Access Facebook On Your Phone Without Data Plan

India is estimated to jump over the US to become the second-largest Internet population by 2014, with the number expected to rise to 243 million Internet users. This accounts for only 16 percent of the over-all population, though, highlighting the lack of affordable and easy-to-access Internet services. While companies have tried to address this, with a prime example being Facebook's new app, titled “Facebook for Every Phone” app, the base problem of poor access has still not been properly resolved.

A solution may be at hand, though, courtesy a Singapore-based start-up, U2opia Mobile. The company had now come up an app, called Fonetwish, which uses USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology to allow anyone with a mobile phone to connect to Facebook. USSD, a first-generation communication technology similar to SMS, is a service used by telecom providers to connect mobile phone users to telecom servers. The plus point of the service is the fact that it is found everywhere and even users with a very basic phone and no data plan will be able to use the same to connect to Facebook.

The new app makes use of this to provide navigation through a textual, session-based interface that works across all types of handsets. This is a 1G solution that works in a 3G world. Affordable and reliable data connectivity is a rarity in a country like India. Even when people have phones that can use a data connection, they don't have access to a 3G network or cannot afford the expensive data plans. For these people, this solution provides a way to connect to Facebook.

In India, the service is available for almost all mobile phone users, except those subscribing to BSNL. To access the service from any basic phone or smartphone without data connections, users will have to first subscribe using *325#. Once active, the service will allow users to use the USSD menu to go through their timelines, check status updates, post status updates and also check likes or comments on their posts. The service also allows access to Facebook Messenger to allow exchange of messages between FB Friends. Status messages posted on the user’s timeline through USSD will go live immediately.

While different operators charge differently for the service, the price, by and large, stands at Rs 1 per day, making it a cheap alternative of using the social networking platform. Any operator can use Fonetwish to enable access to Facebook through USSD for its users. Currently this service is used by 40 operators in 30 countries and over 10 million users across the world currently access Facebook through USSD.

The solution, however, has its limitations. Facebook comes as a completely text-based service when used through USSD. A user cannot access photos on his phone through Fonetwish. Each action on the social network, such as updating status messages or reading a message, requires the user to send a code or select a number from the menu. This could be tedious for those used to using a proper web-connected app.

The company is currently working with other web companies and operators to enable USSD-based access for more websites. The company has also said that the app also powers access to Twitter and Google Talk as well.

via tech2