A first in Southeast Asia and in the country, Smart’s value brand Talk ‘N Text partnered with social network giant Facebook to bring more Filipinos online through the Internet.org initiative.
The app and site provides users with access to basic Internet services, such as education sites, news, health, messaging, and communication, without data charge.
The free access extends not just to Talk ‘N Text subscribers but to Smart and Sun as well. Its initial rollout lets subscribers use 24 sites including basic Facebook and Facebook Messenger on any Internet-capable mobile device.
The Philippines is the sixth country, after Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India, and Zambia, to be part of the program since Facebook launched it last year.
According to Markku Makelainen, global operator partnerships director of Facebook, this initiative is meant to “give a voice to everybody” since Internet use is already considered a basic commodity.
Aside from Facebook and Facebook Messenger, here is the initial list of sites and services you can access through the site and app:
- Ask.com
- Bing
- Dictionary.com
- wikiHow
- Wikipedia
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Philippine Star
- Interaksyon
- Rappler
- ESPN
- SPIN.PH
- Accuweather
- RainCheckPH
- Wattpad
- TESDA.gov.ph
- Jobstreet
- OLX.ph
- PesosandSense
- YourMoney.com
- BabyCenter & MAMA
- Girl Effect
- UNICEF’s Facts for Life
To use the service for free, you’ll have to make sure your push notifications are set to manual. This will make sure you won’t incur background charges when you use Internet.org.
You can access it through your browser by typing Internet.org into the address or search bar or if you’re an Android user, you can download the app from the Google Play Store. For more information, just text INTERNET to 9999.
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