Rwandans to benefit from free web access as Airtel partners with facebook

{{Airtel Rwanda and Facebook have partnered to offer free web access to Rwandans on the second day of Transform Africa summit held in Kigali. Through Free Basics by Facebook, Rwandans will be able to access various websites through the Airtel network at no cost. With the new partnership, customers will also be able to access a set of free services in categories of health, education, communication, sports, jobs, and local information.{}}}

Commenting on the new development, Airtel Rwanda Finance Director & Acting Managing Director, Mr. Tano Oware said, “We are delighted to kick off this partnership with Facebook and have it go live at a time where we as a telecom are looking to enable our customers to access the internet affordably.”

“With our recent affordable internet-enabled phone offering together with free web access, our customers are in for a feast of information, education as well as the best experience on the Airtel network.” He added

Also talking to the partnership Markku Makelainen, Director, Global Operator Partnerships promised fruitful result based on free basic internet experience: “Following our success with Free Basics in Zambia, Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya, we are excited to continue our partnership and further extend reach with Airtel in Rwanda. We believe that access to information is a basic right that empowers communities and entrepreneurs around the world.”

During the launch, the Minister for Youth & ICT ,Nsengimana Philbert confirmed that the partnership will facilitate Rwandans to access information easily. “The introduction of Freebasics.com and Facebook Kinyarwanda, will enable Rwandans have free web access to a variety of popular websites on the internet. With categories ranging from education, jobs to local information, we are confident that Rwandans will have a service that they can be proud to use and benefit from.” He said.

Among the free websites to be accessed on Free Basics while using the Airtel network include Facebook, BBC Africa, Inyarwanda.com, Wikipedia, BabyCenter, MAMA, Dictionary.com, SuperSport, Bing searchengine, among others.