Millions of Filipinos will now get free access to basic Internet services. This is after Facebook announced on Wednesday the availability of Internet.org app that will be rolled out in the country.
Services related to education, health, employment, communication and information and news would be provided to mobile phone users at no cost at all.
This will allow Filipinos to browse Wikipedia for information, read the Inquirer for news updates, check the weather using Accuweather, look for jobs on Jobstreet, and chat with friends on Facebook and more – without any data charges.
However, for its initial phase, the Internet.org app will only allow Filipinos to get free access to a buffet of 24 websites Facebook has chosen.
The Internet.org app has been made available since 2014 by Facebook in an aim to bring Internet services to two-thirds of the world who are not yet online, by being in partnership with telecommunication companies across the globe.
According to the estimate of Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, only 38 percent of the Philippine population had Internet access as of mid-2014.
The Philippines is the seventh country to get the service globally after it has been launched in Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India and Zambia. Meanwhile, it is the first country in Southeast Asia to get this service. This was made possible through Facebook’s signed deal with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company’s mobile arm Smart Communications, which has 69 million subscribers.
“We are working with operators, content partners, and governments from all over the world to address the barriers that prevent people from connecting and joining the knowledge economy. We are excited to bring the Internet.org app to the Philippines and give people access to internet services and tools that can help create new ideas and opportunities,” says Markku Makelainen, director of global operator partnerships at Facebook.
Smart is one with Facebook with its own drive for more digital inclusion, as it has launched a number of promos for this purpose since early 2011. The latest promo offering subscribers 30MB of free mobile Internet access per day was unveiled in September 2014.
Subscribers can download the app on Google Play Store, or simply text INTERNET to 9999 to access.
