Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Want Africa to grow? Get people and businesses online: Africa expert
There's a big opportunity for African countries to take advantage of the pandemic — if they can get online. "Greater internet connectivity can accelerate growth in tremendous ways," says Eurasia Group's top Africa analyst Amaka Anku. One of them would be formalizing the informal sector, which is very large and hard to tax: "It's much easier if people are paying using digital payments," she explains, but governments also need to do their part by cutting red tape to encourage investment.
Anku weighed in during a Global Stage livestream conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly.
Learn more: Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate
Make internet affordable, but not free for all
Robinson weighed in during a Global Stage livestream conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly.
Learn more: Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate
We'll never fix America's internet without measuring access properly, says FCC chair
Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chair of the US Federal Communications Commission, says mapping the real state of America's broadband access is flawed because a single subscriber in a rural area doesn't mean everyone is online. "You don't have to be a data maven to understand that that likely overstates service," she notes, and underscores the need to develop more accurate systems. "We're never going to manage the problems we don't measure."
Rosenworcel weighed in during a Global Stage livestream conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly.
Learn more: Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate
Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate
Half of the world's population is currently offline, and COVID has further widened the digital gap. Providing more than three billion people with affordable, reliable internet access sounds like a no-brainer, but the devil is in the details. Who'll pay for it, how do we measure success, who should be on board, and what are the potential benefits?
Several experts weighed in during a Global Stage virtual conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly, moderated by the UN's Melissa Fleming.Don't miss our next event: LIVE on Wednesday Oct 13 11am ET/ 8 am PT:
Vickie Robinson, head of Microsoft's Airband Initiative to expand broadband access throughout the developing world, what's really important is for the internet to be accessible, not necessarily free. The problem, she explained, is that it costs money to build and maintain networks, so no costs for end users could have unintended consequences. Instead, Robinson would focus only on giving access to people who really need it and can't afford to be online.
Make Internet Affordable, but Not Free for All | Global Stage | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
Even developed countries have their own problems getting everyone online. Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chair of the US Federal Communications Commission, said that mapping the real state of America's broadband access is currently flawed because a single subscriber in a rural area doesn't mean everyone is online. Until the US comes up with a better way to show who actually has internet access and who doesn't, the problem will likely never be fixed.
We'll Never Fix America's Internet Without Measuring Access Properly, Says FCC Chair | Global Stageyoutu.be
Then there's another important question: whose responsibility should it be to bridge the "digital Grand Canyon" of exclusion, asthe UN refers to the digital divide? For the International Communications Union's Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the only way is to get all concerned parties — the UN, governments, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society — to work together.
How can we bridge the "digital Grand Canyon"? | Global Stage | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
If everyone who needs access to the internet gets it, the world's least-connected continent — Africa — could benefit tremendously. Eurasia Group's top Africa analyst Amaka Anku explained that getting all Africans online could spur economic growth by formalizing the informal sector, which is very large and hard to tax, as long as African governments help out by cutting red tape for investment.
Want Africa to Grow? Get People and Businesses Online: Africa Expert | Global Stage | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
Stay informed about further Global Stage discussions: sign up for updates and reminders about GZERO Media's events.
- Panel: Why access to broadband & digital skills is critical - GZERO ... ›
- Global Stage virtual events return this fall - GZERO Media ›
- Beyond SolarWinds: Securing Cyberspace - GZERO Media ›
- GDP should reflect cost of polluting planet, says Microsoft's John Frank - GZERO Media ›
- COP26 vibes so far: "What's it worth to save everything we have?" - GZERO Media ›
- Global Stage virtual events return this fall - GZERO Media ›
- Join us April 21 for our next Global Stage event live from Washington DC - GZERO Media ›
- Want global equality? Get more people online - GZERO Media ›
- Join us April 21 for our next Global Stage event live from Washington DC - GZERO Media ›
- How to get students back on track after the Great Education Disruption - GZERO Media ›
- Join us for our Global Stage event live from Washington DC - GZERO Media ›
- Global Stage: Global issues at the intersection of technology, politics, and society - GZERO Media ›
- The fight to “connect every last person” to the internet - GZERO Media ›
- "Access is a fundamental right" - Digital activist Vilas Dhar - GZERO Media ›
- Accessibility is critical for the world's disability community - GZERO Media ›
Watch our discussion to decide: should internet access be free?
Access to the internet is a universal right.
Broadband should be free.
Tech companies should foot the bill.
Discuss.
GZERO Media and Microsoft will convene proponents, skeptics, and fence-sitters to debate whether the internet should be free on the next Global Stage event.
