Airtel today announced a partnership with Facebook to offer the Internet.org free Internet Android mobile app and mobile site for its pre-paid and post-paid customers in Kenya beginning later this week. The Internet.org mobile site and Android mobile app provides a set of locally relevant basic Internet services free of charge in order to make it easier for people to access the Internet.

Airtel in Kenya is already offering free access to Twitter for their mobile subscribers so this initiative further extends the range of free Internet services on offer to drive customer uptake and data usage on their mobile network. Airtel Kenya customers using mobile internet capable devices will now be able to access free Internet services in categories such as health, education, sports, jobs, and local information. As part of the Internet.org mobile app in Kenya, Airtel Kenya customers will immediately have free access to:

• AccuWeather
• BBC News & BBC Swahili
• BabyCenter & MAMA
• BrighterMonday
• Daily Nation
• Ebola Information
• Facebook
• Facts for Life
• Girl Effect
• Jamii Forums
• Facebook Messenger
• OLX Kenya
• Scholars4Dev
• SuperSport
• Toto Health
• Wattpad
• Wikipedia

How it works

Airtel Kenya customers will be able to access these basic
services by visiting www.internet.org via their mobile web browsers or downloading the Internet.org Android mobile app in the Google Play Store. Normal data charges will only apply when a user browses outside the set of free basic Internet services.

Airtel Kenya currently has close to 6 million mobile subscribers which will rise to around 8 million subscribers or more by the end of the year when they will migrate Essar Telecom Kenya (YU) mobile subscribers, extending their number 2 mobile network position in Kenya significantly.