Leading traffic management solutions provider, Sandvine announced that it has enabled seven turnkey deployments of Facebook’s Free Basics platform for Digicel in the Caribbean and Latin America region. The Free Basics service which includes access to valuable news, employment, health, and education resources are zero-rated to Digicel subscribers, allowing them to enjoy these services without incuring data charges.
Digicel’s Free Basics deployment is enabled through the utilization of a standard API with Sandvine’s network policy control platform. Sandvine claims that the use of this API radically simplifies and accelerates the enablement of the Free Basics platform for operators and provides Digicel with a turnkey solution to not only enable the Free Basics platform in new markets, but to also regularly update the list of free services available under the plan.
Digicel has already launched Free Basics in Panama, Suriname, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados and Papua New Guinea, and plans to use Sandvine to enable the Free Basics platform in other Caribbean, Latin America and South Pacific markets in the coming months.
John Delves, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Digicel
The flexibility and ease-of-deployment of Sandvine’s platform, combined with their wealth of experience in integrating with online charging systems has created a turnkey solution for any operator looking to provide Free Basics to their subscribers.
Dave Caputo, CEO Sandvine
Sandvine is proud to be working alongside Digicel to help bring the Free Basics platform, and the life-changing power of the internet, to those who may not otherwise have a means to gain access.
