U.S. internet network Facebook on Wednesday unveiled an initiative in partnership with other companies to accelerate internet access in poor countries, while the public potentially connected reached saturation in rich countries.
“Everyone deserves to be connected,” said Wednesday on CNN Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg. “Everything that Facebook has done so far is to give people around the world the opportunity to connect,” he bids during a statement.
This project is called Internet.org expand internet access to 5 billion people, drastically reducing the cost of internet services based on mobile phones in developing countries.Two thirds of the population World does not have Internet access
Today, only 2.7 billion people, or slightly more than a third of the world population, have access to the web, and the number of new users each year is low.
“There are big brakes in developing countries to connect and get the knowledge. Internet.org economy is a global partnership for (…) make internet accessible to those who can not afford it, “said the founder and principal shareholder of Facebook.
Among the project partners include telecommunications equipment manufacturers Nokia (Finland), Ericsson (Sweden), the South Korean electronics giant Samsung, the American component designers and Taiwanese MediaTek Qualcomm and the Norwegian Opera internet browser. If they are not full partners, social networks Twitter and LinkedIn will also work.
To achieve their goal, the seven stakeholder groups will develop joint projects, share knowledge and raise industrial and governments.Specifically, they want to simplify mobile applications, improve components phones and networks to make them more efficient while consuming less energy, and develop low-cost smartphones.
The Internet.org partnership is modeled on another project already led by Facebook, Open Compute Project, launched in April 2011 and to democratize and improve the materials used in the “data centers” (data centers ), while making them more energy efficient. Greeted with skepticism at the outset, this project has gradually attracted the giants of the computer industry.
Other Internet groups like Google have also launched projects to provide access to low-cost internet, like Google Free Zone, which allows free access to social networking, search engine and email home from a simple cell phone and without expensive landline.Project altruistic or propaganda
Analysts generally showed critical of the new initiative.
“This is propaganda,” said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research. Facebook for him and his partners are launching this project to gain new markets in countries with growth potential.
The mature markets are saturated while poor areas such as Africa, Latin America and some Asian countries are reservoirs of new customers.“In India, even if only 1% of people get rich, this will represent 10 million people. Multinationals like Starbucks have any interest in being able to touch “by advertising, is it
said. According to him, if the initiative of Facebook and its partners was actually altruistic should focus primarily on investment in electricity. “Many poor areas have access to electricity than 3-4 hours a day. And you think they will take the opportunity to go on Facebook?”.
The analysts Site 247wallst . com qualify for its share of the project unrealistic. “Providing access to the Internet at 5 billion people is like bringing them food, water and access to education. Logistics costs and challenge the financial power of companies like Qualcomm, even when they are in trouble as Nokia. “” It would inject hundreds of billions of dollars to create the necessary infrastructure, “especially as many of the governments of the countries concerned” do not want their citizens are connected to the Internet, “says 247wallst.
(With AFP)
