Facebook initially launched "Free Basics" as a way to bring basic internet services to countries with limited or no traditional internet connectivity, but now it sounds like the company is working with the White House to bring the program to the US for the first time. According to the Washington Post, Facebook is actively exploring how it can bring Free Basics to "low income and rural Americans" who can't afford broadband internet either at home or through a smartphone. But the catch will be doing so without attracting the regulatory attention that got Free Basics banned in India earlier this year.
Essentially, Free Basics is a zero-rating scheme, not entirely dissimilar to what T-Mobile has been pulling by offering select music and video services that don't hit your data cap (with compromises, of course). Verizon similarly offers its Go90 video service to customers without its content counting against bandwidth caps.
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I wonder if Facebook free internet service will be any good. But, having a Facebook free internet is better than no internet, or waiting to use the library's free internet where you usually have to wait many minutes to hours to use a computer which someone else is using.
Essentially, Free Basics is a zero-rating scheme, not entirely dissimilar to what T-Mobile has been pulling by offering select music and video services that don't hit your data cap (with compromises, of course). Verizon similarly offers its Go90 video service to customers without its content counting against bandwidth caps.
Read More
I wonder if Facebook free internet service will be any good. But, having a Facebook free internet is better than no internet, or waiting to use the library's free internet where you usually have to wait many minutes to hours to use a computer which someone else is using.
