With the advent of information age, the Internet has profoundly influenced every aspect of modern people's life. Under such a background, how does the government play a role? Should the government offer Internet access to all citizens at no cost? These questions triggered heated debates in society. From my perspective, the Internet access, like other important public services, should be available to the public free of charge. I am going to elaborate my viewpoint in the following paragraphs.
Firstly, charge-free policy allows more people to enjoy Internet-based public services. Under the encouragement of cost-free policy, an increasing number of people will be more willing to get access to the Internet and then benefit from government services which is optimized by the Internet. At present, many unprivileged people are kept from using Internet a lot because they worry about the money they have to pay for Internet. Thus, they are unable to enjoy Internet to their heart's content. Since the government tries to develop the new economy which is based on Internet, it should get rid of people's concerns in the first place.
Secondly, the economy will be the beneficiary of government's policy of free access to Internet. Once the government cancels the cost of using the Internet, e-commerce is expected to grow in leaps and bounds. More people will choose to start up business online, and many job opportunities will be therefore created, which also give an impetus to the development of supporting industries such as logistics. The success of Alibaba Group is a perfect refection of Internet's positive influence on the economy. If the government offers to all citizens, there will be more enterprises like Alibaba Group emerging one after another.
Of course, we have to admit that free Internet access will bring tremendous pressure on government budget. After all, the construction of network, similar to the building of other major infrastructures, is a huge project consumes intensive labor and funds. However, the government can cover the expenditure via other ways, including levying a tax on those profitable Internet-based business.
In conclusion, making the Internet access free of charge is a valuable and far-reaching effort for the government. In the age of Internet, the government should play a greater role in leading its people to embrace this new age.