According to recent statistics, more than 4 billion people still lack Internet access, or at best, reliable enough connections.

A large proportion of those people still experience limited capacity, which means they are restricted in use. Not surprisingly, in most cases, these people are concentrated in developing regions of the world.

Recognizing this potential, the Broadband Sustainable Development Commission set a goal to increase broadband Internet user penetration in developing countries from 39% in 2016 to 65%, and in least developed countries from 15.6% in 2016 to 35%. For companies willing to seize this opportunity and make full use of market gaps, providing connectivity to these areas can bring huge benefits to the economic development of emerging markets. So how can we turn the goals of these proposals into reality? Who should take the lead?

Make digital opportunities a reality

It is generally expected that the world's telecommunications and Internet giants will play a central role in achieving these ambitious goals. However, emerging countries also have great opportunities to take the lead in this challenging opportunity. For those countries willing to do so, economic interests may be more meaningful and ultimately more valuable.

The digital revolution has had an incredible impact in China and other countries, leading to the development of Alibaba and Tencent, the world's latest two Internet giants. Many other emerging countries have witnessed this growth and want to follow this example, as well as in their own regions.

In order to achieve this, emerging regions in the world face some challenges. A large amount of investment is needed to expand the operation scale and realize the economic benefits brought by reliable Internet access in new regions. However, in addition, it is important that Internet access extended to developing countries is considered a broader term, not just a connection issue.

Find connecting funds

Despite the need to improve connectivity in the global south, developing countries in the region often lack traditional infrastructure to support demand, such as global submarine cables. Developed countries have a 150 year leading edge in infrastructure.

Due to its key role in connectivity, the demand for submarine cables has increased to provide sufficient speed, capacity and low latency that developing economies currently lack. However, in order to meet this growing demand, there is no doubt that a lot of money is needed.

In other words, access to investment is not an expected obstacle, and the funds and expertise to establish these cables come from a variety of sources. Since 2017 and 2018, Latin America (LATAM) has invested 1.5 billion dollars in submarine cable lines. In most cases, these new routes are being developed in an area that is currently known to have some of the lowest connectivity in the world: the South Atlantic.

Submarine cables cooperating with investors include PEACE cables from Pakistan to East Africa, which are built by Huawei Maritime Network Company. Chinese state-owned enterprises have cooperated to invest in this cable TV, which is part of the comprehensive "the Belt and Road" plan. The plan is looking at Chinese companies building multiple infrastructures in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Other investors in submarine cable are OTT companies. For example, Monet submarine cable connects Florida, Brazil Santos, Sao Paulo and Fortaleza.

There are also various developing countries and companies from the global South that are investing in this connection. These new participants believe that they have the opportunity to gain more control over the cable television network and the potential of economic development efforts in the region. One example is Angola Cable Company's own South Atlantic cable system; The first submarine cable directly connects South America and Africa, with a speed of 40Tbp/s.

As connectivity grows in developing markets, new connectivity routes will emerge globally. However, these links must be brought into full play in order to have an impact on the economic growth of developing countries

Submarine cable as springboard

While better connectivity in developing regions is a real achievement, stimulating the untapped potential for economic growth needs to be seen as another goal. The key to achieving this goal is to treat data as commodities.

With the increase of Internet usage in the South, content usage will also increase. Countries in the region need to play a more important role in this process in order to better control their role in the international data market.