Facebook's Internet.org may be in for some controversy, but that's not stopping Mark Zuckerberg from expanding the service as fast as possible. He announced in a Facebook post that Internet.org service has now been expanded into Malawi, which brings the tally up to a total of one billion people that have access to the free Internet service. The launch in Malawi gives folks on the TNM and Airtel Malawi network free access. Approximately 9 million of those people will be logging on to the Internet for the very first time.
Internet.org is Facebook's attempt to bring free Internet service to the entire planet, although it exists in a very basic form. Because it is free, it is built to be as efficient as possible, meaning that there are few accessible websites, and those that are on Internet.org have to be very efficient with their data usage. Services such as video streaming, music streaming, VOIP and high-resolution images aren't allowed because they eat up too much bandwidth. Rich content in the way that we're used to experiencing doesn't exist on the Internet.org initiative.
In the post, Zuckerberg said that "Giving people free access is the right thing to do. We will keep connecting more people and more countries, and we won't stop until every person in the world can connect to the Internet."
The image accompanying the post hinted at a new UAV called "Aquila," which will be used to beam down Internet connectivity from above. The UAV will have a wingspan of 42 m and fly at a height of 18-27 km. In flight, Aquila will be able to provide service coverage to approximately 40-80 square km.
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