Facebook will begin beaming free internet to sub-Saharan Africa in the first half of 2016, announced Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, on Monday. The initiative will be accomplished through the satellite AMOS-6, which will be leased from Israel-based company, Spacecom.
"Facebook's mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa," Chris Daniels, VP of Internet.org, said in a CNN report. Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative that pursues the ultimate goal of connecting at least two-thirds of the world's population, according to its website.
Facebook will be teaming up with French company Eutelsat, which will share the Spacecom satellite and use it for its own business. Both companies will be using the entire broadband payload of the satellite, according to Popular Science.
The free internet project is expected to reach 14 countries in west, east and South Africa. Rural communities are the focus of the initiative which is why the technology is optimized for community and direct-to-user internet access, reported Wired.
While Facebook's goal of connecting the world's population online has been roundly commended, there are those that express reservations to the initiative. For instance, several months ago, India withdrew from the company's project in the country for fear that it will compromise its net neutrality policy, HNGN previously reported.
