They should have India in their list. Internet here is expensive as sh*t. Companies here give very minor increase in speeds, name it temporary / special offer and advertise themselves.

In addition to that, things here are capped with fair user policy, which starts anywhere from 1GB to to 50GB, both upload and download together.

And the Indian government, it does nothing, only promises on paper.

[sanjoa]

Argentina should be in their list too. Access is expensive and in some places there's not access at all.

[Pcsx2006]

Pakistan should be in the list too bcz I'm paying 25$ for 2mb broadband which ridiculous

[Ambrocious]

I'm not whole heartedly convinced this this alliance is truly out to help us simply get cheaper internet. Unless these organizations have broken free from the military industrial complex's control, I can't say that this will turn out to be a good thing. Cheap internet sounds really good and I completely understand that this can improve the speed and cost value of the Internet but at what cost? On record these companies have been known to play dirty; involved in spying on people world wide in unethical ways.

My opinion is that this alliance is being done to ensure their survival in the changing world around us. Shoots of liberty are being seen growing in various places. The truth is coming out and all those involved in crimes against humanity will be found and brought to justice if people stand against this move towards tyranny. If these companies come together in defense of one another, they feel a bit more secure. Now give those companies the power to bring forth a more affordable Internet, that is a clear power grab which is actually a Monopoly of epic proportions under the wings of an oligarchical fascism that will reinforce and fortify their power.

The answer to this is to seek out other brilliant minds, work with them to create a new Internet which is cheap or free and independent of big corporations. It will grow slowly but it will be an explosive growth. It won't be small for long and it can dwarf other Internet ISP's by simply being respective of peoples privacy and offering excellent service, speed, and support.

[dMog]

military industrial complex is not in everything you think it is in..this is just some big(very very big companies seeing opportunity to get even bigger..the other stuff you so love to insert into every topic has nothing to do with this...it is nothing more than big companies trying to make even more money

[DKT27]

Pakistan should be in the list too bcz I'm paying 25$ for 2mb broadband which ridiculous

More expensive here. An unlimited 2mbps internet here costs $80.

[Tweety.Abd]

Pakistan should be in the list too bcz I'm paying 25$ for 2mb broadband which ridiculous

More expensive here. An unlimited 2mbps internet here costs $80.

Unlimited 4 Mbps $40. But I still think my country should be on the list :P

[ramiz0]

Pakistan should be in the list too bcz I'm paying 25$ for 2mb broadband which ridiculous

Another Pakistani Here! :) Aaslam-O-Alaikum Friend where are you from i m just paying $5 for 4mb connection however upload speed is not good enough but download speed is much faster

[Nima]

Iran should be the top of the list!

You can't believe the prices of internet here; although there are high-end internet technologies in Iran, the prices are extremely high.

These are costs of Wireless Internet, WiMaX (4G) by one of the very well-known ISPs:

2 Mbps Unlimited internet access costs about ~370$ per month.

4 Mbps Unlimited internet access costs about ~652$ per month.

Dedicated SkyFiber 2 internet access (10Mbps) costs about ~6000$ per month.

Dedicated 1Mbps costs about ~670$.

There are even higher speeds up to 30Mbps, but they are astronomically expensive.

Because of these prices, almost 100% of people use capped and limited internet access for cheaper prices, for example, my connection which is 2 Mbps with 3GB traffic per month costs about 50$ which is more logical rather than unmetered services.

Hope it gets cheaper so more people can afford it with lower prices. :)

Edited October 8, 2013 by Nima

[calguyhunk]

i m just paying $5 for 4mb connection however upload speed is not good enough but download speed is much faster

I do envy you Ramiz - 4 Mbps net for $5? Maybe I should move to Lahore! :lol:

... the prices are extremely high.

These are costs of Wireless Internet, WiMaX (4G) by one of the very well-known ISPs:

2 Mbps Unlimited internet access costs about ~370$ per month.

4 Mbps Unlimited internet access costs about ~652$ per month.

Dedicated SkyFiber 2 internet access (10Mbps) costs about ~6000$ per month.

Dedicated 1Mbps costs about ~670$.

There are even higher speeds up to 30Mbps, but they are astronomically expensive.

Because of these prices, almost 100% of people use capped and limited internet access for cheaper prices, for example, my connection which is 2 Mbps with 3GB traffic per month costs about 50$ which is more logical rather than unmetered services.

That is UN-effing-believable!!! 10 Mbps net for 670 Dollars? :o And we thought we got a rough deal here :P

I pay ~$12 for 2 Mbps net + Phone (150 minutes only) capped at believe it or not 2.5 GB during daytime. Night time is fully unrestricted unlimited with no speed throttling whatsoever :D

Here are the FTTH plans from my ISP - the State owned BSNL.

At 1 US Dollar ~ 60 Indian Rupees, the 10 Mbps Rs.3999 plan translates to ~$70 including taxes and the 100 Mbps plan @ 16,999 translates to ~$300 after taxes :(

Edited October 9, 2013 by calguyhunk

[7even]

Cheaper internet means more sales and revenue to those companies. However it also has benefit to us.

[truemate]

how much cheaper ... 1$ -_-

[truemate]

Cheaper internet means more sales and revenue to those companies. However it also has benefit to us.

yup in downloading those movies :sneaky:

[7even]

Cheaper internet means more sales and revenue to those companies. However it also has benefit to us.

yup in downloading those movies :sneaky:

What movies? :P

[kn_andre]

Its a Laudable Project .. So Long as they can Guarantee that Users of this Cheap Services will be Protected from been Spied upon ... With all what has Happened these Last Few months, a Lot of People are Wary of this Kind of " Projects " coming our from these same Big Companies ... Thanks for Sharing the Article and Cheers ...