By Ashok Sharma
NEW DELHI (AP) --Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his company's contentious efforts to expand Internet access in the developing world during his second visit to India this year.
The company's free platform offering a basic level of Internet access via Android devices has been introduced to 24 countries and has amassed about 15 million users, mostly in Africa and Asia, Zuckerberg said at a meeting Wednesday with students.
He said it could help alleviate poverty in India by providing information to the poor and contributing to development of the economy.
The platform known as Free Basics was developed in conjunction with other technology companies and has brought a mixed response from governments and analysts. Many criticize it for lacking transparency in how information is selected for the site and favoring Facebook's own services over those of competitors.
Zuckerberg rejected the criticism as a luxury of those who can afford access to the Internet. He said limiting content on the Free Basics platform was necessary, because "you cannot provide the whole Internet for free." It was initially known as Internet.org.
There are about 300 million people using the Internet in India, including 130 million using Facebook, making India the company's second-largest user base behind the United States.
But there are still about 1 billion Indians with no Internet access.
"We deeply care about servicing the Indian community and giving them the best tools. That's why I want to be here," said Zuckerberg.
Last month, Zuckerberg hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a Silicon Valley town hall meeting, at which Modi also touted the power of social media in economic development by helping people to share knowledge and ideas.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More