So why should you care about data poverty? It's really simple, it's a significant problem we're currently facing in our very unequal society.

Those who have the least are charged more per Mb, if they can get access, than others. PAYG contracts price data very differently.

People on PAYG don't always have money to top up their phone, but they're very reliant on it, as are we all. They're having to decide between feeding themselves and family, paying rent, heating their living space. Data on a phone feels like a luxury, but it's not.

They often don't have internet access at home, and would, in normal times use free wifi in shopping centres or libraries. Those are currently closed.

They are literally cut off from society. It further entrenches inequality as it reduces access to education and employment.

If you think it's not real. Try switching off all internet connectivity for a day, or a week and walk in their shoes. I have, it's incredibly hard.

What can we do as software developers to help with this.

Reduce unnecessary code and images. The less bandwidth someone uses, the better for speed and for what they have to pay for.

Optimise your product for the most common devices used, and test on the devices they use

Test on a PAYG contract. See how quickly the charges mount up.

Think about unnecessary steps in products and prune them back. All your users will thank you.

Consider whether you need to do lots of asynchronous calls for data your application needs, server side rendering helps