{"id":229176,"date":"2025-08-18T18:08:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T18:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?p=229176"},"modified":"2025-09-08T19:23:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:23:26","slug":"how-to-achieve-universal-connectivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/blog\/2025\/08\/how-to-achieve-universal-connectivity\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Achieve Universal Connectivity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claudio is responsible for bringing tourists to his community. Up until early 2025, that meant riding a boat across the River Chagres to the nearest place with Internet or a phone line, where he would arrange the day\u2019s visits with tour guides living in the city. He is an Ember\u00e1, an Indigenous group living in Panama.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says that they used to live off their own crops, like plantains, rice, and yuca. They sold the surplus to merchants on boats that would take it to Panama City, which helped fund whatever else the community needed. That was until 1985, when the Panamanian government declared the region a national park.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure helped preserve nature, but also meant the Ember\u00e1 were forbidden from growing their produce. This forced them to find an alternative way to survive, eventually landing on cultural tourism. Although this is now their main activity, it was only in 2025 that they were able to manage it online, from their own community.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Like the Ember\u00e1, 2.6 billion people\u2014about a third of the world\u2019s population\u2014 still don\u2019t have Internet access. This gap reflects more than a lack of infrastructure; it\u2019s a complex web of barriers including affordability, relevance, quality of service, and digital skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These divides exist between countries, within countries, and even within neighborhoods. Urban centers may enjoy high-speed access while rural or remote communities remain unserved. In many cases, the people left offline are also those who face other forms of exclusion, like lower incomes, limited education, discrimination, or displacement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Are the Unconnected?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Connectivity gaps often fall hardest on marginalized groups. Indigenous peoples, women, and displaced populations experience the intersection of limited infrastructure and structural barriers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Displaced people, including refugees and migrants, often live in areas with inadequate services, unclear legal status, and temporary planning horizons. Women face gaps driven by affordability, social norms, and unequal access to education and skills. Indigenous communities may live in isolated areas and face language or cultural barriers even where networks exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is that those who could benefit most from access to education, markets, health services, and civic participation\u2014some of the opportunities the Internet offers\u2014are least able to get online. Just like the Ember\u00e1 have been, historically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndigenous communities are the most forgotten. Some live 20 to 30 minutes from the city and yet don\u2019t have Internet access,\u201d said Julio Lezcano, director of the Panama Chapter\u2019s Community Networks Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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