In another step towards connecting the world, Facebook has just launched Internet.org in Guatemala.
The launch in Guatemala was enabled through a partnership between Facebook and Millicom, the international telecommunications and media company (Stockholmsbörsen: MIC), which operates under Tigo.
Now everyone in the country can have free access to information on health, jobs and education on the Tigo network.
It follows the launch of similar partnerships with local Tigo operations in Paraguay, Tanzania and Colombia.
Guatemala is a very important mobile market for Millicom. Tigo Guatemala has more than eight million customers while Facebook itself has an estimated 3.4 million users nationwide.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Mario Zanotti, Millicom’s Senior Executive Vice-President for Latin America, shared a platform to speak about the success of the partnerships and the benefits of bring people access to Internet.org and free basic services.
This move is part of Facebook’s rapid expansion as they seek to diversify from just being a social network. They have sought to address concerns about them being lax on security by working with a VPN provider called Onavo VPN which they advised people to download.
Unfortunately, it has been very poorly reviewed, many experts have stressed the importance of getting a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, which allows you to better protect yourself while browsing online, but those in the know have derided Facebook’s as being ‘vampyric.’ A specialist in the area, has suggested that both Nord VPN and Express VPN are far stronger options – see comparison here to better understand both why a VPN is important as well as why these two VPNs are such solid options.
Meanwhile, Facebook has also moved into a new building in Menlo Park, California with a goal to creating the perfect engineering space for teams to work together. “We wanted our space to create the same sense of community and connection among our teams that we try to enable with our services across the world,” said Zuckerburg.
Facebook has also designed the largest open floor plan in the world — a single room that fits thousands of people. “There are lots of small spaces where people can work together, and it’s easy for people to move around and collaborate with anyone here. On the roof is a 9-acre park with walking trails and many outdoor spaces to sit and work,” he concluded.
