by Robert Capistrano
BARCELONA, Spain (Eagle News) — At the Mobile World Congress 2016 here in Barcelona, Spain, many hugely anticipated events like the latest product launches, company exhibits and keynote speeches from industry movers and shakers awaited its over 100,000 global attendees.
But it was Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder and CEO who was truly the rock star of the four-day event, as he clearly stole the show. Even local media and paparazzi hounded him when he took his usual morning jog from his hotel.
The “Zuck” as his friends refer him to, talked on various topics and trends affecting the mobile industry, connectivity and of course FB. He addressed the latest mobile movements of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Connectivity, 5G and 360 streaming video with oracle-like confidence.
So what else can one learn from an under-30 billionaire like Mark who earned his fame and fortune by creating Facebook (debatable) because he wanted to connect people at his alma mater Harvard?
Well, there’s really more than meets the eye with this regular ‘Joe’ who was considered unpopular and socially awkward in school but is now a business and social icon. (Remember he has a movie based on his creation of Facebook).
In front of hundreds of mobile industry executives and professionals, Zuckerberg discussed at the Mobile World Congress about Facebook’s advocacy, Internet.org, that works to bring the unconnected online and provide “internet access to the next billion” people in the poorest parts of the world. So now, Zuckerberg brings Social Responsibility to the table and not just the “Social Network”.
Those who are not online face more challenges besides connectivity and Internet access. Many more people just don’t have the means to pay for data plans. Addressing this, Internet.org presents a service known as “Free Basics by Facebook” which provides a limited free data plan that lets users access select apps on basic smartphones.
Free basics, which is usually unheard of in the world of commerce, is something Zuckerberg talked lengthily at the Mobile World Congress. Through FB’s advocacy this service is now available in 37 countries. How benevolent of him. But it doesn’t stop there.
Facebook is working with Intel, Nokia and many wireless carriers to establish the Telecom Infra Project, an open source hardware and software platform designed to make it easier and faster to build communications networks. According to Zuckerberg, such an undertaking would encourage competition and lessen overall costs in creating a communications network. This, in turn could translate into better pricing for consumers.
In other words, this would make Internet and cell phone service not only more available, but even cheaper and more affordable for us all. We definitely like that.
The Connected Society Program operated by GSMA, the trade association which hosts Mobile World Congress, stated that today four billion people around the world have no access to the Internet.
Zuckerberg did not hide his disappointment with the way the wireless industry is fixed on 5G-network development. He won the applause of the MWC audience when he said that building faster connections for rich people was not enough, and that the industry must “finish our job” and get everyone on the planet connected. So he wants the whole world online and an FB user.
By the way, he also mentioned in passing that in Bill Gates fashion, he is giving away 99% of his fortune to various charities. Now that makes Oprah look frugal.
So what did I learn from Mark Zuckerberg besides all the Internet jargon and telecom talk? Well, he seems to be just an all-around nice guy who remains unaffected and loves what he does (he still writes code for leisure on weekends) and just wants to get people on-line and connected. He is a good example to the Mobile World Congress delegates and other corporate warlords that social responsibility –by helping and providing free basics for the less fortunate– is not only a good thing to do, it also makes good business.
Now that’s a smart guy — a genius rather–with a heart. Maybe he does deserve his billion-dollar status after all.
