Free Basics

Free Basics, originally known as Internet.org, is a global initiative led by Facebook to bring Internet connectivity to "diverse, local communities". The project is combined effort between seven major telecommunication companies, including Ericsson, Mediatek, Opera, Samsung, facebook, Nokia, and Qualcomm.

The project was renamed Free Basics in September 2015. Free Basics was originally only the name of the app delivering the service.

The project's goal is that "Free Basics introduces people to the internet and they move on to explore the entire internet." Speaking on the project, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has said, "Connectivity can't only be a privilege for some of the rich and powerful; it needs to be something that everyone shares."

The non-profit has identified three major areas for exploration including:

• Affordability: Supporters will work together to ensure access to the Internet isn't a barrier.
• Efficiency: Supporters will build and strengthen the infrastructure needed to keep the Internet stable.
• Business Models: Developers, mobile operators and device manufacturers will work together to introduce business models that give people more ways to go online."

Rebranding from Internet.org to Free Basics

In 2015 September, Internet.org was renamed "Free Basics by Facebook", to highlight the significance of its overhauls. With the renaming came a revamped website, moved from Internet.org to FreeBasics.com, and featuring options for location targeting. This allowed users in Asia, Africa, and Latin America could choose the serves they wishes to activate and access in their region. The rebrand also came with a new mobile website that supported HTTPS, like the Android app.

Background

Free Basics marked its one-year anniversary in Zambia, where it first began working with the telecommunications company Airtel. Zuckerberg says this partnership allowed got "hundreds of thousands of people access to some basic services for health, education, jobs, communication".

At the time, more than half ofF are paying for data and accessing the Internet within 30 days. Another cited positive angle of the organization's service includes data surrounded healthcare access--more than a million users accessed such information over the course of a month.

Criticisms & Controversies

Net Neutrality

Since its launch in 2013, several net neutrality activists have criticized the project for 'zero rating', which is the preferential treatment of certain websites or streaming services, over others. This results in an uneven playing field, and magnifies barriers to access on the Internet. Facebook's initiative does this by providing 'Free Basics', a collection of sites that relay weather, health and local data for users.

India

When Facebook first began operations in India, only 15% of its population of 1.1 billion people had access to the internet. While Free Basics' potential in India seemed large, it was from the country in 2016 February, "discriminatory tariffs for data services", aka zero rating". This came after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) called for Reliance Communications, Facebook's Indian telecom partner, to stop Free Basics in 2015 December. In response, the company reportedly spent millions on advertising and had an op-ed published by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the Times of India.