Do not be fooled – Egypt might have its fair share of architectural achievements such as the Great Pyramids and Sphinx, not to mention being a treasure trove of history, but this does not mean it is a country that remains in the past. It surely has plenty of potential for the future, and technologically speaking, it is moving forward. However, Free Basics, the Facebook service that provides users in the developing world with free access to the Internet (on select websites) using mobile devices, has apparently seen its initiative stopped.
According to Facebook, over 3 million people in Egypt had already signed up for the free service prior to the shut down, and from those, 1 million managed to gain access to the Internet for the very first time in their lives. Facebook mentioned, “We’re disappointed that Free Basics will no longer be available in Egypt.”
It remains to be seen as to why this Free Basics service has been shut down, having been launched with Etisalat just a couple of months back. This does seem to be a rather disturbing trend, especially when you take into consideration how India too, has decided to put a stop to the free Internet service in the world’s largest democracy.