Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.
The survey - of more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries - found strong support for net access on both sides of the digital divide.
[Access the Detailed Findings (23 pages; PDF)]
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that access is a human right for their citizens.
International bodies such as the UN are also pushing for universal net access.
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The EU is also committed to providing universal access to broadband. However, like many areas around the world the region is grappling with how to deliver high-speed net access to rural areas where the market is reluctant to go.
Analysts say that is a problem many countries will increasingly have to deal with as citizens demand access to the net.
The BBC survey found that 87% of internet users felt internet access should be the "fundamental right of all people".
More than 70% of non-users felt that they should have access to the net.
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South Korea - the most wired country on Earth - had the greatest majority of people (96%) who believed that net access was a fundamental right. Nearly all of the country's citizens already enjoy high-speed net access.
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