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Facebook to offer free and discounted data on overseas carriers

Facebook to offer free and discounted data on overseas carriers

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Facebook Messenger iOS
Facebook Messenger iOS

Want to send someone a Facebook message from your cellphone, but don’t want to pay for it? Depending on where you live, you might be in luck. Facebook is announcing a new promotion that will see it partner with 18 operators in 14 countries to give users free or discounted data for certain mobile apps — specifically, Mesenger for Android and iOS, and Facebook for Every Phone, a Java app that runs on some 2,500 phones worldwide. The discounted data will start rolling out "in the coming months," but Facebook isn't saying how long it plans to run the promotion.

The company hasn’t announced any plans for US carriers, either, but AT&T has said that it’s hoping to offer "toll-free data" sometime later this year, which Facebook could presumably take advantage of. For a complete list of Facebook’s carrier partners, see below:

  • TMN in Portugal
  • Three in Ireland
  • Airtel and Reliance in India
  • Vivacom in Bulgaria
  • Backcell in Azerbaydzhan
  • Indosat, Smartfren, AXIS and XL Axiata in Indonesia
  • SMART in Philippines
  • DiGi in Malaysia
  • DTAC in Thailand
  • Viva in Bahrain
  • STC in Saudi Arabia
  • Oi in Brazil
  • Etisalat in Egypt
  • Tre in Italy