| Chapter 1: | A Global, Low-Cost Network Thrives |
Stewart Alsop, writer, investor, and analyst, commented that there is a chance for innovations to make a world-changing difference in the next 15 years. “This depends on technology standards exceeding the self-interest of proprietary network owners, like mobile operators, cable and telephony network owners, and so forth,” he explained. “So timing is still open, but most likely by 2020.”
Internet Society Board of Trustees member Glenn Ricart, a former program manager at DARPA now with PricewaterhouseCoopers, predicts a mix of system regulation. “A few nations (or cities) may choose to make smooth, low-cost, ubiquitous communications part of their national industrial and social infrastructure (like electrical power and roads),” he predicted. “Others (and I’d include the United States here) will opt for an oligopoly of providers that allows for limited alternatives while concentrating political and economic power. Individuals and businesses will provide local enclaves of high-quality connectivity for themselves and their guests. A somewhat higher cost ‘anywhere’ (e.g., cellular) infrastructure will be available where governments or planned communities don’t already include it as an amenity. I believe that the Internet will not be uniform in capability or quality of service in 2020: There will be different tiers of service with differentiated services and pricing.”
Addressing Access in Remote Areas and the Digital Divide
Another issue pointed out by many was the difficulties involved in bringing technology to remote regions and to people living in the poorest conditions.