Internet.org’s app is designed to provide critical services to all Zambians for free, while also spreading awareness of why the Internet is useful and might be worth paying for. The 4.25 billion people who aren’t on the Internet but could be because traditional cellular connections are available fall into two buckets, says Rosen. Those who want the Internet but can’t afford it because data plans are too expensive. And those who don’t fully understand the web. Rosen tells me “a lot of people don’t know what the Internet is. They don’t know what it could do for their lives and livelihood. It’s a vague concept.”
Of course this perspective assumes the Internet is
equivocally good for people, which may not be true for all cultures. But
the app is designed for people who would want the Internet if they
about it and could afford it.
To promote the Internet.org app in Zambia there will be
call-outs in the Facebook app, an awareness campaign, and notifications
to Airtel subscribers. The country’s residents can then visit
Internet.org from their smartphone or browser-equipped feature phone for
an entirely free entry point. Alternatively, they can pay for a little
data to download the Internet.org app that’s just 800 kilobytes, or the
Facebook For Android app where the Internet.org app is baked into a tab.
From these three identical entry points, users can use one of a selection of apps entirely for free. These include:- Facebook – for staying in touch with friends
- Facebook Messenger – for direct contact with loved ones
- Google Search – to find information, though clicking through to results will require a data plan
- Wikipedia – to learn about anything, and all internal Wikipedia links are free to access
- AccuWeather – to get updated weather information that’s critical for farmers
- Airtel – to learn more about the carrier and buy data plans
- eZeLibrary – to learn about Zambian government information
- Facts for Life (by UNICEF) – to find heath and hygiene info including advice on pregnancy, childbirth, childhood illnesses, child development, parenting, protection, and child care
- Go Zambia Jobs – to search for jobs
- Kokoliko – search for jobs
MAMA (Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action) – Info on maternal health for impoverished mothers - WRAPP (Women’s Rights App) – learn about women’s rights and what to do if rights have been violated
- Zambia uReport (by UNICEF) – To find HIV and AIDS health info
An On-Ramp To Paid Data Plans
Airtel pays for all this free access. Rosen tells me
Facebook and Internet.org don’t pay at all. Instead, the free access
acts as an on-ramp to Airtel’s data plans.
If
users click through to links outside of these services or use other
apps, Internet.org will show users a roadblock screen that warns them
they’ll be expending their data plan or need to buy one. Zambians would
then go to a local store and top-up with pre-paid credit on Airtel if
necessary. The model works because Airtel believes it can earn more
money using the free limited access as a loss leader to drive data plan
purchases. This works out well for locals, because those who can’t
afford these plans get a ton resources at no cost because they’re
effectively subsidized by those who can.
Facebook has been offering free access to a stripped down
version of its service under the name Facebook Zero since 2010 when it
launched with 50 operators in countries around the world. The program
has been hailed for driving Facebook penetration in Africa.
In the last six months, though, Internet.org own deals
have come to fruition. On last week’s earnings call, Zuckerberg said
that “our initial partnerships in the Philippines, Paraguay, and
Tanzania have helped around 3 million people connect to the Internet who
had no access before.” And back in February at Mobile World Congress,
he highlighted how the deals are delivering customers to its carrier
partners. Discussing a Filipino Network Globe when he said “what we’re
seeing in Globe users is the number of people who are using the internet
— the data — was doubled, and Globe subscribers have grown by 25%, so
it’s a home run.”
Zuckerberg wrote today
that “We believe that every person should have access to free basic
internet services – tools for health, education, jobs and basic
communication.” That’s powerful stance that could do a lot of good.
Still, it is a little scary that Facebook and Internet.org could decide
what qualifies as a basic Internet service that should be offered free
and what doesn’t. You’ll notice Twitter isn’t on the list. Facebook’s
worldwide appeal makes it a valuable ally to carriers who need flagship
services to point to for why people should want the Internet. So it gets
to call the shots.
If the app is a success in Zambia, you can expect
Internet.org will roll it out in other carriers and countries in Africa,
Asia, and South America where the same data affordability problem
persists. And if Facebook can be one of the first ways people experience
the Internet, they won’t forget it as they become full-fledged Internet
users. Seems altruism can be a business model.
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