"The impact assessment underscores the commendable achievements of the Rural Household Devices project. By December 2023, the initiative had successfully reached 54 districts and impacted 10,706 households. The outcomes are multifaceted and transformative, with a substantial number of beneficiaries ... experiencing internet-enabled devices for the first time. Low literacy, lack of affordability, low dominance of some telecom providers, and poor quality of service are cited as some of the major challenges. As a result of these systemic affordability, connectivity, and skills barriers, the majority of beneficiaries had never used the internet prior to the project. At the time of the study, a third of the participants interviewed now use the internet daily, 20% use it weekly, and 10% use it on a monthly basis. However, 22% indicated that they have never used the internet due to various barriers discussed in the report. Devices distributed through the program are predominantly used by children and household members for education, income generation, saving time for business, discovering new business opportunities (e.g., using Google Maps to carry out business in distant towns), entertainment, information access, and communicating with family. Two-thirds or 65% of participants reported increased income due to the use of the device for business activity, which was made possible by participating in the program and owning a household device. Participants also reported the benefits of saved time and money." (Executive summary, pages 5-6) more

"A thriving digital economy depends on all people being able to connect to the internet. Achieving global connectivity requires maintaining and growing the vast network of subsea cables that connect most around the world to the internet. This brief provides an introduction to the current policy and ... regulatory issues relating to subsea internet cables for policymakers in low- and middle-income countries. It adds to the growing body of evidence about the importance of these policy issues by focusing on the significant impact on digital transformation and digital inclusion that these cables represent." (Introduction) more