Yep, you read that right, folks! Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg offers free internet access in the Philippines.
I got so excited this morning upon seeing his status appear on my timeline. I wondered why he posted a photo that appears to be a tricycle from the Philippines – then realized it really was from the Philippines!
Photo credit: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
We’re one step closer to connecting the world as we launched Internet.org in the Philippines today. Now everyone in the country can have free access to internet services for health, education, jobs and communication on the Smart network.
Here’s a photo of Jaime, a driver in Manila who uses Facebook and the internet to stay in touch with loved ones who moved to Dubai.
Mark Zuckerberg
Isn’t this wonderful news? Many of us already have internet access at home and on our phones through the mobile carriers here but many people still have to rely on internet cafés. So, having free internet on our phones would be fantastic.
Using Internet.org
Bear in mind that this is a free application, so we should not expect a lot out of it; however, just the thought of getting free internet is the best news of all. Less fortunate kids can still have access to the internet for research and fun.
But what can you do with Internet.org?
According to tech site Taragis, Internet.org is only available for subscribers of Smart, TNT, and Sun Cellular. You can download the Internet.org app [from Google Playstore] to directly make use of the application or text INTERNET to 9999.
Here are the sites you can browse for free using Internet.org:
Photo credit: Taragis
Sharing the Internet to the World
You got to hand it to this guy. He earns billions of dollars a year for his company – and shares billions of it back to the people who are in need of his help.
Many billionaires would spend their money on lavish parties, private jets, palatial homes with their own Olympic-size swimming pools, and frequent trips around the world just to have fun [well, that’s how I imagine billionaires would do, anyway].
For Mark, however, those stuff might be great but he also enjoys sharing what he loves – the internet – to the people who are less fortunate. So, he brought internet.org to several parts of the world; places where the internet is a novelty, where the internet is a valuable resource that most people can’t afford to have.
Mark has already provided free internet access to places like Zambia (July 2014), Tanzania (October 2014), Kenya (November 2014), Colombia (January 2015), Ghana (January 2015), India (February 2015), and now the Philippines (2015)! The service was launched on March 18, 2015 in the Philippines, in cooperation with mobile carrier Smart Communications along with Talk n’ Text and Sun Cellular.