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After Free Basics, Facebook tests 'Express Wi-Fi' in India

[email protected] (Agencies)
November 27, 2016

Nov 27: The social media giant says it is trying to provide an affordable internet service in the rural parts of the country.

FacebookFacebook is now testing a new way of offering public Wi-Fi access in rural parts of the country, PTI reported on Sunday. This comes months after the social media giant received flak for allegedly violating net neutrality with its Free Basics scheme in India.

On Facebook"s Internet.org page, it says “With Express Wifi, we"re working with carriers, internet service providers, and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world. We"re currently live in India, and are expanding to other regions soon.” Express Wi-Fi will empower local entrepreneurs to help provide quality internet access, it further said.

“When people are able to purchase fast, affordable and reliable internet, they"re able to explore the range of information it has to offer including news, education, health, job postings, entertainment, and communication tools like Facebook,” it added.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed with PTI that the company is currently working with internet service providers to test Express Wi-Fi with deployments in multiple pilot sites. On Express Wi-Fi network, users can purchase fast, reliable and affordable data packs via digital vouchers to access the Internet, the spokesperson added.

While Free Basics, initially called Internet.org, had claimed it was allowing the free access to the Internet for the poor in India, it was limited to a few Internet services, which included Facebook. In February this year, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had said service providers cannot enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract that promotes discriminatory pricing of data services, adding that any telecom company found flouting the rule will be fined Rs 50,000 a day. Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had expressed his disappointment with the regulation.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 30: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday launched 'Skill Connect Forum' and said that the government is committed to provide impetuous to creating jobs by reviving economic and industrial activities.

The 'Skill Connect Forum' portal connects both private entrepreneurs and job seekers on the same platform.

After launching the forum, the Chief Minister said that the portal provides information on jobs available and who needs a job. "Under this forum, an unemployed will be imparted skills and then enabled to get a job," Yediyurappa said.
Besides providing jobs via registration, the portal also provides a skilled pool of people for those looking to hire, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, who is also the Skill Development Minister said that portal will be a boon to the youth seeking jobs and it will avoid unemployment issue to a great extent.

"All these years, there was no information and communication between job seekers and recruiters. The portal will solve that problem," he said.

Narayan said that there was no proper information on skilled workers and job market. Moreover, skill development was not in sync with the market. All these issues have been addressed by the portal, he added.

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News Network
July 28,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 28: Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday alleged that BJP is trying to destabilise the Congress government in Rajasthan.

"It is the duty of the Governor to act according to the decision of the state cabinet. But he is acting like a central government puppet," he said at a protest organised here by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

He said the Congress is protesting across the country to save democracy and save the constitution.

"We are not fighting through violence. We are protesting peacefully. The Constitution has given the right to protest in a democratic system," he said.

He accused the BJP of "being disrespectful" to the Constitution.

"Governments must walk within the framework of the Constitution. The Constitution gives everyone rights and duties. BJP destabilises elected governments and buys our legislators by horse-trading by spending crores of money. The same thing happened in Karnataka as well," he alleged.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

New Delhi, Jan 19: Messaging service WhatsApp which on Sunday faced issues in transmitting multimedia content including pictures and images, prompting social media users to share hilarious memes and messages, resumed regular services after over two hours.

#WhatsAppDown was the trending hashtag on Twitter for most part of Sunday afternoon in India along with several other countries such as Brazil, Europe and also parts of Middle-East including UAE, reported downdetector.in, a realtime problem and outage monitoring website.

Users of the popular messaging app were unable to send media files, stickers and GIFs.

Most users immediately went to Twitter to find out about the problem and check if others were facing the same issue.

Numerous tweets and memes took over the internet as soon as the news broke about the WhatsApp tech issue. After around two hours of technical glitch, the app resumed full service.

Even after full recovery of media transfer, people globally still continued checking the status of the messaging app.

WhatsApp has been one of the prime messaging apps since May 2009 and has recently collaborated with Facebook.

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