ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT )
Facebook finally launched its free but limited internet facility “internet.org” in Pakistan in, making it the 11th country to have this service.
In a Facebook post on Thursday Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that “Internet.org is now live in Pakistan for people on the Telenor Pakistan network.”
In line with its ambition to bring ‘Internet for All’, Telenor Pakistan has announced the launch of Internet.org in Pakistan in collaboration with Facebook. The announcement was made during an interactive event, which was attended by representatives from Telenor Pakistan and Facebook, in the presence of stakeholders from academia, partner vendors, small & medium enterprises, media and budding entrepreneurs.
Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative bringing together technology leaders, nonprofits and local communities with the goal of making internet access available and affordable to the two-thirds of the world that is not yet connected and bringing the same opportunities to everyone that the connected world has today.
Internet.org was first launched in July 2014 in Zambia and in less than a year it made valuable online services accessible without data charges for millions of people in Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia, Ghana, India, Philippines, Guatemala, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malawi and now in Pakistan.
On this occasion, Michael Foley, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan said, “We are delighted to introduce the Internet.org initiative in Pakistan today with a host of useful online services including health, education, finance, news, information and job portalsetc. for our millions of customers nationwide.This will providethem with greater access to relevant local and international content. Internet.org augments our ambition to bring ‘Internet for All’ andaffordable access to basic online servicesis yet another testament of our commitment towards empowering the society. We are hopeful that services like this will help enhance internet penetration in the country.”
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Telenor Pakistan and provide people with access to free basic services through Internet.org, said Markku Makelainen, Director of Global Operator Partnerships at Facebook. With Internet.org, more people in Pakistan will have access to free basic internet tools and information that can create new opportunities and help improve their lives.”
Through this initiative, Telenor Pakistan’s customers will now have free access to the following 17 basic online services including Accuweather, BBC, BabyCenter &MAMA, Malaria No More, UNICEF Facts for Life, Bing.com, ESPN Cricinfo, Mustakbil, ilmkidunya, Telenor News, Urdupoint Cooking, OLX, Facebook, Messenger, Wikipedia and Telenor WAP MobilePortal,via 2G and 3G platforms both, by accessing Internet.org or by downloading the Android app.