Free Basics
Free Basics is a partnership pioneered by Facebook and six other companies in an effort to bring access to limited Internet services into underdeveloped regions. It was founded in 2013 as internet.org and was later renamed. Free Basics , which is now only one project under the umbrella of internet.org [1]. The platform has enabled over 25 million people in 63 countries to access the Internet to date.
Through a mobile browser or an Android app, participants are given free access a participating sites[2]. This is completely free of charge.
Contents
About Free Basics
Reasoning
Internet accessibility in Africa was around 15.5% according to a 2011/12 study conducted across 12 countries on the continent [3]. However, at the same time, cell phone ownership was on the rise (figure). Facebook viewed this as an opportunity to bring millions online and “bridge the accessibility gap.” [4].
In his paper where he explained why Free Basics was needed, Zuckerberg estimated that around two-thirds of the world population does not connect with the Internet. Furthermore, the reason is not that they can not achieve access, but that they cannot afford it. Zuckerberg believes Internet access is a human right with the power to help lift people out of poverty. [5]
To bring them online, Facebook made partnerships with phone carriers in the target regions who allow them to provide the free access to between 200-450 services. [6] These service include Facebook, world news, job search sites and other educational information that can be used to make more informed decisions and actions.
Internet.org and Rebranding
Internet.org was created by Facebook to work towards bringing everyone in the world online under the assumption that accessibility is a human right and can help improve the quality of lives. Internet.org started with the program that is now known as Free Basics. However, as time progressed they developed more programs to help achieve their goal. One such program launched in 2014. The Connectivity Lab is working to bring people online by developing drones and other advanced technologies that can bring internet access to communities around the world.
In 2015, the Internet.org application was rebranded as Free Basics in an effort to clarify what it was doing and differentiate it from the rest of Internet.org. It is now only a part of Internet.org. Zuckerberg clarified that the goal of Free Basics is to bring people who cannot afford traditional access online. It does so by providing just the basics, and does not claim to be an equitable experience to paid Internet. This clarification came among backlash that the limited access may be in violation of Net Neutrality. [7]
Participating Services and Features
Users
Ethical Issues
References
- ↑ “Free Basics by Facebook – English.” English, 12 Oct. 2016, info.internet.org/en/story/free-basics-from-internet-org/.
- ↑ Siddharth Singh, Vedant Nanda, Rijurekha Sen, Sohaib Ahmad, Satadal Sengupta, Amreesh Phokeer, Zaid Ahmed Farooq, Taslim Arefin Khan, Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, Ihsan Ayyub Qazi, David Choffnes, and Krishna P. Gummadi. 2017. An Empirical Analysis of Facebook’s Free Basics Program. In Proceedings of ACM Sigmetrics conference, Urbana-Champaign,IL, USA, June 05-09, 2017 (SIGMETRICS ’17), 2 pages. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3078505.3078554
- ↑ Stork, Christoph & Calandro, Enrico & Gillwald, Alison. (2013). Internet going mobile: Internet access and use in 11 African countries. Info - The journal of policy. 15. 10.1108/info-05-2013-0026.
- ↑ Siddharth Singh, Vedant Nanda, Rijurekha Sen, Sohaib Ahmad, Satadal Sengupta, Amreesh Phokeer, Zaid Ahmed Farooq, Taslim Arefin Khan, Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, Ihsan Ayyub Qazi, David Choffnes, and Krishna P. Gummadi. 2017. An Empirical Analysis of Facebook’s Free Basics Program. In Proceedings of ACM Sigmetrics conference, Urbana-Champaign,IL, USA, June 05-09, 2017 (SIGMETRICS ’17), 2 pages. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3078505.3078554 .
- ↑ Hempel, Jessi. “Facebook Renames Its Controversial Internet.org App.” Wired, Conde Nast, 29 June 2017, www.wired.com/2015/09/facebook-renames-controversial-internet-org-app/.
- ↑ Siddharth Singh, Vedant Nanda, Rijurekha Sen, Sohaib Ahmad, Satadal Sengupta, Amreesh Phokeer, Zaid Ahmed Farooq, Taslim Arefin Khan, Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, Ihsan Ayyub Qazi, David Choffnes, and Krishna P. Gummadi. 2017. An Empirical Analysis of Facebook’s Free Basics Program. In Proceedings of ACM Sigmetrics conference, Urbana-Champaign,IL, USA, June 05-09, 2017 (SIGMETRICS ’17), 2 pages. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3078505.3078554 .
- ↑ Mohan, Pavithra. “Facebook Rebrands Internet.Org App As ‘Free Basics.’” Fast Company, Fast Company, 25 Sept. 2015, www.fastcompany.com/3051576/facebook-rebrands-internetorg-app-as-free-basics.
