Facebook
is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the
Internet.org app by hosting a Developer Day at iHub in Nairobi, Kenya on
Monday, 27 July
*Internet.org brings new users onto mobile networks on average over 50% faster after launching free basic services
*More
than half of the people who come online through Internet.org are paying
for data and accessing the internet within the first month
*Internet.org users accessed health services more than a million times just in the past month
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) (http://www.facebook.com) is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the Internet.org app (http://www.internet.org) by hosting a Developer Day at iHub (http://www.ihub.co.ke) in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday, 27 July.
Over
the last year, Facebook has worked closely with more than a dozen
mobile operators across 17 countries to give people access to relevant
basic internet services without data charges. Today Internet.org is
available to more than a billion people. African countries where
Internet.org has been launched include Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania,
Senegal, Zambia, Ghana, Angola and Malawi.
Connecting
people to the power of the Internet “By providing people with access to
free basic services through Internet.org, our goal was to bring more
people online and help them discover the value of the internet — and
it’s working,” says Chris Daniels, Vice President of Internet.org.
“Internet.org
brings new users onto mobile networks on average over 50% faster after
launching free basic services, and more than half of the people who come
online through Internet.org are paying for data and accessing the
internet within the first 30 days. In the past month people using
Internet.org accessed health services more than a million times, which
speaks to the ultimate goal of Internet.org — helping to make an impact
in people’s lives.”
Chris Daniels, Vice President of Internet.org.
Scaling up Internet.org services
The
one anniversary also marks the start of a new phase for Internet.org
free basic services. From today, Facebook has made it easier for any
mobile operator to sign up for and turn on Internet.org in new countries
through a partner portal (http://www.internet.org/operators) that includes technical tools and best practices, improving the process to offer free basic services to the unconnected.
Its recently announced Internet.org Platform (https://www.internet.org/platform), meanwhile, makes it simple for any developer to create services that integrate with Internet.org. FbStart (http://fbstart.com) is a new program from Facebook designed to help early stage mobile start-ups build and grow their apps.
In
partnership with Internet.org, FbStart offers a set of benefits
specific to social good developers, as well as mentorship opportunities
with the Internet.org team. At the Nairobi event, Facebook will show how
its FbStart tools and resources will help developers to build, grow and
monetise services whether developing for feature phones or smartphones.
“Our
goal is to work with as many mobile operators and developers as
possible to extend the benefits of connectivity to diverse, local
communities across Africa,” says Daniels. “We look forward to working in
partnership with more mobile operators and developers to bring internet
access and relevant basic internet services to the unconnected in the
months to come.”
Internet.org
is a Facebook-led initiative focused on providing affordable internet
access to the two thirds of the world’s population that is currently
unconnected.
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