This is a short passage downloaded in Mar'99 from the World Bank's web site, and from a handbook
on accessing the internet there, somewhere in their "Technology Transfer Forum".
Click your way in this direction on the site to get the full text, which
contains even some relevant remarks on ISPs etc.:
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... In fact, in many emerging countries Internet access
is gained using machines that are nearly "extinct", like the IBM PC AT, or
other 286 based machines, as long as a hard disk of at least 10 Megabytes is
available. A hard drive is important for storing the modem communications
software, as well as other programs and files. A hard drive as small as 10
megabytes can be more than sufficient for accessing an Internet host on which
Internet browsing programs can be used. A much larger hard disk is needed to
support high end multimedia access to Internet, or to run a "server" program
to publish information.
...
Fortunately though, users can still access the content of the Web by means of
a low-cost, slow connection and basic Internet account; this is accomplished
with a text-only Web browser called "Lynx." ...
Lynx can be used [even] through a slow connection, such
as a 2400 bps modem connecting to a university Internet account.
...
Thus, although Lynx does not
provide the usual graphical and multimedia access to the Internet that is one
of the most compelling features of the Web, Lynx does allow users in
developing countries, who might have older, less powerful computers and lower
bandwidth connectivity, to access all of the same information sources that
more technologically advantaged users in the developed world are using. It
should be noted that Lynx does allow the downloading and local viewing of the
"missing" graphics, sounds, and so on, if the user chooses, and makes the
effort to save, transfer and view or play the file in another program.
...
Provider charges[:] For individuals as well as
organizations, the fees are based on volume and services. For an individual in
Jakarta, for instance, there is a one time fee of about US$30 and a monthly
fee for 20 hours use in the range of US$20. Additional hours are usually not
expensive. This fee allows full Internet connectivity and also access to some
browser services on the World Wide Web. For organizations, the charges are
computed based on the types of Internet services desired, number of users, and
bandwidth available. In the Mozambique case, the fee is about US$500 per
month, a reasonable fee, considering that a large number of persons are being
served.[*]
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[*] There is a more elaborate description of a comparative World Bank study on
these two examples, on their "Technology Forum" pages. It has to be born in
mind though that prices should be compared with income levels - e.g., of an
Indonesian secondary school teacher (less than he equivalent of 600 US$) or
his/her Mozymbican colleague (less than 200). And both examples are still
rather "friendly" in comparison with other African countries where connection
fees range up to a full 2 or even 3 US$ per minute (cf. some of the references given in the paper
from the editor of this site here). -hc