Social network
Facebook is pinning its faith in emerging markets for future growth. With 1,490 million active users in 2015, Facebook, which has headquarters in Menlo Park, California, has in just over a decade become the largest social network in the world. The company has outlined plans for future growth, which it suggests will come from users in countries where 2G mobile networks are prevalent and people use feature phones or standard mobile phones instead of smart phones.
According to forecasts, 65% of economic growth over the next five years will be driven by the world’s emerging markets. These markets encompass 85% of the global population and 90% of those in emerging markets are 30 years of age or under. There are around 3 billion internet users currently and Facebook believes that the Internet’s next billion users will come online over the next five years, with increased usage in India providing around 30% of that growth.
Facebook suggests that 29% those in rural areas utilize mobile phones on 2G networks for access to the Internet. To ensure it remains accessible, Facebook will modify its content with these new users in mind. The company has spent over two years redeveloping its advertising platform to accommodate the new market segment. In addition, to fuel Internet growth, Facebook's Connectivity Lab and Internet.org are planning to build “drones, satellites and lasers to deliver the internet to everyone”.
“We've made good progress so far,” suggested Mark Zuckerberg in March of this year. “Over the past year, our work in the Philippines and Paraguay alone has doubled the number of people using mobile data with the operators we've partnered with, helping 3 million new people access the internet. We're going to continue building these partnerships, but connecting the whole world will require inventing new technology too. That's what our Connectivity Lab focuses on, and there's a lot more exciting work to do here.”
Internet.org... Project Loon... What do you think about the drive towards global Internet access? Add your comments below.
