The Internet in developing countries

Development of the global Internet has been phenomenal. It has spread throughout the world since it came into existence in 1980. But, a closer look reveal great disparities between high and low-income regions in terms of both Internet hosts and users. At the individual country level, the Internet penetration gap between developed and developing countries is just as striking, if not more so, than at the regional level. Although there are differences in the availability of Internet services among developing countries as striking as those separating developed and developing countries, shared problems also unite this diverse group of countries. The high cost of Internet services is one of them. Operating costs in developing countries are also high. A major underlying reason for the great disparity in Internet access prices is the differences in market characteristics between various countries. The fact that in most developing countries local calls for Internet services are metered as if they were a voice connection also works against development of local Internet markets. Lack of competition-especially in international service, has made access to the international network expensive.