Facebook’s free Internet service kicked out of Egypt, too

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg vehemently disagreed with these claims, saying that “If we accept that everyone deserves access to the internet, then we must surely support free basic internet services“.

Facebook’s partner in Egypt, telecom carrier Etisalat, began providing the Free Basics service two months ago.

In Egypt, the Free Basics program was available on telecom firm Etisalat Egypt’s network.

Listing three major flaws in the programme, the scientists urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to “thoroughly reject” Facebook’s “free basics” proposal.

For his part, Zuckerberg argued in the Times of India that internet access is a right and that Free Basics doesn’t clash with net neutrality. It however hoped to “resolve this situation soon” so that the service can be restored. Second one sees a content provider create a platform where other content providers can apply, and be selected.

Developed under Facebook’s Internet.org branch, the service had over 3 million users in Egypt, a third of which were first-time users. Since most of the responses did not answer the questions posed by the TRAI, these responses are of no use to the regulator.

For one, Free Basics isn’t the whole internet: it’s just the portion Facebook and its partners decide will be free.

The IAMAI, with members like Google, Facebook and Twitter, said this in a response to a consultation paper released by TRAI on differential pricing that sought comments from interested parties.

“Instead of recognising that Free Basics fully respects net neutrality, they claim – falsely – the exact opposite”.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the largest representative body of Internet companies in India, suggested there were clearly other transparent and more effective ways of achieving the goal to connect a billion unconnected people, including giving subsidised and non-discriminatory access directly to consumers.

Sharma declined to comment specifically on Free Basics, but agreed that the service uses a differential pricing model. The mode however as per Free Basics is to provide apps, and has been drawn out as a subsidiary of the original Internet.Org initiative.

Over the past few weeks, Facebook has urged users in India to send a response to Trai, both through its social networking platform and through mobiles by dialling a number that automatically generates a response on the users’ behalf. “How supporting Free Basics help me (TRAI) in answering the questions which we had asked for ‘whether differential pricing should be permitted or not”, Sharma said.