LI(N)KING THE WORLD: Ahead of the 2014 Mobile World Congress, Facebook announced a slew of projects to bring Internet and education to underdeveloped regions through its Internet.org initiative. The most ambitious one will be in Rwanda, where it will work with edX to build a mobile app to provide students there "with free access to a collaborative online education experience." Other partners include Nokia, which will provide "affordable" smartphones, and Airtel, which will provide offer "education" data plans for one year. The Rwandan government will also expand free Wi-Fi and help fund the project.
Facebook will also work with Ericsson to set up a new lab in Menlo Park that will lets developers test and simulate their tools in under-developed environments. In addition, it announced a project with Unilever to research and lower barriers to Internet access in rural India. More details here.
