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After Backlash on Internet.org, Facebook Launched Another Wi-fi Service Program in India

4May By PriyankaNo Comments

News

After Backlash on Internet.org, Facebook Launched Another Wi-fi Service Program in India

Social networking giant Facebook has rolled out in India, its Express Wi-Fi service that offers Internet facility through public hotspots to users in rural parts of the country. The commercial roll out of the project comes a year after Facebook pulled the plug on the controversial Free Basics programme that drew severe criticism from advocates of net neutrality. Unlike Free Basics that provided access to selected websites for free, Express Wi-Fi works on a "paid" model and the access will not be restricted to any particular websites. Users can log onto public wi-fi hotspots made available through partner telecom operators and buy daily, weekly or monthly data packs being sold through local entrepreneurs. Facebook has also onboarded as a partner, telecom giant Bharti Airtel, whi...

Facebook Launched “Express Wi-fi” Under Internet.org in India

27Nov By AdityaNo Comments

INDIA, News

Facebook Launched “Express Wi-fi” Under Internet.org in India

Months after it received flak for allegedly violating net neutrality with Free Basics, social networking giant Facebook is now testing a new model for public Wi-Fi deployments for offering quality internet access in rural parts of the country. According to Facebook's Internet.org page, the company's "Express Wifi" is live in India and it is "working with carriers, internet service providers and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world". "...are expanding to other regions soon," it added. However, Facebook did not indicate if the Wi-Fi will provide limited access of a few websites, like its Free Basics, or provide full access. Express Wifi empowers local entrepreneurs to help provide quality internet access to their neighbours and mak...

Trai Issues Pre-Consultation Paper on Net Neutrality

31May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

INDIA

Trai Issues Pre-Consultation Paper on Net Neutrality

Telecom regulator Trai today issued pre-consultation paper on net neutrality, a topic that had kicked up dust earlier this year over platforms like Facebooks Free Basics and Airtel Zero as well as attempts to charge certain Internet services, including calls. Seeking to put in place an overall framework for Internet usage in the country, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said: "This pre-consultation paper is an attempt to identify the relevant issues in these areas, which will help Trai in formulating its views on the way forward for policy or regulatory intervention." There has been a conflict between telecom operators, Internet companies and consumers interest on the issue of net neutrality. While all the three major stakeholders - telecom operators, Internet compani...

Facebook Report or Agenda? $1 trillion Extra GDP By 2020 if All Indians Get Online

30May By NitishNo Comments

News

Facebook Report or Agenda? $1 trillion Extra GDP By 2020 if All Indians Get Online

IANS- Four of five Indians could afford the internet if data costs fell by 66 percent, according to a Facebook-commissioned report on Internet access. But Indian telecom operators already run data services at a 11 percent loss, making cost-cutting difficult. The statistics mean that a data plan currently priced at Rs.100 should not cost more than Rs.34 if India has to make the internet affordable for 80 percent of its population. But the adverse economics imply this cannot happen without intervention from the government - whose Rs.20,000 crore ($2.9 billion) plan to connect each of India's 250,000 panchayats with broadband by 2018 is three years behind schedule. The internet reached 29 per cent of Indians - 354 million users - in September 2015, IndiaSpend reported. It could rise ...

Nearly 700 Startup Founders Urge PM Modi to Defend Net Neutrality

27Jan By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Nearly 700 Startup Founders Urge PM Modi to Defend Net Neutrality

NEW DELHI- Hundreds of startups, including bigger players like Zomato, Cleartrip, Paytm and their employees, have approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defend net neutrality, which they define it as access to content on the internet without any discrimination. "We urge you to ensure that the recently announced initiative, Start-Up India, addresses the concern of net neutrality, with clearly defined policies and firm rules," the letter said. Around 500 people have signed the letter including Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, Cleartrip founder Hrush Bhatt, XYSEC LABS founder Subho Halder, iSPIRT Foundation co-founder Sharad Sharma and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. There are 1,467 signatories to the letter, including 681 founders of various startups. Startups expressed gr...

Facebook fights for free Internet in India, global test-case

1Jan By No Comments

News

Facebook fights for free Internet in India, global test-case

Reuters: India has become a battleground over the right to unrestricted Internet access, with local tech start-ups joining the front line against Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg and his plan to roll out free Internet to the country's masses. The Indian government has ordered Facebook's Free Basics plan to be put on hold while it decides what to do. The program, launched in around three dozen developing countries, offers pared-down web services on mobile phones, along with access to Facebook's own social network and messaging services, without charge. But critics say the program, launched 10 months ago in India in collaboration with operator Reliance Communications, violates principles of net neutrality, the concept that all websites on the internet are treated equally. It wou...

