Internet.org - The Power to Connect

A lot of social networking sites nowadays are making our lives a lot easier. We can communicate with our friends and love ones as often as possible because of Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger and many more. We get to be informed also through these sites and can join discussions and conversations about different issues.

Internet.org aims to connect the next 5 billion to the internet

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook announced the launch of “Internet.org” which he described as a global partnership with the goal of making internet access available to the next 5 billion people. It aims to bring wider connections most especially to those who are not yet connected.

Research shows that only 2.7 billion people or just over one-third of the world’s population has access to the internet and this is why Zuckerberg wanted to have higher growth of internet adoption to bring same opportunities to everyone. He also pointed out some barriers in developing countries which hinder the possibility of more internet access and said that this project will work to overcome those challenges including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it.

Internet.org means affordable internet access to all

In order to achieve the goal of connecting the rest of the population (2.3 billion people as the target who are not yet online), Internet.org will focus on three key challenges in developing countries which are to make access more affordable, using data more efficiently and helping businesses drive access.

Affordability is really one of the major factors why there are still a lot of people who are not yet connected to the internet. Partners of Internet.org project will collaborate to develop and adopt technologies that would make mobile connectivity more affordable. Even though almost all of the mobile and smart phones now can access the internet, users choose to set aside that function because unless the area is a WIFI spot, one can’t still connect for he/she still need more load to surf the net. In this case, internet.org will help in deploying more internet access by means of collaborations between mobile operators and communications companies to develop lowest cost but higher-quality smartphones and applications.

Efficient usage of data is also one of the focuses of Internet.org. Partners will invest in tools that will reduce the amount of data required to use most applications and internet experiences. Network capabilities will also be enhanced to handle data more efficiently and more frameworks will be created for applications to reduce data usage.

Also, businesses must have access to all these things so that it would also be easy for the people to access the internet and gather more information from it. Sustainable new business models must be developed which includes testing new models that would give incentives for mobile operators, device manufacturers and developers to provide more affordable and easy access than before.

Internet.org Tech Partners

To make Internet.org's vision more possible, Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTech, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm, Samsung and other partners will build and invest on exploring and developing new ways to collaborate to solve these problems regarding internet access. Because these companies have been in the business for the longest time, they’ve already built close relationships with a lot of mobile operators which will help in making this dream possible. They also have greater knowledge about technology and have all the resources which will also be helped by NGOs, academics and experts.

Internet.org is a project which unites may of the biggest communications and technology-related companies. These companies have one goal and that’s to provide a better way of communication through a wider and also better internet connection. Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson even said, "We are committed to shaping the Networked Society – where everyone and everything will be connected in real time; creating the freedom, empowerment and opportunity to transform society. We believe affordable connectivity and internet access improves people's lives and helps build a more sustainable planet and therefore we are excited to participate in the internet.org initiative.”

Conclusion

Since we are now in the modern times, admit it or not, internet is becoming to be a big part of our lives. It has given us a lot of advantages more than its disadvantages, not just for communication purposes but as well as information whether social, political, economic, spiritual and other things that have bigger impact on who we are. Internet.org, the project conceptualized by Mark Zuckerberg and the other guys, will definitely benefit each one of us and universal internet access will surely be the next great industrial revolution.