: Social networking giant Facebook on Tuesday said its Free Basics platform, previously Internet.org, will now be available across India on Reliance Communication’s network. “We just took another step towards connecting India. As of today, everyone in India nationwide can access free internet services for health, education, jobs and communication through Internet.org's Free Basics app on the Reliance network,” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, said in a statement posted on Facebook. Free Basics initiative, which has about one million users in India, aims to bring internet services to areas that are still not connected in partnership with technology companies such as Samsung and Qualcomm. However, it has been widely criticised for violating Net Neutrality principles. Mr Zuckerberg has on several occasions defended the program saying the company is committed to net neutrality and the initiative does not violate its principles.
The initiative was earlier available only in six states – Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa.“Today, nearly 1 billion people are without internet access in India. Now with Internet.org’s Free Basics available to everyone in India, many more people…will have access to the information and opportunity the internet brings,” Mr. Zuckerberg said. Internet.org is live in more than 24 countries with 15 million users.
