By the end of 2013, around 2.7 billion people will have Internet access, according to the United Nations. This is 40 per cent of the world's population based on the report of International Telecommunication Union of the UN.

In 2012, 250 million people had online access but 60 per cent or 4.4 billion of humanity will remain without Internet access.

Most of the people connected to the Internet live in developing countries. The number of people with mobile cellular subscriptions would also increase to 6.8 billion by the end of 2013. The figure is almost as many as the total number of people on the planet. Based on the report, mobile Internet is cheaper than fixed broadband rates.

South Korea is once again the world leader in information and technology development for the third consecutive year. The annual report of the ITU also said that Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Norway trailed behind South Korea.

Netherlands, UK, Luxembourg and Hong Kong were also in the top 10 including Britain which moved up to tenth place after ranking 11 in 2012. The annual ITU annual report, ICT Development Index, rated 157 countries based on the people's access to ICT, usage and skills.

Alliance for Affordable Internet

While most of the world's population still don't have Internet access, Google has joined Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Intel among others in the fight for more affordable Internet in developing countries. Aside from popular Silicon Valley companies, governments and special interest groups expressed their support in forming the Alliance for Affordable Internet.

The alliance is a coalition with the primary purpose of driving down the cost of Internet through policy change. The group, led by the World Wide Web Foundation, aims to push for cheaper Internet access in developing nations by the end of 2013.

The Alliance for Affordable Internet aims to reduce costs to less than 5 per cent of an individual's average monthly income.

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