Digital Equity
Make internet affordable, but not free for all
Make Internet Affordable, but Not Free for All | Global Stage | GZERO Media
September 17, 2021
Free internet for everyone sounds great, but what's really important is for it to be accessible, says Vickie Robinson, head of Microsoft's Airband Initiative to expand broadband access throughout the developing world. The problem, she explains, is that it costs money to build and maintain networks, so no costs for end users could have unintended consequences. "If you have a framework in which the internet is free for all, do we lose some freedoms? Do we lose innovation? Do we lose the use of the internet as a tool for empowerment?" Instead, Robinson would focus only on giving access to people who really need it and can't afford to be online.
Robinson weighed in during a Global Stage livestream conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly.
Learn more: Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate
More For You
- YouTube
The war in Iran is entering a more dangerous phase.
Most Popular
Walmart sponsored posts
Walmart’s $1 billion investment is strengthening associate careers
Sponsored posts
How a global coalition disrupted Tycoon 2FA
- YouTube
The Regime's viral banger "Special Military Operation" is NOW STREAMING on most platforms, including those TWO BIG ONES. #PUPPETREGIME
- YouTube
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer breaks down the escalating US-Israel war with Iran and its ripple effects on global markets and supply chains.
As missiles fly and oil prices soar, the Iran war is exposing another major resource vulnerability in the Middle East: water. Fresh water has been a scarce commodity in a region defined by a dry climate and low rainfall, but attacks on the region’s desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, threaten to open a new front.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.