Global Opportunities for Internet Access Developments

The Internet in little more than a decade following its commercialization has been remarkably successful in developing greater opportunities for communication access for the first billion users The challenge for all stakeholders is to expand the economic and social opportunities made possible by the Internet for the next several billion users This report seeks to address the question of where these users will come from and to examine the large shifts in communications policy which are enabling this to be a practical possibility It also considers how different Government policies affect the Internet accessibility The question of whether these policies -- in OECD or developing countries -- are conducive for development and poverty reduction is discussed as part of the OECD's program on policy coherence for development The report considers the international debate which has taken place in international fora such as at the World Summit on the Information Society and the Internet Governance Forum