Make up your mind in our event September 15th at 11am ET/8am PT.
- Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary General (moderator)
- Jessica Rosenworcel, Acting Chairwoman, Federal Communications Commission
- Vuyani Jarana, Chairman, Mobax Group
- Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
- Vickie Robinson, General Manager, Microsoft Airband Initiative
- Amaka Anku, Practice Head, Africa, Eurasia Group
Special appearance by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Should internet access be free for everyone? \n\nWe'll discuss live on 9/15\n\nMore info: https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/virtual-events/global-stage-virtual-events-return-this-fall\u00a0\u2026\n\n#GlobalStage\n@MSFTIssues @VSRob29 @AmakaAnku @Vuyanij @JRosenworcel @antonioguterres— GZERO Media (@GZERO Media) 1630945580
Senate's bipartisan $1T infrastructure bill could double US spending
Get insights on the latest news in US politics from Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington:
The Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill this week. What do we know about that?
Infrastructure week is finally here, after many years of fits and starts on pressing a bipartisan infrastructure bill. The Senate moved one out of the chamber this week, as well as making progress on President Biden's $3.5 trillion follow-up spending plan. What's in the infrastructure bill? While it's a whole bunch of money for roads, bridges, tunnels, water projects, broadband deployment, airports, ports, all types of physical infrastructure, and it was done on a bipartisan basis.
How did they get it done? They finally figured out a way to pay for these things without actually having to raise taxes, partially by repurposing unused COVID-19 relief funds, but also through a series of budget gimmicks, which includes extending taxes that were set to expire, extending some fees that were set to expire, and changing around some Medicare rules. The end result is going to be probably a doubling of US infrastructure spending along with increase in deficits of between $200 and $300 billion over the next five to 10 years.
Is this a bipartisan victory for Biden? What will come next?
Well, this is a reasonably large bipartisan win for him. He thought it can get done. He insisted on getting it done, and it was probably necessary to get this done, so that moderate Democrats in the Senate would also vote for the much larger spending plan that's going to come next. Infrastructure's not done yet. We probably have months ahead of us in negotiation among the Democrats on the much larger $3.5 trillion bill. And then in the fall, perhaps as late as December, both bills are likely to pass the House, potentially with changes. You could see up to $2.5 or $3.5 trillion in new spending over the next 10 years, including a host of tax increases, designed to finance the second follow-on bill. President Biden's not gotten a big boost out of this so far, but he does check a box with moderate members of his conference who wanted to show that they can work with Republicans. Republicans also won from this because they showed the Senate still works, taking away some of the argument Democrats have for eliminating the Senate's supermajority rules known as the filibuster.
- Senator Murphy on abolishing the filibuster, a Senate tool he has ›
- Progress on infrastructure bill despite Senate vote against it ... ›
- Joe Biden's plan to remake America - GZERO Media ›
- Can the G7 really build back the world better than China? - GZERO ... ›
- How the Democrats plan to tax the rich; Newsom wins CA recall - GZERO Media ›
- Moderate Democrats will determine the infrastructure bill's fate - GZERO Media ›
Oct 7 panel on digital inclusion in the workforce
Teaching digital skills could empower the workforce the 21st century needs, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
On Wednesday, October 7th at 11a ET/8a PT/4p BST, GZERO Media — in partnership with Microsoft and Eurasia Group — presented a live panel discussion, "Digital Inclusion: Connectivity and Skills for the Next Billion Jobs," about the acceleration of digitalization, the changing workforce, and the need for digital access for all.
The conversation was moderated by Sherrell Dorsey, founder and CEO of The Plug, and our panel included:
- Kate Behncken, Vice President, Microsoft Philanthropies
- Lisa Lewin, CEO of General Assembly
- Parag Mehta, Executive Director and Sr Vice President, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
- Dominique Hyde, Director External Relations, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Rohitesh Dhawan, Managing Director, Energy, Climate & Resources, Eurasia Group
Sign up to be notified about future GZERO Media events.
Go to
https://www.gzeromedia.com/unga/livestream/ to watch our livestream events. (No registration required.)
For more information, read our explainer on Digital inclusion: Activating skills for the next billion jobs, part of our coverage of the most pressing issues facing the 2020 United Nations General Assembly, and watch this video.
Internet Connectivity & the Need for Digital Inclusion: Access, Training, Skills, Jobs | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
Digital Inclusion: Activating Skills for the Next Billion Jobs: Wednesday, October 7th, 11a ET/8a PT/4p BST