WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The total value of the 65 initiatives is worth at least $20 billion, the release pointed out.
"While studies have shown that countries with low rates of Internet access experience a one percent increase in GDP for every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, more than four billion people, nearly 60 percent of people globally, still lack Internet access," the release stated.
Participants in Thursday’s conference at the World Bank included representatives from 26 countries, as well as officials from NGOs, the telecom and Internet industry, the United Nations, other international organizations and multilateral development banks, the release noted.
Last year, the State Department launched a Global Connect Initiative with a goal of bringing 1.5 billion new Internet users on line by 2020.
In some of the world’s poorest countries, more than 95 percent of the population lacks Internet access, according to the release.
