Facebook, Ericsson, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm, Samsung in global net pact

Facebook and six tech companies are joining hands to launch Internet.org to bring more people online.

The founding members of internet.org http://internet.org - Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung - would develop joint projects, share knowledge, as also mobilise industry and governments to bring the world online.

The new effort aims to make the internet available to two-thirds of the world, which was not yet online and comes on the heels of Google releasing 30 helium-filled balloons for Project Loon that intends to provide internet access to rural and remote areas.

Internet.org too is aimed at affordable access, more efficient use of data and helping businesses drive access. According to the founders, they took inspiration from the success of the Open Compute Project, an industry-wide initiative that has cut the costs of cloud computing by making hardware designs more efficient and innovative.

According to Facebook, the partners would look at ways to use less data by ramping up efficiency of the apps built and helingp businesses drive internet access to get people online.

They would also need to develop technologies that made mobile connectivity more affordable and reduced the cost of delivering data to people worldwide.

According to commentators, this meant there would be collaborations for the development of lower-cost, higher-quality smart phones and partnerships to more broadly deploy internet access in underserved communities.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, who is spearheading the initiative, said while announcing the new alliance that there were huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy.

Internet.org would bring together a global partnership which would work for overcoming the challenges, including making internet access available to those could not currently afford it, he added.

However, some big names from the technology world seem to have kept away from the initiative, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and Twitter to name but four with a keen interest in these issues.

Telecom service providers too are notable by their absence although the internet.org http://internet.org founders expect mobile operators to "play leading roles within the initiative." The founding members also hope to bring on board non-governmental organisations and academic experts in the near future.

According to Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop, the telecom industry was now at an exciting inflection point where internet connectivity was becoming more affordable and efficient for consumers, while still offering them great experiences. Universal internet access would be the next great industrial revolution, he added.