Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook's plan is to 'connect the world'

Posted by : bharath Kommukuri

Speaking at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the mission of the social networking giant was to 'connect the world.'

Zuckerberg plans to bring Internet access, and the company's social network, to the developing world.

According to the BBC, Facebook is a member of Internet.org, a project launched last year that aims to put billions more people online.

In his first ever appearance at the MWC, Zuckerberg said that once Facebook reached a billion users in 2012, it had began to look at ways to engage more users around the world.

Zuckerberg unveiled a set of projects in which Facebook, alongside Internet.org partners, would work on delivering Internet access to emerging markets.

The report said that Facebook has already teamed up with Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung, among others, in an effort to lower the cost of mobile data worldwide.

A pilot project, SocialEDU, was also announced at the event that would focus on bringing free online education to students in Rwanda, in which Airtel would provide free data to students using the app, while Nokia would supply cut-price handsets.

Meanwhile, an analyst at technology consultants Ovum, said that investing in emerging markets would 'boost advertising revenue' for Facebook, adding that Facebook's aim to 'make it easier for the world to share information', means with more sharing, the more ads Facebook can sell.