In his post Zuckerberg claimed how Free Basics has helped Ganesh Nimbalkar, a farmer in Maharashtra, not only double his crop yield but also get a better deal for them.
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The Free Basics service, renamed back in September, was initially rolled out earlier this year in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but now theoretically offers internet access to each of India’s estimated 1.3 billion people. The social networking giant Facebook has chosen Reliance Communications Network to offer Free Basics – its free internet sharing platform – now to everyone in the country. While announcing this news, Mark had said, “We just took another step towards connecting India”.
Facebook has extended its net neutrality-violating Free Basics service (previously Internet.org) to Reliance Communications subscribers across the country.
Facebook’s initiative, Internet.org has generated much debate on the subject.
Ganesh and his wife Bharati, by using the Free Basics app, have managed to increase their crop yield, assess the monsoons better, eliminate insect infestations, and even add new livestock and crop to their stock.
Consultancy, McKinsey & Co, estimate that almost 1 billion people in India are without an internet connection.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has made yet another effort in its quest to bring people of the developing world online, as it expands its free Internet services in the world’s second biggest populated country, India.
In the past too, Zuckerberg has defended the programme, stating that Free Basics and Facebook are 100 per cent supportive of net neutrality.
Free basics does not intend to harm anyone – neither the consumers nor the operators. Free internet access with a set of Facebook’s services is not something to say no to, and to those who are not connected to the web, Free Basics app is a blessing.
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The app is available on all Android phones.
