The GSMA and Facebook, through its Internet.org partnership, is collaborating on a joint initiative focused on reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of mobile.

The activities undertaken by the GSMA and Facebook will entail working with governments in developing markets to address key factors that have an impact on affordability and availability. The partnership will also focus on creating a sustainable environment to incentivize mobile infrastructure investment and usage, as well as eliminating or reducing existing mobile-specific taxation or refraining from imposing new such tax regimes.

Tom Phillips (Chief regulatory officer, GSMA): While there are nearly 7 billion mobile connections worldwide, there are only 3.4 billion people that currently have mobile phones.

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.

[Image courtesy: Internet.org]