Many of you reading this take internet access for granted. You pay for it each month and don’t even think about it. It comes as easy as water for most of us, and just like with water, we probably couldn’t survive without it. What we don’t realize, though, is that a good chunk of the world population does not have access to the internet. You have to take a step back and realize that some parts of the world are struggling to get food and water, and internet is not their number one concern. Google Executive Chairman made a bold prediction on Google+ last night, though.
Schmidt, who stepped down from his position of CEO of Google in 2011, predicts that by the end of the decade, everyone in the world will be connected.”For every person online, there are two who are not,” Schmidt predicted on Google+ last night. “By the end of the decade, everyone on Earth will be connected.”
That’s an incredible bold prediction, especially when you take into account that 11 percent of the world’s population still lacks access to something as simple as clean water. Nearly a quarter of the world lacks electricity, which is obviously something that is vital for internet to run.
Google is one of several companies working to bring internet to developing countries, though. GEEKS Without Frontiers is a program started by the search engine giant to create low-cost technology that can bring wireless internet to places where wired internet is not available.
Samsung is also working on a project in which it is turning old shipping containers into solar-powered, internet connected classrooms for kids in Africa. The South Korean company has plans to service 2.5 million students by the end of 2015.
As many people point out in the comments of Schmidt’s post, many of these multi-billion dollar technology companies could certainly be doing more to bring internet and other essential living supplies to developing countries. You have to wonder, why isn’t Apple doing more? Why aren’t carriers doing more?
What do you think of Schmidt’s prediction? Will it turn out to be true? Let us know down in the comments!