What is "Internet.org" that Facebook connects with worldwide IT companies to connect 5 billion people worldwide to the Internet?

ByCharis Tsevis

Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg CEO aimed to thoroughly reduce the cost of Internet service provision by mobile phones in developing countriesInternet.org(IO) announced the formation of. IT companies from all over the world, including Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson, participate as IO. What exactly is Internet reform aimed at by IO and Mr. Zuckerberg?

Internet.org
http://internet.org/

Is access to the Internet a right as a person? | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/isconnectivityahumanright

Facebook Leads an Effort to Lower Barriers to Internet Access - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/technology/facebook-leads-an-effort-to-lower-barriers-to-internet-access.html

◆ Internet.org
IO was established with the aim of improving the poor Internet infrastructure all over the world. There are 5 billion people in the world who can not access the Internet, 4 billion of them in developing countries. IO is planning various initiatives so that people can use the Internet.

One of them is to improve the Internet infrastructure of mobile phones and reduce costs. IO realizes comfortable operation even at low specification terminals by making smartphone application simpler and plans to further reduce battery consumption. In addition to improving the efficiency of smartphone applications, improvements in the Internet and networks will make it easier for customers,Reduce mobile Internet service offering cost to 1 percent of currentWe aim to do that.

Mr. Zuckerberg said, "The Internet is an important tool to improve the quality of life, but if you leave it alone, the Internet environment never improves naturally, and in the end businesses that everyone can benefit We have to create a framework. " IO,Realize humanitarian ideal world while utilizing human commercial behaviorIt is established under the design philosophy of.


◆ Internet.org Partner company activities
Facebook is already running an attempt to reduce the average amount of data used per day on Android app from 12 MB to 1 MB without user's notice.

Qualcomm has devised a design that extends the driving time of smartphones, succeeded in reducing the amount of data at the time of sending a movie, and continues to strive to broaden the range of mobile networks by Wi-Fi routers.

Nokia provides Facebook access to Telcel, a telephone company in Mexico, for free Facebook access by offering "Asha phone" for Facebook. As a result, Telcel 's mobile phone sales volume has increased significantly. This service has been decided to be offered to customers of Bharti Airtel, mobile carriers in India and Africa.

ByRafe Blandford

Indeed Mr. Zuckerberg's idea is wonderful and IO's efforts are very humanitarian as giving people in developing countries access to the net. However, there is a glimpse of the fact that many global IT companies have to do so.

In the United States already one mobile phone has spread to one person. And more than half of Americans use Facebook at least once a month. This is similar situation in other developed countries. In other words, it can be said that there is no growing situation that Facebook and mobile phone carriers can not hope for further user acquisition and promotion.Global IT companies are no longer allowed to stay in developed countries to benefit and have no choice but to advance to developing countriesIt is.

The graph on the left below shows the proportion of Internet related business out of the GDP growth rate in the past 15 years and the past 5 years in developing countries. From here, you can see that the Internet industry in developing countries is growing fast. The graph on the right shows the proportion of technical and non-technical industries to GDP in developing countries, suggesting that there is still much room for the development of the Internet industry, which is the technical industry in the future .


In other words, poor countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are full of new customers, and for global IT companies there is a big business opportunity. However, it is obvious that it is an essential condition to be able to provide better service at a lower price.

ByMarwa Morgan

◆ Internet.org VS Google
There are other companies that are trying to find business opportunities in developing countries like IO. For example, Twitter has partnered with about 250 mobile phone companies in over 100 countries in the world to provide a free tweet environment, even the cheapest mobile phones can use the service.

Google has launched a service that provides free wireless LAN to users in developing countries. Google is also experimenting with an attempt to send and receive radio waves from a balloon launched into the stratosphere called "Loon Project" to enable Internet access in remote areas.

ByDiego da Silva

Began by Facebook in 2011Open Compute ProjectLike Facebook, it is thought that Facebook will endeavor to add governments, mobile phone carriers and Microsoft to their IO partners. Because it is a strategy suitable for many years of projects to increase access to Facebook.

However, with the world's largest search engine and video site YouTubeGoogle will not participate in IOI guess. One of the reasons is that Google itself is aggressive in expanding Internet access all over the world and it is already running various projects. Google constantly improves Android software to improve battery ownership. Google's spokeswoman Courtney Hene said: "We are always investing in technology and programs and we have a development team around the world to make products that meet the needs of the region As I say, "Regardless of IO's efforts, Google will continue to conduct activities to spread the net around the world independently.

ByAntonio Manfredonio

Meanwhile, Mr. Zuckerberg said, "IO's efforts may not sound exciting if compared to Google and others that realize Internet access with balloons, but steady efforts can make a big change.No one company can realize it with just one company"Is called.

◆ The future that Internet.org brings
While admitting that the development and improvement of the Internet access environment of the developing countries the IO is trying to realize has the potential to generate profits in the long term for Facebook that earn most of its profits from advertisement revenue, Mr. Zuckerberg "The earnings gained soon from the expansion of Internet access are small, since the activities of the IO are good for the world, we may not bring a surprising benefit, but we are focused." I will talk.

ByCharis Tsevis

IO, which is a federation of IT companies, and Google and other companies that continue to work independently, are different in method, "common people" that everyone can obtain a low cost and comfortable Internet environment all over the world " It seems to have ideal. Evaluating the success or failure of these activities will take some time, but in any case the development of a free and comfortable internet environment is progressing steadily, and as a result, "something" that we did not anticipate so far It is certain that it will happen.