Partnering with Spacecom.
By Raif Karerat
Follow @ambazaarmag
Facebook has just put some serious verve behind its Internet.org initiative by announcing it is partnering with France’s Eutelsat Communications to use satellite technology to provide free internet access to sub-Saharan Africa.
“Under a multi-year agreement with Spacecom, the two companies will utilise the entire broadband payload on the future AMOS-6 satellite and will build a dedicated system comprising satellite capacity, gateways and terminals,” an Eutelsat press release said.
The project is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2016 and will cover west, east and southern Africa.
The multi-year deal between Internet.org and Eutelsat will address the “significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa,” said Internet.org vice president Chris Daniels, in a release.
In a separate statement, Eutelsat said its satellite partnership with Facebook would allow users to connect to the web through “affordable, off-the-shelf” hardware, adding that there is “pent-up demand” for broadband connections across sub-Saharan Africa, according to The Verge.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged Facebook’s business will benefit in the long run if more people gain Internet access, but he says the effort isn’t driven by profit-seeking. Instead, he has said it’s based on the conviction that Internet service can bring a variety of economic and social benefits to developing nations, reported CNN-IBN.
Internet.org makes has made some basic online services, such as health information, education, and financial help available for free in 19 countries since its inception in 2013, but has not avoided locking horns with net neutrality watchdogs.
The project came under scrutiny earlier this year when a group of companies withdrew their support for the project in India, claiming Internet.org violates net neutrality principles by prioritizing content from its partners. Mark Zuckerberg responded by defending the initiative with vigor, asserting it’s “better to have some access than none at all.”