Zuckerberg to Press on with Internet Access Despite Setback
Indian regulators banned Free Basics because it gave access only to certain pre-approved services like Facebook.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg vowed on Monday to press on with his 3-year effort to bring the developing world online, even after Indian regulators banned one of the pillars of the campaign.
Also read: With Free Basics Shut, Facebook India Head Steps Down
He said the banned service, Free Basics, was only one program in his Internet.org campaign, so he could proceed with other initiatives. Indian regulators banned Free Basics this month because it provided access only to certain pre-approved services, including Facebook rather than the full Internet.
Though Zuckerberg termed the regulatory defeat “disappointing for the mission and a major setback,” he said every country was different, and “the model that has worked in one country may not work in another.”
This was his third appearance at the Barcelona show to promote Internet access to everyone in the world. He has argued that online connections can improve lives and fuel economic development.
To achieve that goal, Zuckerberg has high-flying dreams for someday providing Internet connections through a network of drones, satellites and lasers. Zuckerberg said on Monday that Internet.org would launch its first satellite over Africa this year and “we are about to test flying Internet drone solar planes that can fly three months a year.”
While the drones may someday connect people in areas too remote for cables or cell towers, Free Basics is intended for people who live in areas with Internet service but still can’t afford it. Facebook works with wireless carriers in poorer nations to let people use streamlined versions of Facebook and certain other online services, without paying data charges.
A low-income resident of urban Manila, for example, can use Free Basics to view the Philippines’ GMA News site. “He can be informed. He can research. He can read the news,” Ederic Eder of GMA News said.
The program varies by country, in offerings and effectiveness.
In South Africa, for instance, Facebook partnered with the third-largest wireless carrier, Cell C. But Johannesburg resident Priscilla de Klerk said she couldn’t get Free Basics to work on her phone.
“Cell C is much cheaper as far as everything else is concerned, but their free Facebook is not a reality,” she said.
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