Facebook India has announced the commercial launch of its Express Wi-FI service in India. Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi is the initiatives under its internet.org umbrella The service targets regions where Internet speed is low. Now the service is commercially available through 700 hotspots across four Indian states including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Meghalaya.
This service works in partnership with ISPs network operators and businesses to help expand internet connectivity where demand is high but accessibility is low.
The ISPs involved in this initiative are AirJaldi in Uttarakhand, LMES in Rajasthan, Tikona in Gujarat and Shaildhar in Meghalaya. Facebook has also partnered with Bharti Airtel to launch additional 20,000 public hotspots in next few months.
Anyone can access the Express Wi-Fi by signing up with an Express Wi-Fi retailer. There are daily, weekly or monthly data pack at the rate set by its partners. The users will be able to connect to Express Wi-Fi hotspot and start browsing the Internet.
“Our mission is to empower people and make world open and connected. Half of the world is not connected to internet and that is a big opportunity. A major part of the world is not connected due to lack of infrastructure, lack of awareness and affordability. These are problems we need to address,” Munish Seth, regional head APAC, Facebook Connectivity Solutions said.
After the India launch, Facebook Express Wi-Fi is now available in total five countries. These are India, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Indonesia.
Facebook has been testing this service in India for around a year. There are few more countries where Facebook is testing it. So, We can expect to see more commercial launches in those countries where the company is testing the Express Wi-Fi.
