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10 Years Ago This Week: The next billion users of the internet are here

To celebrate 10 years of Creator Weekly, I’m sharing tech highlights from 2015 that still resonate 10 years later. This update was for the week of November 28, 2015.

Ten years ago Microsoft launched a project to help bring the internet to underserved parts of the world. Facebook and Google had their own projects meant to bring the internet to billions of new users.

Bringing Internet Access to the World

Microsoft Affordable Access Initiative home page, 2015

One of the big tech pushes in 2015 was bringing the internet connectivity and web services to new markets. 

10 years ago this week Microsoft launched the Affordable Access Initiative, a grant program that invested in infrastructure to bring the Internet to the 4 billion people who didn’t have access. This followed Google and Facebook projects to bring the internet to more users. This would expand on projects launched in the US, Kenya and Philippines to more places.

Google Offers Internet to its "Next Billion Users"


Google Next Billion Users home page in 2020

Earlier in 2015, Google had launched its Next Billion Users initiative, bringing “helpful, relevant, and inclusive” technology for people new to the internet, and who may have spotty or low bandwidth connections. Part of that was offering free WiFi in Indian train stations.

And Google's Project Loon - big balloons that were like floating mobile towers - was finally ready to launch at scale, with government agreements in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Google also made it easier for people with an unreliable internet connection to use its products, including  offline YouTube video viewing (in select countries), offline Map navigation, and streamlined Search results pages.

Facebook "Free Basics"


Facebook Internet.org home page, 2015

In 2014 Facebook launched "Internet.org", which gave people access to the mobile internet for free. Of course, Facebook was at its core, along with selected websites. 

In 2015 (partially in response to criticism), they launched the Internet.org Platform that allowed hand picked developers to add services and apps. The platform was renamed Free Basics by Facebook.

The View from 2025

Global population vs. Global internet users (in billions)

It’s pretty clear that these projects not purely altruistic. This was about expanding to new markets and helping future customers get online.

As Google put it in 2018: 
For a long time, we talked of a “responsibility” to make our technology work for the next billion users. But as the internet follows their lead, serving people in India, Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria has become necessary for companies that want to stay at the cutting edge of consumer innovation, and the future. 

Since 2015 these programs have either been shut down or been significantly limited in scope. In putting this together, I found it difficult to find current details about these (or similar) initiatives.

Microsoft Airband Initiative

After a second round of grants in 2017, it seems like that specific program shifted its priorities. Microsoft launched the Airband Initiative, starting with expansion of broadband connectivity in the rural United States. It expanded to Africa and Latin America in 2023.

Google For

Google expanded its free WiFi in railway stations beyond India, but decided to shut down the project in 2020.  Project Loon shut down in 2021, and it doesn't appear that the balloons were widely deployed in Indonesia or Sri Lanka, despite those 2015 deals.

And Google's “Next Billion Users” initiative seems to have stop being mentioned some time after 2022. That's the year the most recent "Next Billion User" announcement was made, in any case.  They now talk about "Google For":  Google For Brazil, Google For Kenya, Google For Vietnam and so forth.

Google's current work seems to mostly be about giving presentations, not direct help: "Through keynotes and interviews, Google's leaders and partners around the world share how technology can continue to help people, businesses and communities to thrive."

Facebook Free Basics

Allowing developers to add services to their Internet.org platform did not really stem the criticism that the platform didn't provide real internet access, and it came under fire for collecting user data.

In 2016 Facebook’s Free Basics was banned in India, for violating net neutrality and they lost a satellite that was meant to provide internet access in Africa when the Space X rocket carrying it exploded.

However, Free Basics is still available through an app called "Discover". It's only available in "certain countries" on devices with a SIM card from a participating mobile internet provider. And it only allows low bandwidth traffic, so mostly text, and not video, audio, streaming, or file transfer.

The Next Billion Users of the Internet Are Here

I suspect the reason why these programs have mostly faded away is that mobile data plans are cheaper and more reliable than they were in 2015. 

In 2015 only one third of the world was online.  Currently there are 8.2 Billion people, and 6.04 billion are internet users - almost three-fourths of the world is currently online.

The next billion users are already here.

References

Microsoft's Affordable Access Initiative
Affordable Access Initiative Website (November 2015)




Google's Next Billion Users

Google Next Billion Users Website (October 2020 version), now "Google For" (November 2025)

Project Loon (November 2015 version, Project Loon "A Google X Moonshot" (November 2025)

Google India Blog, 11 December 2014, Introducing an offline YouTube experience in India

Google on Google+, 8 April 2015, Streamlined Search results, launched in Indonesia in April, then India and Brazil in June.

Google Blog, 28 May 2015, You say you want a mobile revolution... 


Google Blog, 10 November 2015, Navigate and search the real world ... online or off

Facebook's Internet.org and Free Basics

Internet.org (April 2015), Free Basics (November 2025)

Facebook Newsroom, 4 May 2015, Announcing the Internet.org Platform

Facebook Newsroom, 26 July 2015, One year in: Internet.org free basic services

Facebook Newsroom, 24 September 2015, Update to Internet.org Free Basic Services
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