Airtel, Facebook provide ‘Free Basic’ internet access to customers

A first of its kind service which allows Airtel mobile subscribers through the network’s partnership with popular social media platform, Facebook, to access certain websites for free has been launched.

The new service will allow Nigerians on the Airtel network to access particular websites including Facebook, Nairaland, Jobberman, Guardian online Newspaper and a lot more sites available on the service free of charge.

With about eighty five websites dedicated to health, jobs, education, finance and more currently available on the Free Basics service, the companies plan to extend the availability of this unique service.

On this service, Airtel Africa will also be offering Facebook Flex in Nigeria, which allows people to access a version of Facebook without data charges. Facebook estimates that its connectivity efforts, which include Free Basics, have brought more than 25 million people online who wouldn’t be otherwise.

According to Ime Archibong, Director of Global Product Partnerships at Facebook, this initiative is part of Facebook’s commitment to bringing people online and reducing affordability barriers.

“We’ve spent time with the developer community here in Nigeria to understand how we can help people here build and create for their communities, and by bringing Free Basics to Nigeria we hope to provide another platform for developers to bring relevant services to people free of charge.

“We believe that local entrepreneurs and developers will be the ones to meet the needs of their immediate community, and we are working with developers to know how we can support them in doing so. Together, Facebook and the developer, entrepreneur and non-profit communities in Africa can still do so much more, and we will continue to invest in technology and partnerships to help people realise the benefits of connectivity,” he added.

Explaining how the service works, Archibong said Airtel customers could log in to their Facebook accounts via their mobile phone and would see the option of using the free connection or paying for data usage.

“The good thing about this service is that customers can choose to pay or not to pay to access the internet. By dialing *141# you would get a list of options to choose from where you can select what you want, either the Facebook flex or free basics. It removes the entry barrier by giving people the opportunity to try something before choosing to pay for it if they enjoy the experience.

“It is also brilliant for emergency purposes when you’re out of data and need to get online for something important, you can use the light weight data experience and after a while when it slows down, you can then choose to pay for data,” he said.

Also speaking on the new development, Segun Ogunsanya, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria said;

“This is a significant milestone in our nation’s drive towards deepening digital connectivity and enhancing mobile broadband access for millions of Nigerians in line with the key objective of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NBBP). It is our belief that this partnership, the first of its kind in Nigeria, will create a plethora of opportunities for millions of Nigerians, empowering them to connect to their dreams, realise their full potentials, and succeed in their professional and personal endeavors.”

Christian de Faria, MD and CEO of Airtel Africa said, “We’re pleased to take this big step forward in our partnership with Facebook, bringing more people online in Africa’s most populous country and helping to further narrow the digital divide. This builds on our vision of using our widespread 3G network to help improve lives and communities by empowering them with access to digital content and services that are tailored to their needs.”

Chris Daniels, Vice President of Internet.org at Facebook, said: “Bharti Airtel Africa has been an important partner in bringing connectivity and access to people across Africa. Our partnership has played a key role in helping bring digital content and services to people and communities in growing countries.”

Airtel Africa has worked with Facebook since 2014 in enhancing accessibility to the internet in an affordable manner through the launch of Free Basics in Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, Seychelles and Rwanda. With the launch of Free Basics in Nigeria, millions more people will have the ability to access basic services.

JUMOKE AKIYODE