[kictanet] Introducing Facebook Africa Public Policy Team to KICTANet

[Ebele Okobi]

Dear All!

**Warning-this is very, very long***

First things first-huge thanks to Madam Githaiga for extending the invitation to this community! Akua and I are so delighted to be a part of it, and we look forward to continuing to engage and learn from you on a whole array of issues of mutual interest-we see this as only the beginning of many, many exchanges. As African women, we are both personally passionate about the potential technology has to empower our countries and our Continent.

THANK YOU ALL for such engaged and challenging questions-please do keep them coming. We very much appreciate being part of a conversation with people who share that passion, and we welcome the opportunity to learn from challenging feedback.

Regarding the challenge and opportunity of universal access-here are some overarching thoughts. Universal and affordable access to the Internet is one of the most important challenges/opportunities of our time. This group is well aware of the exponential impact of technology, and this group is also aware that the digital divide is most acute across Africa. There are many, many studies demonstrating this, and the ITU’s report<http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2015/MISR2015-ES-E.pdf> this past week is just the latest-TL;DR- Countries across Africa are falling far, far behind even our peers in the developing world. The implications of this backwards progress, especially as other countries are accelerating, are potentially catastrophic.

The issue of access is one that no one entity can hope to solve alone. It requires governments, industry, civil society, ALL to contribute, and it also demands a multiplicity of creative solutions. Above all, those of us who are partnering to address this issue must do so with humility-no one has all of the answers. At Facebook, we are willing to try, make mistakes, learn from them, and pay close attention to great feedback.

Finally-Facebook is absolutely in committed<https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102391391204651> to universal, affordable access to the FULL Internet for everyone. We believe it is essential to achieving humanity’s global goals, and indispensable for the exercise of basic human rights.

So! That said, we thought it would be useful to start with a few facts about Internet.org and Free Basics, so that there is a shared understanding of what they are.

Internet.org<http://internet.org/> is an umbrella for a suite of continuously evolving products and approaches, all focused on the issue of universal, affordable access. It can be roughly described as having three primary areas: Policy Engagement, Connectivity & Infrastructure, and Free Basics, all targeted at different barriers to Internet access.

Policy engagement is working with policy makers and influencers around the world to identify specific policy barriers to universal, affordable access (to ALL of the Internet), and partnering to create regulatory environments that bring down those barriers. For example, Facebook is a founding member of the Alliance for an Affordable Internet<http://a4ai.org/> (and I’m so pleased to be joining the Advisory Board in 2016!) a global research and policy advocacy coalition working to make broadband affordable for all. Examples of policy barriers/opportunities include right of way taxes, spectrum policy, evidence based policy making, infrastructure sharing, and they also include policy issues related to third party liability and free expression, all policy issues we engage on individually and collectively.

Our connectivity and infrastructure projects are some of the most exciting work that Akua and I have the privilege of supporting.

This includes the pioneering work of our Connectivity Lab-they are the team behind Aquila<http://fortune.com/2015/07/30/facebook-solar-power-plane-aquila/>, the solar powered unmanned aircraft, which is a bid to use advanced technology to bring access to the full Internet to remote regions, where fiber and other terrestrial connectivity tools aren’t available or aren’t cost effective for infrastructure providers to build. It also includes our Express WiFi project, for which we are partnering with local carriers, Internet service providers, community exchanges, and local entrepreneurs to bring affordable Internet access (to the full Internet) to urban and peri-urban areas. We’re currently live in India, and we are launching in multiple countries across Africa in 2016-the team is eager for partnership recommendations, so if anyone is interested in more detail and/or has partnership recommendations, please do contact us. Our connectivity initiatives also include our recently announced partnership with Eutelsat, in which we are investing in satellite backhaul and partnering with local ISPs and providers to bring down their backhaul costs, with the goal of enabling them to pass the savings on to the end consumer and offer a much lower priced access package. We are also incubating multiple projects related to infrastructure connectivity, innovative/low-cost rural connectivity pilots, and including projects related to addressing electricity as a barrier to access. All of these many projects are focused on universal, affordable access to the entire Internet. Some are projects with a shorter horizon for success, and others, like Aquila and our policy engagement, are long-term bets on enabling the kind of access that is robust enough to empower people to be creators, not just passive consumers.

