Facebook had a study done by Deloitte a few weeks ago called “Value of connectivity” (the link to the full report is here http://internet.org/press/value-of-connectivity) and the foreword reads as follows (bold added):
The knowledge economy is the future of the world economy and the Internet is its backbone. Yet, currently, only about 1 out of every 3 people can go online. Internet.org’s goal to make access available to the remaining two thirds of the world will bring the same opportunities available in the connected parts of the world to everyone.
As a global partnership, Internet.org is working to harness the experience, wisdom and resources of people and companies across the world to understand and solve the challenges of the connectivity gap. Driven by this goal, Facebook engaged Deloitte to assess the economic and social impact of extending Internet access in the developing world. This report is the outcome of that initiative. And Deloitte’s conclusions are compelling: global connectivity will help lift millions out of poverty and drive important positive social and economic change.
This project is the first in an ongoing series of sponsored research projects that will also examine barriers to affordable access and the efficacy of potential solutions. We look forward to engaging with other independent research organisations and academics on projects that support the goal of extending access to the Internet.
At our core, we believe everyone, everywhere, should have the same opportunity and ability to be connected to each other and to connect to the knowledge economy.
Facebook, on behalf of Internet.org