Telecom operator Reliance Communications has said that it has brought on board one million Indians to experience the Internet via Facebook's zero rating service Internet.org, as indicated by this Press Trust of India report. However, the claim might have to be taken with a pinch of salt as it is unclear that the one million users of Internet.org are all first time users. It's worth remembering that Facebook back in May had said that Internet.org had 800,000 users in India and that only 20% of those were first time new users. BGR.in had reported that new users are used over 100 mb per month outside of Internet.org, while ET Tech added that 7% of total data usage is on Internet.org. "We piloted this for six months in seven circles. And in six months, I am happy to share with you, we brought nearly one million people to come on the Internet and experience the Internet," Reliance Communications' consumer business CEO Gurdeep Singh told the company shareholders during the annual general meeting. Facebook has a partnership with Reliance Communications, and the service, available in seven circles (Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala), is being advertised as “Free Internet”. The partnership was announced in February this year. Facebook has been positioning the service as a philanthropic effort to get one billion Indians connected to the Internet by giving a few essential services for free via the platform. Earlier in September, Facebook's Internet.org renamed the zero rating service as Free Basics and updated its terms…
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