Facebook interested in testing solar plane-based Internet services in India

Social media giant Facebook is interested in testing internet services through solar-powered plane in India and other telecom connectivity technologies it is developing. “We are really in development of technologies at connectivity lab. We are not yet launching any pilots. We will in the future, and we are entirely open to launching it in India because there is such a great opportunity in India to connect the unconnected,” Facebook Vice President of Internet.org Chris Daniels told PTI. He said the company is working on alternate internet technologies other than traditional ways of providing connectivity including solar planes and satellites. “The reason why planes are interesting is that you can have solar powered planes that stay very high in the sky and provide connectivity. Plane can have broad area. That plane can be fuelled by the sun, does not need to have generator or physical infrastructure on the ground. That’s potentially an attractive way through which we can provide connectivity,” he said. Facebook expects technologies to bring down the cost of internet significantly. Web-based companies including Facebook that provide messenger and internet-based calling service have been at loggerheads with telecom operator as it is cutting in to their revenues. Facebook is now attempting to make truce with telecom operators through its programme internet.org. Under this, it in partnership with telecom operators is providing free access to some basic websites to customers. In India, Facebook launched internet.org with Reliance Communications. “Internet.org is a customer acquisition tool. There is a 40 per cent increase in data customers for operators who have turned on internet.org. The fundamental thing that we can do to help operators is to bring them more paying customers. That’s the model which supports their business model and network roll out,” Daniel said. Telecom operators have been demanding that there should be revenue sharing model between web-based companies providing messaging and calling services as they invest massively on building network to provide connectivity to the people. Daniel said such demand does not “make sense at higher level. People are paying for data when they find value in internet. We are trying to help them find value in internet.” The internet.org platform includes Facebook messenger but the social media firm has turned off VoIP or internet-based calling function due to concerns raised by telecom operators. “Taking into consideration business model concerns that operators have around VoIP, it is not a free basic service which we have chosen with them (operators) to include in Internet.org,” Daniel said. PTI