Zuckerberg Pushes for Universal Internet Access by 2020
In an effort to help the world achieve universal internet access, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg arrived at the U.N. to discuss his viewpoints.
Zuckerberg announced that he would be teaming up with Bono's "One" organization to help achieve this goal by 2020, as he stated, "Connecting the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation."
"Today over half the people on this planet don't have access," Zuckerberg wrote in a joint New York Times op-ed with Bono. "That is not good for anyone -- not for the disempowered and disconnected, and not for the other half, whose commerce and security depend on having stable societies."
A new U.N. report suggest that 57 percent of the world goes without internet access. Zuckerberg notes that one of the biggest hurdles is getting electricity to the countries that don't readily have it. He goes on to state that 9 out of 10 rural Africans don't have electricity and initiatives such as President Obama's Power Africa plan, the bipartisan Electrify Africa Act in Congress, as well as the African Development Bank's investments in renewable energy are all steps in the right direction.
"Where governments lay the foundation, the private sector can build," he said.
Zuckerberg himself has been trying to expand internet availability through Internet.org, which gives users access to free basic apps and resources.
"Connectivity isn't an end in itself. It's what people do with it that matters-like raising a healthy family," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "We hope the improvements we've made today help even more people get connected-so that our whole global community can benefit together."
Zuckerberg and Bono end their op-ed with a call of action to Silicon Valley, arguing that the plan cannot be fulfilled without the full cooperation from tech companies and entrepreneurs.
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