Free Basics Mission: Connecting the unconnected

No matter how much technologically advanced we may have become, there are still billions of people who have not been privileged to access the internet, leave aside the gamut of services that they can take luxury of. There is this digital divide that is still prevalent in India which the government has not been able to bridge till now. This has led to digital inequality which is the present reality.

In order to address this issue, Facebook introduced a new initiative called ‘Free Basics’ (formerly known as internet.org) which has been under the storm since the time it has been proposed. The basic idea behind Free Basics is to connect more people to the world of internet. No matter how much proud we may feel of the present connectivity figures, the present internet penetration is still very low. The idea behind this initiative is to work with telecom companies which are already providing voice services to this unconnected lot. If these users are provided with free data services which they can’t afford, the internet connectivity will see huge improvements. 

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This is exactly what Facebook is trying to do with its services. But there is a catch here. These new users will have free access to only a select few websites which will be handpicked by facebook itself; it will include facebook app( obviously), search engine bing.com and some new websites-which will be designed for lower bandwidth usage. This has been seen as threat by many. The opposition being received by Facebook (and Reliance Communications which is the only telecom operator supporting this initiative) is that this initiative will weaken the users base of the sites that have not been included in the bouquet of free services made available to the poor people. Also, it is considered to be a move against the principle of net neutrality (which means internet service providers should treat all websites and online services the same, without giving any preference to some websites).  It is believed that the new netizens will not get much choice as far as availability of websites is concerned. 

But the defenders of this initiative say that providing free service does not take away the right of people to access the whole range of services. Instead they are initiating the process of bringing these people online. They can any time avail different services by taking full paid plan. In fact, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now ready to include other rival social networks like Twitter and Google + on free basics, quashing all the sayings that it is trying to monopolize the internet market. The whole net neutrality debate has put the free basics service on halt until it gets approval from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).

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Amidst the series of events, Facebook launched its ‘Save Free Basics’ campaign requesting people to send an email to TRAI if they are in favor of their initiative. Extensive advertisements have been made to urge people to save the initiative. Though there have not been greater percentages of supporters till now as per the records, this initiative requires a second thought. If the government can’t provide such universal access, then there is no harm in taking help from the private giants like Facebook. Instead of seeing this as a motive by Facebook to dominate its presence on the internet landscape, it should rather be seen as a social welfare initiative which will help to provide services to those who can’t afford them and will help to make the world more connected. So my vote goes in favor of free Basics, what about you?

About the Author: Arshdeep Kaur is an Electronics and Communication Engineer who is working in one of the leading MNCs in Bangalore. Born and brought up in Delhi, she is exploring her interests in the areas of writing