Bid to bridge the digital divide

A global initiative of governments and big internet companies is working to lower the cost of web access in developing countries.

The Alliance for Affordable Internet, founded by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web Foundation, will work with governments across Africa and Asia to root out red tape and anti-competitive policies.

Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft and Yahoo are among the companies involved, as is the US Aid agency.

In the developing world less than a third of the population is online compared with 77% in the developed world. The organisation says that taxes on IT, powerful state telecommunications monopolies and "regressive policies" are pushing up prices.

In some of the less developed countries, a basic broadband connection costs about a third of the average monthly income, compared with about 2% in the developed world.

The UN has set a target for the cost of entry-level broadband services of less than 5% of average monthly income.

About two-thirds of the world's population is not connected to the internet despite growing evidence that it is immensely powerful in helping people set up a business, and in improving healthcare and education.

"Most of the world's people are not online, usually because they can't afford it. The result of high prices is a widening digital divide that slows progress in vital areas such as health, education and science," said Berners-Lee.

"With the advent of affordable smartphones, new undersea cables and innovations in wireless spectrum usage, there is simply no good reason for the digital divide to continue to exist."

Justine Greening, the UK's Secretary of State for International Development, said: "Internet access has been a driver of economic growth.

"This new alliance will challenge the anti-competitive regulations and policies that push up internet connectivity prices across the developing world."