The final category is Free Basics. Free Basics was developed to address a very specific barrier to Internet access—we know from the research<http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GSMA_Digital-Inclusion-Report_Web_Singles_2.pdf> that affordability and awareness are key barriers. This group is no doubt aware of the many, many reports that have found that many people do not use the Internet because they don’t know if or how it can be useful to them. Free Basics is meant to be a bridge to the Internet for those people-to offer them a taste of the Internet, that removes the risk associated with cost, and that will bring them online. It is not meant to be a holistic or standalone solution to the access issue. It is also not meant to be an endpoint for users. Facebook pays operators nothing for offering Free Basics. As such, given that the operators are only able to pay for the program if users graduate to the full, paid Internet, Free Basics is only sustainable if people leave the “starter” Internet.

Some facts about Free Basics-


·      Facebook partners with mobile operators in markets to offer Free Basics.

·      Free Basics is offered to ALL operators in markets-we want as many new users on the Internet, so it is in our interest to have as many operators as possible.

·      Facebook does not pay operators anything to offer Free Basics-Operators themselves bear the cost of offering Free Basics.

·      Free Basics includes Facebook and a suite other sites that evolves based upon location, including those related to maternal health, education, news, job search sites, general information (i.e., Wikipedia), sports.

·      Based upon feedback, Facebook has launched Platform<https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org>, (which was actually launched in Nairobi, this past summer, at iHub) which allows any developer anywhere in the world to submit their site to be included in Free Basics. So long as the site meets the necessary participation guidelines<https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org/participation-guidelines> and technical requirements<https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org/platform-technical-guidelines>, the site is included in Free Basics. We urge any/all of you who are creators and makers to have a look at Platform and submit your content. If you have any questions or recommendations, please let us know, as we would be delighted to connect you to our EMEA lead on content partnerships. He’s Nigerian (woot-WESTSIDE!!), not Kenyan, but I’m sure you won’t hold that against him.

·      Free Basics is optimized for feature phones as well as smartphones

And now, to the questions!

Zero Rating, Generally
It’s important to understand that there are many, many different forms of zero-rating, so the better question is to identify what features support competition. For those interested in learning more about the many different flavors of zero rating, please see this excellent report<http://1e8q3q16vyc81g8l3h3md6q5f5e.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MeasuringImpactsofMobileDataServices_ResearchBrief1.pdf> by the Alliance For An Affordable Internet. Essentially, however, research<http://www.researchictafrica.net/docs/Facebook%20zerorating%20Final_Web.pdf> shows that certain kinds of zero-rating are actually pro competitive, in that zero-rating allows market entrants to challenge incumbents, which supports both competition and user choice. Further, the fact that Facebook does not pay operators to carry Free Basics, and does not require exclusivity undercuts the anti-competition claim. Our experience bears this out-in the majority of our markets, the operators who have been the first Free Basics adopters have been challengers-see below for a list, but please  note that it is as of November 12. We also plan to start including this information on our site, so keep a lookout for it in future!).  In Kenya, for example, while we remain hopeful that Safaricom will partner, Airtel, with a fraction of Safaricom’s market share, is our partner. I would, however, be very interested to see research that explicitly finds that this kind of zero-rating is anti-competitive, so those who have it, please do pass it along.

One last note on zero-rating-it really seems that we should be advocating for evidence-based policy making, that looks at both the costs and benefits, within the relevant economic environment, backed by actual research. None of the parade of potential horribles ascribed to zero-rating is backed by actual market evidence, and the notion of narrowing consumer choice and denying access by government fiat, with no evidence whatsoever, seems very strange. In general, especially with technology, an enabling environment calls for regulators to apply bans sparingly, so as not to crush innovation-isn’t that the environment for which this group would advocate?

Statistics on Free Basics
There were a number of questions about statistics of Free Basics users in Kenya-I don’t actually have that, but I’m inquiring. We do know that globally, over half of Free Basics users migrate to the paid Internet within 30 days. I think the other point to remember is that from the operator’s point of view, since they bear the full cost of subsidizing Free Basics, unless users do eventually migrate to the full/paid Internet, Free Basics is not economically sustainable for operators. With regard to other sources, the operators themselves hold all of the data about user behavior on and off Facebook, and I really would encourage you to bring them into all of these conversations about zero-rating. I would also encourage those of you who are researchers to join organizations like Research ICT Africa, Alliance for An Affordable Internet and others in doing high quality research in market.

Graduating from Free Basics
With regard to the questions of whether users will be unable to make their way out of Free Basics in order to access the wider Internet, please see below for screen shots demonstrating what it looks like when users want to visit the wider web. And, I must admit that I find this argument incredibly condescending. There are certainly literacy barriers to access, but those are not limited to Free Basics. Both of my parents were born in villages in the East of Nigeria. Both of them, without benefit of the Internet, or Facebook or Google Maps or even land lines managed to get themselves thousands of miles away, alone, to the UK and to the US, as mere teenagers, to get their university educations. I am only one generation removed from the village. So the notion that a person would be unable to learn how find his or her way out of a program on their phone just because they happen to live in a place without reliable Internet access, or because they live in a village seems ludicrous and the epitome of paternalistic thinking.