Facebook’s Free Basics service suspended in Egypt

31Dec By No Comments

News

Facebook’s Free Basics service suspended in Egypt

Reuters: A Facebook-sponsored service that offers limited free Internet access was suspended in Egypt on Wednesday after a permit required from the government was not renewed, an official from the Telecommunications Ministry told Reuters. Facebook's Free Basics service, which aims to provide free access to Facebook and some partner websites in developing countries, was launched in Egypt two months ago by the mobile carrier Etisalat ETEL.AD. The official, who declined to be named, said Etisalat had only been granted a permit to offer the service for two months and that, when it expired on Wednesday, the service was suspended. The suspension was not related to security concerns, the official said. Etisalat said only that it would release a statement on Thursday. Social media w...

Zuckerberg makes renewed pitch for Free Basics service

28Dec By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Zuckerberg makes renewed pitch for Free Basics service

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Monday made renewed pitch for its controversial Free Basics Internet service in yet another marketing blitz saying it protects net neutrality. Facebook's proposed Free Basics plan allows customers to avail of services like education, health care and employment listings through apps specially designed for this platform on their phones without a data plan but does not allow access to many services such as YouTube, Gmail, Google or Twitter. Zuckerberg appeared on a video to personally promote Free Basics and also wrote a personal appeal in one of the leading newspapers. While Free Basics allows users to access a small number of Web services without charge, it has been criticised by some for alleged violation of the principle of net neutrality, a co...

25Dec By No Comments

BLOGS

“Facebook is misleading Indians”

Today it has ads around India saying "What net neutrality activists won't tell you". I'm a net neutrality activist and I'm happy to tell you anything you'd like to know. In fact, we're a small group, working unpaid, taking breaks from our regular jobs, and we've always been happy to tell you anything at all you wanted to know. We don't have a business axe to grind, we're not working for Facebook's rivals, and if anything, we've been part of Digital India far, far longer than Facebook has existed. We're open to questioning. Unlike Facebook, who tried to silently slime this thing through last year when it was called Internet.org, and then are spending about Rs. 100 crores on ads - a third of its India revenue? - to try and con us Indians this year again. This is after we'd worked h...

India is temporarily banning Facebook’s plan to provide free internet to the developing world

23Dec By AdityaNo Comments

News

India is temporarily banning Facebook’s plan to provide free internet to the developing world

Facebook's plan to provide free internet to the developing world just hit another hurdle: The Indian regulator is ordering a temporary ban on the service, called Free Basics, reports The Times of India. Free Basics - part of Internet.org - is a service offered by the social network in some emerging markets that lets users access some websites for free. source- gettyimages The aim is to help bring people online for the first time, but has come under sustained criticism for allegedly violating the principles of net neutrality. Net neutrality dictates that all data should be treated equally, and companies cannot pay for faster access or preferential treatment, so as not to stifle innovation and create hurdles for startups unable to pay. But because Free Basics zero-rates - that is...

Facebook will now deliver internet from space

6Oct By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Facebook will now deliver internet from space

Facebook said on Monday, that it would launch a satellite called AMOS-6 in partnership with France's Eutelsat Communications to bring Internet access to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite is a part of Facebook's long-term goal, Internet.org, to expand internet access mainly in rural areas via mobile phones. (more…)

Why We Support Modi’s Digital India But Not Facebook’s Version Of Digital India & Free Basics

28Sep By No Comments

News

Why We Support Modi’s Digital India But Not Facebook’s Version Of Digital India & Free Basics

We all know that Facebook is trying very hard to bring its Internet.org to India, which was disallowed in India is selling the same item in a new packet: “Free Basics”. Recently, they launched a super cool looking feature to change your profile picture to one with tricolour hues. This is supposed to be your show of support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative. Lakhs of people just loved this cool feature and started changing their profile pics as soon as they saw these giants changing their profile picture. However, please beware, Facebook is actually counting each DP change to as your support for its on “Internet.org” in India. Remember, it took a number of Internet influencers almost a month to educate people about Net Neutrality and garner about a million and...