Late last year Facebook hosted the first Internet.org Summit in New Delhi, India. The Summit, and keynote from Mark Zuckerberg, addressed barriers to internet connectivity and explored ways to provide internet access to more than a billion people in India who aren’t yet connected.
Today, Facebook and Reliance Communications are making the internet available to millions of people in India through the launch of the Internet.org app and free basic services. This is the first time the Internet.org app will be available in the region.
Reliance customers in six Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Mahararashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Telangana) will now have access to more than three dozen services ranging from news, maternal health, travel, local jobs, sports, communication, and local government information.
The full list of services includes:
- Aaj Tak: Read news in Hindi
- AccuWeather: Get updated weather information
- amarujala.com: Read news in Hindi
- AP Speaks: Engage with local government
- Babajob: Search for jobs
- BabyCenter & MAMA: Learn about pregnancy and childcare
- BBC News: Read news from around the world
- Bing Search: Find information
- Dainik Bhaskar: Read local news
- Dictionary.com: Search for meanings of words
- ESPN Cricinfo: Get cricket updates
- Facebook: Communicate with friends and family
- Facts for Life: Find health and hygiene information
- Girl Effect: Read articles and tips for girls
- Hungama Music: Listen to music
- IBNLive: Read news
- iLearn: Learn from Women Entrepreneurs
- India Today: Read local news
- Internet Basics: Learn about the basics of the Internet
- Jagran: Read local news
- Jagran Josh: Get education and career information
- Maalai Malar: Read news in Tamil
- Malaria No More: Learn about malaria
- manoramanews.com: Read local news
- Messenger: Send messages to friends and family
- OLX: Buy and sell products and services
- Reliance Astrology: Read your horoscope
- Reuters Market Lite: Get farming and crop information
- Socialblood: Register to donate blood
- Times of India: Read news
- Translator: Translate words and phrases
- Wikipedia: Find information
- wikiHow: Find information
Reliance customers in India can access these services in the Internet.org Android app, at www.internet.org, from the start screen of the Opera Mini mobile web browser, and using the Android app UC Browser for Internet.org. Most of the services will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi.
This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone to the internet, and to help people share their ideas and creativity with the entire world. We’ll continue to improve the experience and roll it out to other parts of the world.