In terms of the questions regarding choice of sites-these are excellent questions, and this is why we launched Platform<http://internet.org/>, so that content creators can submit sites themselves. We are also very open to feedback on sites or kinds of sites that should be included, so please do let us know so that we can connect you with our content partnerships lead.

Where has Free Basics launched
Regarding which countries have launched Free Basics, I don’t have an updated list, but my list as of October (for countries outside of my region) is- Colombia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Panama, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines (with 2 operators), Indonesia, Peru, with many more planned.

With regard to whether we would launch Free Basics in Europe or the US-our focus is in countries and regions where Internet access is a critical problem. There are a very few in the EU, but as the ITU study above (and countless other studies before) have shown, the digital divide is an absolute crisis across Africa and in parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America, with many countries at below 20% or even 5% Internet penetration. We are focusing our efforts in those parts of the world, for what we think are obvious reasons-that’s where it will have the most impact.

Responding to Criticism
To the question about why Facebook “rejigg[ed]” Free Basics after criticism-I think that is an excellent example of how we are very interested in constructive feedback, and that we are flexible enough to move fast and incorporate it into new iterations of our products. That’s one of the reasons I so love working here.

Seeking Eyeballs (?)
There was a question about how FB can improve its image beyond that of seeking eyeballs—I’m not sure I understand that question or the link to zero rating, but! To the extent that the questioner has a point of view or recommendations related to this question, we are delighted to hear them!

Mr. Kivuvu Article
A couple of people linked to this article written by Mr. Mwendwa Kivuva, whom I had the pleasure of seeing at IGF last month. It’s really fantastic to see so much more engagement on ICT policy issues in the region, and we look forward to being part of a community of people who are asking the hard questions. That said, the article makes some assertions that are unsupported by fact. I’ve addressed many of the points above, but there are few that remain, which I will discuss below.

Mr. Kivuvu states “Facebook was accused of flying powerful Cabinet Ministers from developing countries to expensive resorts in California to influence them allow zero rated service in their countries. “

This is categorically false, and I would be grateful for any evidence at all to be presented showing this occurred, as this is absolutely illegal and in the US, at least, an incredibly serious violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. So, if this claim is being made, please back it up with specific evidence so that I can report it.

Mr. Kivuvu states “Companies running zero rated services are crafty and just want to add up number of users to their platforms to increase their advertisement revenue streams, therefore increase their companies' valuation and appease their shareholders.”

Please note that Facebook has deliberately banned advertising from Free Basics, so that Facebook does not derive any revenue whatsoever from any users of Free Basics.

Mr. Kivuvu states “Zero rating is not tolerated in progressive countries with strong policies. Ask yourself why.”

This is incorrect. Zero rating is explicitly exempted from net neutrality regimes in many progressive countries, including the US. While there are certainly countries that have decided against zero-rating, there are many more countries that see zero-rating as a tool that has real market benefits, which accrue when zero-rating is deployed in a consumer-centric way that creates an enabling environment.

Mr. Kivuvu states “Zero rating infringes on fundamental human rights by denying users access to the Internet. It may be a conspiracy to keep developing countries in the darkness of the information age.”

Mr. Kivuvu states, “An interesting fact is; in communities where zero rated services were the norm, the users did not know the difference between the Internet and Facebook.”

This is not actually a fact. There are oft-quoted studies<http://lirneasia.net/2012/05/facebook-internet/> of people in emerging markets saying that they do not access the Internet, but that they DO access Facebook (or SMS services). I do think this is a very interesting data point about the ubiquity of social media and how people define the Internet, as well as the fact that for people in both emerging and mature markets, social media is the primary driver for Internet adoption but this is a) not necessarily indicative of now knowing the difference between the Internet and Facebook, and, most crucially, b) not in any way connected to zero-rating or Free Basics, as none of the studies were of Free Basics users, given that most of the studies predated the existence of Free Basics.

There is certainly a lively debate over the utility of the many forms of zero-rating. But offering people with no Internet access a bridge to full Internet access, while working on a multitude of programs all aimed at universal access to the full Internet is “denying users access to the Internet” is exactly the opposite of what is being claimed. It is also very important to note that Free Basics is a choice for consumers. They have exactly the same ability to access the Internet that they have without Free Basics; Free Basics only adds the option of a taste of the Internet, to get them excited about the full thing, when they can afford it.

