Mobile World Congress – Right to Facebook – Süddeutsche.de

Mobile World Congress – Right to Facebook – Süddeutsche.de

• Especially in South America, Africa and Asia has a large proportion of the population no internet.
• Google and Facebook already trying to bring drones and balloons Internet access in more remote regions.
• At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Facebook and Google advertised but this collaboration could also lead to the fact that in the future determine enterprises, especially for the cooperation network expansion with telecom companies.
• which Internet services in a particular region have success.

From Varinia Bernau

Mark Zuckerberg believes that access to the Internet for a human right. Out of his mouth that sounds more honorable than a human right to membership in Facebook exclaim. And yet it could end result in

Now, Mark Zuckerberg is -. Blue jeans, gray T-shirt – so guests at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Nowhere is so much discussion about the interconnectedness of the world – and so much regretted the fact that half the world’s population still has no access to the network. A good place so for the 30-year-old, who once founded the social networking site Facebook and started an initiative called Internet.org one and a half years ago. It has set itself the goal of bringing the Internet in underdeveloped regions.

The white spots on the world map located in South America, Africa and Asia. The Sundar Pichai was shown on the same stage a few hours earlier. Pichai is Google’s man for the mobile operating system Android, which powers eight out of ten smartphones worldwide.

In addition, Google is making now a lot to bring the Internet to remote regions. The balloon that has a test basis into the sky two years ago to the Group, today already make a lot more than you had once expected at Google, says Pichai. Soon also are the first test flights will have solar-powered drones to supply remote regions. There, namely, it is particularly expensive to run cables that bring the fast internet to most people in the Western world

The question is only:. What can really make this network the people at Google and Facebook they want to connect? Also it gives Zuckerberg in Barcelona at least a clue.

Facebook for free, pay for the rest of its range

Internet.org is no longer namely only the reservoir was founded in August 2013 for several companies, make common devices and Internet services cheaper and better. Internet.org is now, as told Zuckerberg, also an app, free access to the Internet offers in six countries, including India, Kenya and Colombia, more precisely, a part of the Internet – the Source Wikipedia, a few regional sites weather reports and news as well as Facebook. However, anyone who clicks on a link within this app, which leads to all the rest of the offerings on the net, must pay in addition.

Zuckerberg knows that the network expansion costs billions. And that telecommunications companies, with whom he works for his initiative, have to earn that money. And then he uses his appearance for a charm offensive toward the network provider – and for demonstrative modesty. “The companies that drive us all, the network service provider. They do the real work. Even though cable to bury not as sexy as experimenting with satellite.” Even Google, the Pichai had previously stressed polite, working with the network providers Telefónica and Vodafone together to bring fast Internet from his balloon up to the people.

So the company take over a task that only few companies able to shoulder with public funds. Not, and which – at the same time determine as well as companies which services are put on the Internet. Sheryl Sandberg, the right hand of Zuckerberg, recently raved of a future in which people go into a mobile phone shop and say: I want Facebook. Google may not be located at such a future. An African internet service, however, is better suited to the needs of local people and would also allow local entrepreneurs a climb, then should not arise.