OECD – Paris, 14 February 2008

OECD report on economic and social impact of the Internet in developing countries

A new OECD report looks at where the next billion Internet users will come from and what impact they will have on the Internet as we know it today. Based on evidence from a number of countries in Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, it notes the economic and social benefits that increased telecoms access has brought to the daily lives of these new wireless users, most of whom have incomes of less than 2 USD a day.

Global Opportunities for Internet Access Development argues that OECD countries need to be conscious of the impact their evolving telecoms policies might have on developing countries. It highlights, for example, that it can cost twice as much to make a phone call from the Internet to a mobile phone in some developed countries than in developing countries.

The report also documents the rise in international players from emerging markets, and experiencing high subscriber growth. By 2007, for example, Indian companies had become the largest players in the world’s undersea cable market.

Business and policy makers should consider this new market as an opportunity, not a burden. But they should not underestimate the potential impact on the security and stability of the global Internet.