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Ooredoo, Facebook to launch free Internet in Maldives

DOHA, October 22, 2015

Ooredoo Maldives and Facebook have partnered to connect more people in the Maldives to the internet with the launch of Free Basics, which aims at making Internet access available to the two thirds of the world's population.

The partnership will offer a range of free basic services like news, health, travel, local jobs, sports, communication via the Free Basics website and mobile application. Free Basics is available to more than one billion people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

"As we celebrated 10 years in the Maldives, Ooredoo made a strong commitment to support the development of smart cities in the Maldives, connecting them to new opportunities that can truly enrich people's lives,” said Vikram Sinha, CEO of Ooredoo Maldives, a unit of Qatar-based telecom group Ooredoo.

“With our partnership with Facebook, we are linking our communities to a wealth of fundamental knowledge, and taking another significant step in our goal to empower people with smart sustainable solutions to prevalent issues across the nation.”


"Affordable access to information is crucial to the well-being of our citizens. And what can be more affordable than being free? Free Basics, I understand will do just that," said Umar Naseer, Minister of Home Affairs.

Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo said: "We are passionate about the benefits of connectivity and are therefore delighted to further strengthen our existing partnership with Facebook with the aim of bringing even more people into the digital economy. Following the launch of Internet.org in Indonesia, with Free Basics we now seek to facilitate access to a range of valuable online resources and services also in the Maldives, hoping to achieve the same positive economic and social impact we are observing in other regions."

Ooredoo customers in the Maldives will be able to receive free access to a number of essential services, by logging onto FreeBasics.com or downloading their mobile application via the Google Play Store. – TradeArabia News Service




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