The plan to connect everyone in the world by 2020 is already off the rails - CNET

"This report must serve as a wake-up call," said Sonia Jorge, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Inteet. "If we are serious about achieving universal access by 2020, we need to condense almost 30 years worth of work into the next five years."

UN representatives didn't respond to requests for comment.

The report recommends redefining the idea of affordable Inteet. Currently, it means offering a 500GB monthly broadband plan for a price equal to 5 percent of a country's average national salary. Politicians should instead aim to bring down the cost of a 1GB monthly plan to 2 percent of a country's average salary, said the report, describing it as the "affordability sweet spot."

Colombia and Costa Rica were recognized for dramatically improving affordability by prioritizing information and communication technology development through both policy and investment. Rwanda performed the best of all the least developed countries in the report and was praised for placing broadband rollout at the heart of its plans for socio-economic development.

The cost of buying an Inteet-enabled device like a phone or tablet plays a large role in determining who can afford to get online, the report notes. When you add the average cost of a budget smartphone, which is around $48, and the cost of a 500MB broadband plan, the number of people who can afford Inteet access falls by 20 percent. An allocation of 500MB per month, the report adds, "offers only very limited opportunities to use the Inteet meaningfully."

Significant work needs to be done in bringing to bring the cost of devices down to $25. The report praised Huawei and Google's Android One program for making some headway, but more needs to be done both by manufacturers and govements, which have power over import taxes and other costs.

The digital gender gap

The divide between who can afford Inteet access and who can't is not simply a split between the wealthy and the poor, it is also a divide between men and women.

"On average, women across the globe ea significantly less than men, meaning that the affordability barrier to access for women is that much higher than it is for men," said Jorge.