Millicom, Facebook’s internet.org in Colombia partnership

Operator group Millicom has announced a partnership between its Colombian subsidiary Tigo and Internet.org, the Facebook-backed organisation aiming to bring connectivity to poor and under-served communities.

Under the agreement, Tigo will offer its customers free access to information including government services and social media. These include AccuWeather, Facebook, UN Women, mobile health MAMA, Unicef, financial information site Su Dinero, Wikipedia and 24 Symbols (access to over 100,000 books), as well as government services including education, agriculture and victims of armed conflict.

Facebook said this is the first time the Internet.org app will be available in Latin America, and the first time ever government services will be made available through it.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Tigo to bring the Internet.org app to Colombia,” Chris Daniels, VP of Internet.org at Facebook in Colombia, said “…by working with Tigo to make the internet more accessible through a set of free basic services, more people can come online and discover useful services and information.”

The General Manager of Tigo-UNE in Colombia, Esteban Iriarte, said: “We are delighted to be the first operator in Latin America to offer these free services. We continue to extend access to the internet and help democratize it by giving access to all our customers.”

Mario Zanotti, Millicom’s SEVP of  Operations, commented: “This is Millicom’s third partnership with Facebook which began in Paraguay in 2013. These have proven to be highly successful in promoting digital inclusion and introducing people to online services for the first time. We hope that Tigo customers in Colombia will enjoy using these as we continue to promote the wider benefits of the digital lifestyle.”