Public claim broadband access is a human right

The majority of people believe they have a right to broadband access, according to a new worldwide poll.

Research by GlobeScan, which was completed in collaboration with the BBC, has revealed that around four in five people believe access to the internet should be "a fundamental right".

It also revealed that more than 70 per cent of non-users felt they should have access to such services, while 55 per cent of respondents suggested there could be government regulation of the web.

Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, told BBC News that the right to communicate cannot be ignored.

He added: "The internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created."

The UK government recently announced the launch of its new Broadband Delivery UK body, which is responsible for the rollout of universal 2Mbps internet services by 2012.

It will also manage funding for the development of fibre optic broadband services.

Comments (1)

Chris Stening, MD, Easynet Connect

10th March 2010

It's interesting that people now see the internet as a right rather than a privilege. For some time now businesses have considered their internet connection as an essential enabler to the business, as important as water or electricity, so it isn't surprising that the sentiment is filtering down to consumers. As early as May 2008, 71% of SMEs in the UK said their business could not cope for more than a day without the internet, and with the growth in cloud computing, we'd expect that to be far more by now.

Consumers are also catching up with businesses when they say they're interested not just in the speed of their connection, but more specifically its ability to support the services they want. As companies take more of their applications online, they demand not only fast internet, but a service that is reliable and well supported.

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