• This is the first partnership of its scale in India to offer free access to the full Facebook mobile sites
• Available on Airtel for 2 months until August 31st, 2010
• Facebook’s mobile site will be available in English and Hindi; five more Indian languages – Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam – will be rolled out globally for the first time on Airtel by July 15, 2010
New Delhi July 5, 2010 : Bharti Airtel, one of the leading emerging markets’ telcos, announced today that it will offer the full mobile site of Facebook, the popular social networking service that gives people the power to share and make the world more open and connected, free of charge for its 130 million plus customers across India. For the 2-month period, the partnership enables Airtel customers to access Facebook’s full mobile site faster and at no data cost from their Airtel mobiles via m.facebook.com. For the first time, Airtel customers who are Facebook users will be able to post status updates, comment and write on walls, message others, and also be able to view or upload photos – all without any data charges! For existing mobile internet customers on Airtel, there is no need to do anything – they can immediately start connecting with their friends by visiting the Facebook mobile site. Customers are accessing the mobile internet for the first time need to simply SMS ‘FACEBOOK’ to 5
4321 to take advantage of this special offer. Free access to Facebook Mobile on Airtel is available for the entire months of July and August, 2010.
Announcing the same, Mr. Shireesh Joshi, Chief Marketing Officer- Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, “We are pleased to bring an industry-leading offer to our 130 million plus customers by announcing this long-term partnership with Facebook – the popular social media service. Our mobile customers will also be the first in the world to enjoy Facebook on their Airtel mobile in five vernacular languages. All of this reiterates our commitment to customers to offer the best value-for-money services that enable their lifestyles.” He added, “As India’s leading telco, Bharti Airtel has always stood for technological innovation and personalised customer experience, and this is one of many innovations coming from us.”
“Working closely with Bharti Airtel is a great opportunity to bring our full mobile experience to their 130 million customers across India,” said Henri Moissinac, Head of Mobile Business, Facebook. “Today, more than 100 million Facebook users around the world access the site through their mobile devices. As mobile connectivity in India continues to grow, Airtel’s free offering of our full mobile site enables millions of people – whether they’re currently using Facebook or setting up their profiles for the first time – to connect with their Facebook friends wherever they are.”
Facebook’s mobile site will be initially available in English and Hindi, with five other languages – Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam – soon to follow by July 15, 2010.
How to access Facebook on Airtel:
• SMS ‘FACEBOOK’ to 54321
• Feed your email address and password
• Connect and share with your friends on the move – with no data cost on m.facebook.com until August 31st, 2010
About Bharti Airtel Limited : Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by BusinessWeek.
Bharti Airtel had over 185 million customers across its operations at the end of May 2010. To know more visit www.airtel.in