Facebook Express Wi-Fi, one of the major connectivity-focused initiatives under the internet.org projects, has been under testing in rural sections of India for quite some time. But, the social media giant has today announced the commercial launch of this service in the country, initially with just four states — Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Meghalaya.
This initiative is a follow-up to the previous disaster known as ‘Free Basics.’ Instead of offering a handful of services for free to most users — who’ll onboard the platform, the social media giant is now providing them affordable internet services. Their former service was instantly rebuked and kicked out of India for violating the basics of net neutrality — which may now be in jeopardy. But, it seems their Express Wi-Fi program has received the green signal.
The social media giant, in the official press release, mentions that it is currently ‘working with internet services providers (ISPs) and over 500 local entrepreneur-retailers’ who’ll distribute the Wi-Fi service to users in the country. Anyone who wants to gain access to Facebook’s service can visit the nearest Express Wi-Fi retailer and purchase a daily, weekly or monthly data pack for a fixed price — it is decided by the ISP partners.
Once you’ve picked a suitable data plan, you can simply connect to the Express Wi-Fi hotspot and create your account to gain access to internet connectivity. This can now be used for browsing, downloads, stream content or any other apps you will like to access but required a hefty data recharge to do so. But, remember, Express Wi-Fi is designed to complement your mobile data offerings and not replace the same. Commenting on the launch of the connectivity service in India, the blog post writes:
Our Express Wi-Fi partnerships empower local Indian entrepreneurs to start businesses to offer internet access to their town or region. They also help Indians connect to the internet easily and for an affordable rate.
With this commercial launch, Facebook may have taken another step to connect even more individuals to the internet but they now also need to expand its presence across India. Here comes in, one of the leading telecom giants of India – Bharti Airtel. Facebook has also announced its partnership with the telecom carrier to launch an additional 20,000 hotspots. And if you’ve been thinking that it’s a worthless effort to install so many hotspots, well, this is one of the easiest methods to onboard new smartphone users.
Speaking on this partnership, Ajai Puri, Chief Operating Officer (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said:
We are delighted to be a part of this initiative to provide affordable access to high-speed data to users across India, particularly in the underserved segment. We believe this will help in empowering millions of Indians by bringing them online and contribute to the Government’s Digital India vision.
Together, Facebook and Bharti Airtel will work on expediting the Express Wi-Fi efforts to reach several million smartphone users — which has become the prominent mode of internet access nowadays. These hotspots will be deployed all across India to provide a super-fast and reliable connection to a larger user base — which will then add to Facebook growing ~2 billion user base.
While Airtel has been awarded the status of leading connectivity provider, but Facebook has also partnered with ISPs like — AirJaldi in Uttarakhand, LMES in Rajasthan, Tikona in Gujarat, and soon with Shaildhar in Meghalaya. Currently, Facebook has managed to deploy close to 700 hotspots across these four states, which sees India join the existing countries where Express Wi-Fi exists — Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Indonesia. It might have to compete with the newest telco operation – Reliance Jio in the country. Facebook has surely picked the perfect time to step foot in the country when the telecom market is faced with consolidation.
