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Facebook has enlisted the support of Samsung, Ericsson and more to launch Internet.org – a project that aims to make the web more affordable.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also brought together Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nokia and Opera Software to help bring internet access across the globe to those who can’t afford it.
The partnership will develop lower-cost, higher-quality smartphones and deploy internet access in underserved communities, in a bid to enable the next five billion people without access to come online.
"The goal of Internet.org is to make internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today," Zuckerberg said.
Internet.org is comparable to Google’s Project Loon – a network of solar-powered balloons released over the Southern Hemisphere, which it hopes will bring reliable internet to remote regions across the world.
