In a post on the social network, Mark Zuckerberg said he hoped the move would connect “millions” to the internet.
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Facebook and Eutelsat, a satellite operator, announced their collaboration on a new satellite called the Amos-6, which will launch into a geostationary orbit next year, beaming Internet into communities that do not otherwise have access.
Amazingly, the satellite will deliver affordable broadband internet using off-the-shelf consumer equipment for connectivity – so it’ll be easy and cheap to build more of these satellites in the future.
Facebook is presently hard at work trying to bring free Internet access to various African countries via satellite.
Facebook’s internet.org initiative has come under fire, with critics saying it favours Facebook over rival services and violates the principles of “net neutrality” by providing a few services for free.
The satellite will launch next year and service will start in the second half of 2016. Dubbed AMOS-6, the satellite is created to address the gaps in internet access throughout West, East and Southern Africa that can not be filled by mobile and fixed networks on the ground.
“Facebook’s mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa”, said Chris Daniels, VP of Facebook’s Internet.org program.
Facebook (FB, Tech30) will use the satellite to bring free Internet access to rural areas.
The decision underlines the scale of the billionaire’s ambition to boost connectivity in emerging internet markets but the scheme has been met with opposition in many countries such as Uganda, India and Indonesia.
Facebook has also been reported to use drones and other technologies, like fiber optics, to improve internet quality for its users’ access. But a couple of weeks back, Facebook renamed the Internet.org apps and website as “Free Basics by Facebook”, and opened up to more developers and web services.
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This new project is actually part of Facebook’s Internet.org movement.
