International coalition, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), has predicted that in 2015, new innovations and technology will be developed to connect the unconnected. Specifically, it said innovators, startups and corporations will develop more new technologies in 2015 to expand affordable access to the Internet.
Aside from perfecting the technology, A4AI said initiatives such as Outernet, Facebook’s drones, Google’s Project Loon and SpaceX’s micro-satellites will need to figure out how to make these innovations sustainable, marketable and usable on a mass scale.
It added that across the world, attention would be on consumer and digital rights. Such include last year’s landmark passing of the world’s first digital Bill of Rights, A4AI said Brazil’s Marco Civil da Internet ushered in new attention and focus on protecting the rights of Internet users.
“This year, we expect similar initiatives to crop up in other regions and countries, such as the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms that will be presented to the African Union this quarter. It is our hope that Internet affordability and accessibility remain key principles in the movement to promote human rights and openness in broadband policies and their implementation,” A4AI said.
Going forward, it is expected that expansion of zero-rated services could extend access, although debate on consequences will heat up.
The alliance said: “Operators will become more and more interested in pushing out zero-rated services such as Facebook Zero, which consumers can access without paying data charges, to attract customers in emerging markets. Supporters say this could expand Internet access to millions of unconnected, but concerns about “free” access to services being temporary bait to attract new customers and what this means for long-term broadband affordability and the future of the Internet’s openness and neutrality will continue to mount.”
