Washington, D.C., May 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- There are 2.9 billion people on Earth right now with zero access to the internet. No email. No search engines. No online banking, telemedicine, or e-commerce. Nothing.
For decades, governments, NGOs, and the world’s largest technology companies have poured billions into closing this gap. The results have been, by almost any measure, a failure. The infrastructure costs are too high. The terrain is too remote. The economics don’t work. And so nearly three billion people remain cut off from the single most transformative technology of the modern era.
According to Wall Street Journal best-selling author and technology analyst James Altucher’s recent free presentation, that failure is about to end — not because anyone finally solved the infrastructure problem on the ground, but because one company decided to skip the ground entirely.
The Problem No One Could Solve
The digital divide has been one of the most stubborn challenges in global development. Connecting remote populations requires building out physical infrastructure — digging trenches, laying fiber, erecting cell towers — across some of the most difficult and cost-prohibitive terrain on the planet. In many cases, the cost of reaching a single village exceeds what an entire community could ever pay for the service.
The result is a world split in two. On one side, 5.2 billion people use the internet to conduct trillions of dollars in transactions every year — buying goods, running businesses, accessing healthcare and education. On the other, 2.9 billion people remain locked out of all of it.
“By connecting these people — many of whom live in remote, rural areas — it could help unlock trillions in further economic value,” Altucher said. “We’re talking about untold amounts of wealth on the line here.”
The Company That Changed the Math
What makes this moment different, according to Altucher’s presentation, is that one company has fundamentally changed the cost equation. Rather than building infrastructure on the ground, it has deployed a constellation of more than 6,750 satellites that beam high-speed internet from orbit to any point on the planet.
“No more unsightly cell towers will be required around your neighborhood,” Altucher said. “You’ll simply receive lightning-fast internet, sent to you from high-tech satellites in space, at all times. Whether you’re in Manhattan or in a remote rural cabin, you’ll always have the chance to be connected.”
Because the satellites wrap the entire Earth, the same network serves users in Manhattan, on cruise ships in the Pacific, in war zones where ground infrastructure has been destroyed, and in the poorest villages in Africa — all without a single cable being laid or a single tower being built.
The service already reaches more than six million customers globally, growing at 50% year-over-year. It’s active in more than 2.6 million households worldwide, and that number, Altucher says, is only accelerating.
Why the Incumbents Never Got There
Altucher’s presentation argues that the traditional telecom industry was never going to close the digital divide — because its entire business model depends on expensive ground-based infrastructure that doesn’t scale to remote populations.
He points to the track record as evidence. Despite a $2.18 trillion global industry and decades of government subsidies, tens of millions of Americans still lack reliable internet access — let alone the billions underserved worldwide.
And for the consumers who are connected, Altucher says the experience has been far from acceptable. Americans pay nearly $200 per month for internet service that ranks among the slowest in the developed world. Meanwhile, consumers in South Korea pay roughly $20 per month for speeds five times faster.
“Here in America you’re paying more than any other country for internet service that ranks among the slowest in the world,” Altucher said.
He also cites what he considers a revealing example of the industry’s priorities. During one of the worst California wildfires in recent years, Verizon cut internet speeds for active-duty firefighters to 1/200th of normal levels, then charged them double to restore service while they were working to save lives.
“To me, it’s criminal,” Altucher said.
The Economic Value Locked Behind the Divide
Altucher believes the real scale of this story goes far beyond better internet access. When 2.9 billion people come online for the first time, it doesn’t just mean more users — it means entirely new markets, new consumers, and new economies being created from scratch.
He sees a historical pattern that has played out every time internet access has taken a fundamental leap forward — from dial-up to DSL to cable broadband. Each shift reshaped industries and created enormous new opportunities for those who recognized what was happening early.
“Every time the internet takes a huge leap forward, untold amounts of wealth are made over time by people who see it coming,” Altucher said.
In his view, connecting the remaining 2.9 billion people represents the largest of these shifts yet — and the economic value waiting to be unlocked is measured in trillions.
A Race That’s Already Been Won
What separates this moment from past attempts to close the digital divide, Altucher says, is that the hard part is already done. The satellites are in orbit. The network is live. Six million customers are already connected. The question is no longer whether the technology works — it’s how quickly adoption spreads.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this business, it’s that chances like this really do only come around once in a lifetime,” said Altucher. “And when they do, 99% of people do nothing. They simply sit on the sidelines and get left behind.”
With 6,750 satellites overhead and adoption growing at 50% year-over-year, Altucher believes the race to connect the unconnected isn’t just underway — for all practical purposes, it’s already over. The rest of the world just hasn’t caught on yet.
About the Presentation
James Altucher's full video presentation is free to watch and available for on-demand viewing at no cost. To access the complete session, click here.
About James Altucher and Paradigm Press
James Altucher is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, entrepreneur, and one of the most widely followed technology analysts in the country. He has spent decades identifying major shifts in technology and markets before they reach the mainstream, building a readership of more than 150,000 people who turn to his research for early insight into emerging trends. His podcast, The James Altucher Show, has surpassed 70 million downloads and has featured conversations with some of the most influential figures in business and finance. His work is published by Paradigm Press, an independent research firm that maintains a 4.8-star rating on Google across more than 1,900 public reviews.
Derek Warren Public Relations Manager Paradigm Press Group Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com
