Sub-Saharan African countries are the hardest hit as Meta discontinues low-cost Express Wi-Fi
Meta’s plan to discontinue its low-cost Express Wi-Fi internet, which was launched five years ago to drive connectivity in underserved regions, has had the greatest impact on countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Meta (formerly Facebook) quietly issued this notice, stating that the program will be phased out later this year. However, in countries such as Kenya, the service has been suspended since mid-December 2020.
Meta partnered with Eutelsat Konnect, a satellite operator, less than a year ago to expand the low-cost internet service in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Cameroon, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda.
Malawi, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Senegal were among the other countries where Express Wi-Fi was available, among the more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and South America where the program was active.
“After more than five years of operation, we intend to phase out our Express Wi-Fi program.” Through the Express Wi-Fi platform, we assisted in expanding public Wi-Fi access for people in over 30 countries in collaboration with our partners. While we are wrapping up this program in order to focus on other projects, we remain committed to working with partners across the telecom ecosystem to deliver better connectivity,” Meta stated in the notice.
“As we near the end of the program’s development later this year, we’ll collaborate closely with Express Wi-Fi partners to help minimize the impact on their businesses and their customers’ connectivity.”
The social media giant collaborated with partners such as ISPs and mobile network operators to connect people in rural and urban areas through wifi hotspots in public places such as markets and facilities such as schools. The price of internet bundles sold by retailers or agents would be set by the partners.
The program was designed to bridge the internet gap in emerging markets such as Africa, where connectivity is the lowest on the planet. According to the 2021 GSMA mobile economy report, approximately 28% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is currently connected to mobile internet.
In comparison, connectivity in other regions, such as Europe, exceeds 80%. The goal of Meta’s ambitious Express-Wifi project was to bridge this internet gap. Meta is now extending its 45,000Km 2Africa subsea cable across Africa, Europe, and Asia as part of its low-cost internet strategy, in what appears to be a shift in strategy.
Google is also building Equiano, a subsea cable that will connect Africa and Europe by passing through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, and St Helena. As more internet infrastructure is built, connectivity is expected to increase.