Express Wi-Fi is a division within Facebook Connectivity, a group of global internet connectivity initiatives by

Meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or end ...

. As one of several programs under the Facebook Connectivity umbrella, it partners with mobile network operators and internet service providers to provide internet access via public Wi-Fi hotspots that are "fast, affordable, and reliable" (as per Facebook). Facebook assists partners by providing a comprehensive Wi-Fi platform that partners can leverage to better manage and grow their Wi-Fi offerings. As of October 2020, Express Wi-Fi was active in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

, India, Indonesia], Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Operating locations and local partnerships

Ghana

Service offered in partnership with

Vodafone Ghana Vodafone Ghana, formerly Ghana Telecom, is the national telecommunications company of Ghana. The company in Ghana operates under Vodacom Group - Africa's leading mobile telecommunications company. As of January 2020, it had around 9.3 million m ...

in various regions of Ghana.

India

Service offered in partnership with internet service providers AirJaldi, LMES, NetVision, Tikona and Shaildhar. in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

Uttrakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

and

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

Indonesia

Service is offered in partnership with D~Net, an internet service provider, enabling Facebook and D~NET to establish a presence in city of

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the M ...

and Sugro, a village in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.

Kenya

Service is offered in partnership with SURF, and BRCK since 2019, an internet service provider. Express Wi-Fi was launched in Kenya on March 29, 2017, providing 1000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the greater

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

area.

Nepal

Service is offered in Multiple cities of Nepal in partnership with Worldlink for Kathmandu and Microsoft Nepal for Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and Bharatpur.

Nigeria

Service offered in partnership with local internet service providers Tizeti.

Philippines

Service offered in partnership with

Globe Telecom Globe Telecom, Inc., commonly shortened as Globe, is a major provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines. The company operates the largest mobile network in the Philippines and one of the largest fixed-line and broadband networks ...

, a major provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines.

South Africa

Service offered in partnership with

CellC Cell C Limited (stylised as Cell ©) is as a private mobile operator based in Sandstone, South Africa. It was founded in November 2001 by Lambert Moloi. As of August 2019, the Company’s current CEO is Douglas Craigie Stevenson Douglas may re ...

, a telecommunication company in South Africa

Tanzania

Service offered in partnership with Habari, an internet service provider.

Technology partners

In August 2018
Express Wi-Fi by Facebook
announced a technology partnership program. The program allows access point manufacturers to produce and supply Wi-Fi hardware that is compatible with Express Wi-Fi. Program participants include

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

, Inc. (to be certified Oct 2019),

Arista Networks Arista Networks (formerly Arastra) is an American computer networking company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company designs and sells multilayer network switches to deliver software-defined networking (SDN) for large datacen ...

Cambium A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between xylem and phloem. A cambium can also be defined as a cellular plant tissue from w ...

, Edge-core Networks by Accton Technology Corporation, and

Ruckus Networks Ruckus Networks (formerly known as Ruckus Wireless) is a brand of wired and wireless networking equipment and software owned by CommScope. Ruckus offers Switches, Wi-Fi access points, CBRS access points, Controllers, Management systems, Cloud ma ...

, an ARRIS Company. In February 2019,

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

announced that Nokia AirScale Wi-Fi platform would also participate in the technology partner program. In 2020, the Italian software company Tanaz

has joined Facebook Connectivity's Express Wi-Fi Technology Partner Program. In 2021, Abloomy, a US-based cloud Wi-Fi management software company, has joined Facebook's Express Wi-Fi Technology Partner Program.

References

Facebook Internet service providers Bharti Airtel {{Internet-stub