Mark Zuckerberg proposes a project called Internet.org to provide internet access to the 5 billion people worldwide who currently do not have it. He believes internet access is a human right and has partnered with major companies like Samsung, Qualcomm, and Facebook to make the internet more affordable and networks more efficient. The goal is to improve infrastructure and encourage new business models to connect more people through cheaper data plans and optimized apps. No single company can achieve this alone, requiring cooperation across industries.

1. Facebook CEO Proposes Internet Access around the Globe
According to Mark Zuckerberg, there are 5 billion people in the world that don’t have Internet and they
should. Zuckerberg released a proposal on Tuesday named “Is Connectivity a Human Right?” in which he
proposes a project, Internet.org, to make Internet access available to everyone around the world. He
also announced his partnership with some of the world’s biggest companies to make the project a
reality.
Currently, only one third of the people in the world have access to the World Wide Web. Zuckerberg
calls the Internet“the foundation of the global knowledge economy” and refers to Internet access as a
human right. However, he says Internet service only increases by 9% each year and is expected to keep
dropping. He believes that more people can be connected to the Internet if companies come together to
make the experience more affordable.
Partners of Internet.org already include Samsung, Qualcomm, Nokia, Ericsson, Opera Software,
Mediatek and Facebook. The goal of the project is to make Internet access cheaper and faster for people
in developing parts of the world. It also wants businesses to develop new models for so that people will
have more incentive to purchase mobile services. Zuckerberg notes in his proposal that data plans for
mobile phones are just too expensive in other countries. Thus, the partnership aims to better the
networks that connect people and to make their products, such as phone apps, more efficient to use
less data. Zuckerberg, said, “No one company can really do this by itself.” The effort involves making
improvements to worldwide networks in order to reach more people.
Google announced a similar project in June involving the use of balloons to spread Internet connectivity
to remote locations and rural areas. Google has been testing the balloons in New Zealand and California.
It could also provide emergency Internet access to areas suffering from disasters. The balloons provide
Internet speed comparable to the 3G network and require the user to use antennae. Bill Gates publicly
criticized the project after its announcement by stating that developing parts of the world would be
better served with research funneled into treating malaria, rather than providing Internet access.
Google also offers a service called Google Fiber in a limited number of cities. Google Fiber is an Internet
and high definition television service that provides speeds it describes as being 100 times faster than
regular broadband services.
A New York Times article, linked on Internet.org, states that one in every seven people is on Facebook.In
recent news, a hacker posted onto Mark Zuckerberg’s own Timeline on Facebook even though they
aren’t friends. The hacker, Khalil Shreateh, reported to Facebook’s White Hat Security team that he had
found a way to post on the Timelines of people who were not his friends without their permission. The
report was not investigated, and Shreateh resorted to posting on Zuckerberg’s wall to prove that it could
be done. The White Hat team exists so that hackers can report bugs in the system to Facebook and they
are usually rewarded.