Some of you likely have been wondering about Internet.org business policies--including the matter of who might pay for mobile bandwidth consumed as part of the Internet.org inititive--might exist.
Perhaps surprisingly, according to Chris Daniels, Internet.org VP, nobody is getting paid for anything as part of the Internet.org inititive.
So why do mobile operators give away some amount of mobile Internet bandwidth when offering "no incremental cost" access to Internet.org apps? Because it is very effective marketing.
And be clear: no app provider pays Internet.org or any mobile service provider in India to participate.
All that matters, when the objective is to rapidly introduce hundreds of millions of new users to the Internet, on a sustainable and affordable basis. It matters because recurring cost is a major barrier to Internet app usage, in addition to all the other issues.
Device prices, perceived value, language issues and even literacy are relevant obstacles as well. But recurring cost is a big deal. By eschewing upfront costs, Internet.org is a collabortive effort that helps all the other parts of the ecosystem by encouraging massive sampling by hundreds of millions of new users, creating massive awareness and understanding of value.
App providers to not pay anybody to be part of the program, Internet.org does not pay any mobile service providers who participate, mobile service providers do not pay Internet.org, and the apps are available for no incremental cost to end users.
“Facebook or the developers aren't paying the operators for the data,” said Daniels. “And developers aren't paying us to be part of this program. It's free.”
“For an operator, this is a customer-acquisition tool,” said Daniels. “ It's an expense that they will take in order to bring more people onto the Internet.”
And Daniels insists the amount of incremental data usage is quite light. “The data that flows is very very light and not expensive for Reliance Communications or any of our partners,” said Daniels of its India operations.
Basically, mobile service providers and app providers are acting here on clear assumptions that everybody wins if costs do not get in the way. Over time, people who do not use the Internet will come to see the value, and eventually pay for mobile Internet access.
App providers will win as hundreds of millions of regular new users for their apps are created. People get all the benefits of the Internet one normally would expect.
And still, people complain.
Among the complaints is the limitation on bandwidth-intensive app features such as video or images.
But that just makes sense. “It needs to work for, be financially sustainable for, operators,” said Daniels. “And so, the basic services are more text-based.”
Keeping end user costs quite low is an essential requirement for bringing Internet access to hundreds of millions of new users on a sustainable basis. Internet.org helps do that, in a significant way.
Naysayers can say all they want. Internet.org helps get hundreds of millions of people exposed to the Internet, and will lead to sustainable use over time.
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