A big logo created from pictures of Facebook users worldwide is pictured in the company’s Data Center, its first outside the US on November 7, 2013 in Lulea, in Swedish Lapland. The company began construction on the facility in October 2011 and went live on June 12, 2013 and are 100% run on hydro power. […]
Credit: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
Facebook today announced a pilot initiative to support free internet via Wi-Fi to students, launching first in Forest City, North Carolina, in partnership with Pangaea, a nonprofit provider of high speed internet.
Forest City is a part of the Rutherford County school district, which recently started a program to provide a laptop to every middle and high school student in the area. While over 6,000 students have received a computer through the program, the district found that almost half of these students lacked an internet connection at home to go with the devices.
Facebook has a data center in the town, so it was a perfect candidate to help flesh out internet access in the area. The first part of the initiative will help cover 75-100 homes, and while there’s no word on whether Facebook plans to extend the project elsewhere, it’s a nice move by the social media company as internet access becomes more essential to education.
➤ Facebook Pilots Free WiFi For Students’ Homes (TechCrunch)
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