This book, and the research program which it draws from, rests on the assumption that connectivity — the opportunity (but not the compulsion) to engage in electronically-mediated communication (synchronous as well as asynchronous), information retrieval in various forms, and publication — is good. This assumption is not, however, a religious belief. It rests on evidence, if not proof.

After much debate, it is now recognized that economic growth is a necessary condition for the alleviation of human misery (or for the achievement of human development). The relationship between the ability to communicate over distance using technological means and economic growth has been much discussed. Correlation is beyond dispute, but the case for causation is unlikely to be fully established. Development requires many inputs; communication and knowledge being only some of them.

Establishing causation was considerably more important prior to the 1990s when public funds, domestic as well as donor, were still the main source of investment for expanding access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), defined as including, but not limited to, telecom. Access to telecom is the foundation for ICT use. In many developing countries and among the poor, telecom (and perhaps radio and TV) constitute the total experience with ICTs.