RCom ties up with Facebook for Internet inclusion in India

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has partnered with Facebook to launch Internet.org, an app which provides access to websites and services with zero data charges, in India.

The app would provide access to Internet, across both the 2G and 3G platforms. It will be available for Reliance customers in the telecom circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The service will be extended to the rest of the country in a phased manner, and gradually add more services and websites, a release said.

Gurdeep Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Business, Reliance Communications, said: “Through this partnership with Facebook, we aim to increase Internet inclusion and encourage more Indians to go online. This partnership will not only accelerate Internet penetration in India, it will also open new socio-economic opportunities to users in fields like education, information and commerce.”

Chris Daniels, Vice-President of Internet.org at Facebook , said: “Today, we’re excited to make the Internet available to millions of people in India through the launch of Internet.org and free basic services with Reliance. This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone in India to the Internet, and to help people discover new tools and information that can create more jobs and opportunities.”

The launch of Internet.org helps overcome the data access barrier in customers’ minds, by offering them a set of websites which Reliance customers can access without any data charges. The list of free services includes, TimesJobs, Babajob Wikipedia, wikiHow, Dictionary.com, Translator, Reuters Market Lite, Jagran Josh, among others.