Internet for All?

What would the world look like if every citizen had access to affordable internet? That’s a question attempting to be solved by internet.org, a joint effort by Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung, that aims to “make internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected, and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today.”

According to the New York Times, the companies supporting internet.org seek to “simplify phone applications so they run more efficiently and by improving the components of phones and networks so that they transmit more data while using less battery power.”

This is one of a series of efforts made by Facebook to make its services more widely available to lower infrastructure environments. Facebook Zero, a free simplified, text-only version of Facebook, has been available in several countries for use on feature phones, and there is Facebook for Sim, which packs a basic Facebook interface onto the extra space of a SIM card for basic phones.

Google also began the “Free Zone” program with phone carriers last year that offers wireless users in some developing countries free access to Gmail, search and the first page clicked through from a search results. Google is also launching Project Loon, an attempt to beam Internet access down to earth from plastic balloons floating more than 11 miles in the atmosphere.

While having accessibility is important, it is far from the only consideration for empowering users. As Dan Gillmor points out in his recent article in the Guardian, “What the developing world – and increasingly, the developed world – needs now are platforms that companies and governments can't lock down or control.” Indeed, many countries with limited internet access still are unwelcome environments for journalists, independent media and activists. In fact, as we have noted in the past, mobile phone networks are under intense government scrutiny, surveillance, and a host of technical and regulatory controls.

Thus, while “Everyone of us connected. Everywhere. Connected” is an admirable goal, providing access alone overlooks much broader and important questions about the future of a truly open web with accessible online communications.