I&#x27;m going to copy-paste from a comment on mine from 6 months back[0]:<p>As an Indian, believe me when I say this: &quot;We already have good internet&quot;. Our data rates are extremely cheap. I paid less than 1 INR per day (it costs more to get a cup of coffee, which costs around 5-10 bucks) while using Opera Mini on a Nokia dumbphone.<p>India has progressed beyond the point where rich corporations need to help our country. We have amongst the world&#x27;s largest telecom industry and usage statistics. Everyone owns a cellphone, and more and more people are realizing the benefits of a smartphone (Whatsapp primarily, which is way cheaper than SMS).<p>A basic android smartphone costs 100 USD in India. If a person can purchase a smartphone that costly to &quot;access the internet&quot;, they are rich enough to afford a data plan (which costs around 3 USD&#x2F;month).<p>India does not need free internet. What we need is cheaper and better internet and companies trying to use this internet in the first place (which is already happening with ecommerce). There is no point of giving internet to people unless they have a use for it.<p>[0]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9485334" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9485334</a>