The Philippines is the 7th country in the world to avail the Internet.org app on smartphones. It provides smartphone active users free access to basic internet services related to education, health, employment, communication and information and news. This means that everyone will now be able to use their social media accounts for free, or even looking for a job online using Jobstreet, or checking out the latest news and updates on Inquirer without any data charges. Although the said app is only limited and restricted to few sites, which Facebook has chosen.
Internet.org is a non-profit organization and a partnership between Facebook and seven mobile phone companies (Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Microsoft, Opera Software, Reliance and Qualcomm) that aims to bring affordable Internet access to everybody by increasing affordability, increasing efficiency, and facilitating the development of new business models around the provision of Internet access. In the Philippines, Internet.org was launched on March 18, 2015 in partnership with Smart Telecommunications, Inc., which has over 70 million subscribers.
“We are working with operators, content partners, and governments from all over the world to address the barriers that prevent people from connecting and joining the knowledge economy. We are excited to bring the Internet.org app to the Philippines and give people access to internet services and tools that can help create new ideas and opportunities,” says Markku Makelainen, director of global operator partnerships at Facebook.
Apart from the Philippines, Internet.org has launched in Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India, and Zambia.
Subscribers can download the app on Google Play Store, or simply text INTERNET to 9999 to access.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, posted a photo on her Facebook Account regarding the launching of Internet.org app in the Philippines
"We're one step closer to connecting the world as we launched Internet.org in the Philippines today.", Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook
The Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines estimates that only 38 percent of the Philippine population had internet access as of mid-2014.