Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s (so far) five-year project to expand access to the Internet in emerging markets makes plenty of business sense when you look at the latest report by the Pew Research Center — which shows social media use has plateaued across developed markets but continues to rise in the developing world. In 2015-16, roughly four-in-ten adults […]
View More Pew: Social media still growing in emerging markets but stalled elsewhereCategory: digital divide
Astranis emerges from stealth with a new satellite technology for connecting the world
There’s a new entrant in the race to provide internet connectivity to the roughly four billion humans on the wrong side of the world’s digital divide.
Launching from stealth today with a new investment from Andreessen Horowitz is Astranis — the developer of a new satellite technology that aims to transmit data down to specific terrestrial locations with each satellite it… Read More
Mozilla and NSF awards $380K to small projects connecting the unconnected
The FCC may be hard at work at “bridging the digital divide,” as Chairman Pai so frequently puts it, and the Connect America Fund II will help. But while the big players are setting up, people all over the U.S. are going without reliable internet. Mozilla and the National Science Foundation are awarding cash to projects that aim to connect those still waiting on the bandwidth we… Read More
Facebook expands ‘Community Boost’ digital skills training program to Europe
Facebook has announced it’s expanding a free training program that teaches Internet-skills, media literacy and online safety to Europe. It says its “ambition” is to train 300,000 people across six EU countries by 2020 — specifically in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Poland. Read More
Giving online retailers a physical returns location nets HappyReturns $8 million
As online retailers continue to seek out ways to bridge the digital divide between themselves and their customers, Happy Returns, which provides physical locations for online shoppers to return and refund unwanted purchases, has raised $8 million to help. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company, raised its new money from U.S. Venture Partners along with previous investors Upfront Ventures… Read More
Giving online retailers a physical returns location nets HappyReturns $8 million
As online retailers continue to seek out ways to bridge the digital divide between themselves and their customers, Happy Returns, which provides physical locations for online shoppers to return and refund unwanted purchases, has raised $8 million to help. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company, raised its new money from U.S. Venture Partners along with previous investors Upfront Ventures… Read More