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Most of the people who will actually end up using the service will be middle class people who can afford to pay for the internet and have been doing so but want
by pkd 11y ago
Most of the people who will actually end up using the service will be middle class people who can afford to pay for the internet and have been doing so but want to take it for a spin and see how it feels.
The poorest who can't afford the internet don't even have the devices capable of displaying the modern web pages properly. The cost of internet comes secondary to the cost of the hardware necessary to access it.
- monort 11y agoEgypt’s mobile penetration is over 100%, poor have mobile phones that can access internet.
- pkd 11y agoHow does mobile penetration relate to the type of devices the people are using? India has almost 80% mobile penetration, but less than half of that is using smart/multimedia enabled phones. I'd estimate that Egypt's condition won't be vastly different considering the similarities between the economies.
- monort 11y agoNot only smartphones can access internet. http://www.opera.com/mobile/mini/other http://www.opera.com/mobile/mini/other
- hellbanner 11y agoDoes "over 100%" mean that on average every person has > 1 internet phone?
- quadrangle 11y agowealthier people won't just "try this" they will spend far more of their time on Facebook if any of the poorer people they know or do business with are only on Facebook. That's the whole point. Network effects mean that if you get a critical mass of people on Facebook (and especially nowhere else), then people who have a choice to be elsewhere still have to go to Facebook to reach those people who are there.
- AnthonyMouse 11y ago> The poorest who can't afford the internet don't even have the devices capable of displaying the modern web pages properly. The cost of internet comes secondary to the cost of the hardware necessary to access it. A serviceable used PC can be had for on the order of $50. Internet service is on the order of $50/month.
- wsxcde 11y ago> Internet service is on the order of $50/month. This is bullshit. 1GB of 4G LTE costs less than $4 in India. http://www.airtel.in/4g/ http://www.airtel.in/4g/
- AnthonyMouse 11y agoI thought we were talking about real internet service, not a cell phone data plan crippled with such a low data cap you need a separate wifi connection. Even at $4/month = $48/year, how is that supposed to make buying a $50 device once every five years the dominant factor in affordability?