Indosat partners with Facebook to deliver free internet in Indonesia
Mon 20 Apr 2015
Ooredoo Group’s Indonesian branch Indosat has today announced a partnership with Facebook to launch the social media giant’s Internet.org initiative in the region, offering free internet services to Indonesians.
Forming part of the national programme ‘Internet Tanpa Pulsa Untuk Semua’, the Indosat and Facebook alliance will see easy and free internet access offered across Indonesia.
“Indonesia’s government has clear targets to bring more of our nation’s people online, including increasing wireless connectivity across the country while also making this connectivity affordable for the everyday person,” said Indosat CEO Alexander Rusli.
Internet.org will provide basic services to Indonesians including access to essential news coverage, health information, education, and social media. Users will be able to access popular reference sites such as Ask.com and Wikipedia. Sports site Bola.net, Accuweather climate updates, news feeds across Merdeka.com and KapanLagi, and women’s health tips on BabyCenter and Girl Effect are also available.
Indosat has said that it is the first internet provider in the area to offer the services, and noted that it had been a significant move in line with Ooredoo’s corporate responsibility model.
“We are delighted to be the first to work with Facebook to launch this service in Indonesia,” said Ooredoo Group CEO Nasser Marafih. “With this partnership, Indosat has proved itself as a pioneer for our group. In all of the markets that we operate in we are passionate about the benefits of connectivity and are always exploring new ways to help bring more people into the digital economy,” he added.
Facebook CEO also expressed his support for the new partnership, commenting that the internet is a “powerful tool for social and economic progress.”
“When people have access to basic internet services in areas like jobs, health and education, they can change lives and communities,” he continued.
The service will be available via Internet.org and for download in the Android Play store. The suite will be available in both English and Bahasa Indonesia.