Example of Interstitial that prompts users when they try to access data outside of the Free Basics paywall:

[cid:722E825D-C227-455D-9E0D-AE692D0F9D7A]

Africa Free Basics Launches, as of November 12, 2015
Mozambique
Mcel Mozambique

Seychelles
Airtel Seychelles

Egypt
Etisalat Egypt

Rwanda
Airtel Rwanda

Liberia
Cellcom Liberia

Congo Democratic Republic of
Tigo (Millicom) DR Congo

South Africa
Cell C South Africa

Angola
Movicel Angola

Senegal
Tigo (Millicom) Senegal

Malawi
Airtel Malawi

Malawi
Telekom Networks Malawi

Zambia
Airtel Zambia

Ghana
Airtel Ghana

Kenya
Airtel Kenya

Tanzania
Tigo Tanzania
[Description: Description: Description: cid:image001.png at 01C8F888.8FCCE630]

Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa
m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315
2 Stephen St | London | W1T 1AN
ebeleokobi at fb.com<mailto:ebeleokobi at fb.com>



From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+ebeleokobi=fb.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-bounces+ebeleokobi=fb.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> on behalf of Grace Githaiga via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>>
Reply-To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>>
Date: Monday, November 30, 2015 at 9:07 PM
To: Ebele Okobi <ebeleokobi at fb.com<mailto:ebeleokobi at fb.com>>
Cc: Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com<mailto:ggithaiga at hotmail.com>>
Subject: [kictanet] Introducing Facebook Africa Public Policy Team to KICTANet


Dear Listers


Greetings. I hope your week has started well.


The topic of Net Neutrality has become an important global Internet Governance issue in the last two years, and has generated some interesting debates.


In Kenya, Facebook has partnered with Airtel to offer users zero rated services, christened "free basics" which means that several websites have been selected (for lack of a proper word)  to participate in the platform, where users access these websites for free. However, the same users cannot access any other website unless they pay for the data.


Different positions depending on where their proponents stand have been shared.  Please find one here by Nanjira Sambuli http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/blogs/free-internet-freedom-create/-/620/2975634/-/f6hgvx/-/index.html<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nation.co.ke_oped_blogs_free-2Dinternet-2Dfreedom-2Dcreate_-2D_620_2975634_-2D_f6hgvx_-2D_index.html&d=CwMFAw&c=5VD0RTtNlTh3ycd41b3MUw&r=ArvepG4_wcNu_X9xi3nb_Xa9WsGLVfmK6mwPdVONOTE&m=7NzfHtNVHC-SCC3tykKjEqKI_OKf3NbqHZCb414q6go&s=7IP5PLfCNxE0Qb1mz8EoCzEMDWugoP6smIE2PqODbAs&e=> and another by our own Mwendwa Kivuva http://www.circleid.com/posts/20151124_zero_rating_a_poisoned_chalice_for_the_developing_world/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.circleid.com_posts_20151124-5Fzero-5Frating-5Fa-5Fpoisoned-5Fchalice-5Ffor-5Fthe-5Fdeveloping-5Fworld_&d=CwMFAw&c=5VD0RTtNlTh3ycd41b3MUw&r=ArvepG4_wcNu_X9xi3nb_Xa9WsGLVfmK6mwPdVONOTE&m=7NzfHtNVHC-SCC3tykKjEqKI_OKf3NbqHZCb414q6go&s=VDulPJA9EwQqSitPwlCU0keGy2xznFCr3rRVVpX1E8w&e=>


Those for pro zero rated services have argued that it gives more users free access to the Internet, and that it is a genuine attempt to connect the unconnected. Those on the opposite side argue that zero rating stifles innovation, leads to customers lock-in, is anti competitive behavior, confuses the users on the true meaning of the Internet, denies users choice, and makes policy makers lazy in ensuring proper affordable internet is availed to the masses.


Facebook's Head of Public Policy, Africa Ebele Okobi, and the Public Policy Manager, Africa Akua Gwekye have graciously agreed to respond to any queries the community has on zero rated services.


The Process


Please articulate your concerns and ask questions as we usually do when we have moderated debates. The facebook team will then look at the questions and respond to you on Wednesday Evening. Depending on how it goes, we can then see how to continue engaging with them.


I think this is a great opportunity for the facebook team to unpackage free basics issue, and it is my hope that the debate will be exciting given the prominence members of the list have given the net neutrality debate.


Over to you listers! And a very warm welcome to Ebele and Akua.


Warmly

Grace
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