Iconic billionaire Mark Zuckerberg took the stage in the evening's keynote event exuding trademark exuberant boyish charm. As CEO of Facebook – a social media platform so well heeled it peeled off $19 billion last year for OTT service WhatsApp last year – and poster boy for the digerati, he's excited about the possibilities of internet access in developing countries, and name-checks such nations more than Bill Gates and Bono combined.
Would we expect anything less? But, why was he here?
"The reason we're here in Barcelona is because of partners building fiber and towers", he said. "We care because this is our mission too. We're different from operators as we're not providing connectivity – we're connecting people with each other for health, jobs, and economy grows."
At last year's MWC, Zuckerberg praised Internet.org — Facebook's not-for-profit initiative which services such as search, weather, and of course Facebook free-of-charge in developing countries. Tonight, he said the scheme "serves as an on-ramp to paid subscribers".
The Facebook CEO has put in the air miles since he was last in Barcelona, visiting countries like Mexico, Colombia, India and China. "What strikes me is the length people will go to to get connected [to the internet]", he said. "[Near] Jakarta they had a village and people moved there to get connectivity. I've seen stories like that over the world".
"Ninety percent of people in the world live within range of a network", said Zuckerberg. "It's sexy to talk about satellites, but it's the people here that make it work – Facebook is a prime app and we can help drive their business, but it's the operators that make it happen".
As for WhatsApp: "It's nuanced. The [cellco] business used to be voice and messaging, but it's shifting toward data. Apps drive data usage and that's the business...the infrastructure[cost] is tens of billions, so we want to grow these businesses."
Zuckerberg said that a lot of work is needed for economies and infrastructure grow, but he's confident that "in time we'll get to right place. It's ongoing. The tech isn't sufficient yet, but it will get done".
He praised Ericsson as "a great partner" but reserved his highest praise for Internet.org. "That gives people the tools to get online. In Africa, we stress health issues...there are regional differences."
Internet.org's progress is such that launch partners joined Zuckerberg onstage to share their experiences with the initiative: GSMA chairman and Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Airtel Africa CEO Christian De Faria, and Millicom SVP of operations Mario Zanotti.
"At Telenor, we adopt 'Internet For All'," said Baksaas. He said that network access and affordability – especially price-points for feature phones & smartphones – were key to driving adoption. "Attractive services like Facebook help and Internet.org is bringing new people in ... [and] interesting markets especially Southeast Asia in particular are so into this service [Facebook]", said Baksaas. "[As operators], we deploy resources and create employment locally."
De Faria drew laughter when he said "Facebook is like beauty and the beast". "But recently the beast is becoming human," he added. "Facebook is often a user's first experience with the internet – it's a retention tool and an acquisition tool."
Baksaas brought up the thorny issue of WhatsApp and potential loss of revenue for operators from these OTT services. "When WA [was acquired], we were kind of scratching our heads", he said, adding that it's a point of tension between operators and Facebook. "This is a kind of issue in our industry – [operators] would not want to deliver the key to your competitor, as everything becomes data these days".
Zuckerberg played peacemaker: "We go out of our way to ensure the services we offer are made with the partners. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger aren't part of Internet.org as this isn't part of what we're talking about," he said.
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