UN Tech Group Finds Most Expensive Broadband

destinyland writes "In the Central African Republic, broadband internet service costs 3891% of the average monthly income. 'Put another way, a month's broadband service costs more than three years' average wages in the country,' notes one technology blog, 'compared with less than two hours' earnings in Macau.' A United Nations' technology group released the figures in a new report in advance of a September 19 summit on the digital divide in developing countries. ('We are trying to avoid a broadband divide,' said Dr. Hamadoun Toure, the secretary general of the UN's International Telecommunications Union.) Their agency noted that the rate for broadband penetration is below 1% in many poor countries, with monthly costs higher than the average monthly income. 'By contrast,' notes the BBC, 'in the world's most developed economies, around 30% of people have access to broadband at a cost of less than 1% of their income.' And the report also estimates that there are 5 billion cellphones in the world — though some people may own more than one."

Re:Well...

[anguirus.x]

"And the report also estimates that there are 5 billion cellphones in the world — though some people may own more than one."

Yeah -- I'm pretty sure that worldwide ownership rate of cell phones is somewhat less than 73%.

Yeah, the number of humans who are dead and gone now without a cell phone brings it down some.

Re:average monthly income

[Kenja]

But without the internet, how will they know what nerds think about political issues?

Re:Misplace Priority

[Jeremy Erwin]

If you also factor in the illiteracy rate, it becomes even less of a priority.

The literate can get by with unicode. The illiterate need h.264.

Re:Um...yeah.

[TheLink]

I'm sure he doesn't mind buying _a_ TV for all Americans.

Teaching them how to share better is the hard part ;).

Re:Um...yeah.

[funkatron]

Sharing is for commies, he'd never get it past your other party.

Re:Exactly

[Anonymous Coward]

Just how much is a freakin' broadband connection going to help them?

Ahemm, not at all. The UN is a political body setting the focus of westerner's attention so that people don't find out the truth.

Do you think that the members of the UN are stupid or something?