Facebook on a basic phone? Indian company makes it possible

Menon’s team at U2opia, which was founded in 2010, has fine-tuned USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology and is using it to allow anyone with a mobile phone to connect to Facebook.

Sumesh Menon, co-founder and CEO of U2opia Mobile, is trying to solve one of the biggest problems of our time - the lack of affordable and easy access to internet services. However, unlike Google or Facebook that are trying to build new solutions, which in some cases involve using giant balloons that can dish out Wi-Fi, Menon is using an existing, but often overlooked, technology. 

Menon's team at U2opia, which was founded in 2010, has fine-tuned USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology and is using it to allow anyone with a mobile phone to connect to Facebook. USSD is a service that is used by telecom operators to a connect the mobile phone users to telecom servers. It is ubiquitous and even if a user has a very basic phone and no data connection, he can use USSD to connect to Facebook. 

It is also familiar to users. For example, when you check your remaining pre-paid balance in the phone using a code, you use the USSD technology. 

"It is a 1G solution that works in a 3G world," Says Menon. "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, our solution provides a way to connect to Facebook." 

The USSD-based access to Facebook is seamless and works well. In India, it is available to almost all mobile phone users, except those who are using network of BSNL. To access Facebook from a basic (or from a smartphone that has no data connection) a user has to first subscribe to the service by dialling *325#. Once the service is active, which happens within a few minutes, users can utilize the USSD menu to go through their timeline, check status updates, post status updates and check likes or comments on their posts. The service also allows access to Facebook Messenger and users can exchange messages with their friends. 

There is no limit on how many times you can access Facebook or how many messages you can send to your friends on Facebook messenger. While different operators charge different price for the service, usually the price is around Re 1 per day, making it a cost-effective way to keep in touch with friends. 

Status messages posted on Facebook timeline through the USSD go live on the website immediately. 

Menon says that his company has worked with operators and Facebook to enable the service. "The underlying technology is called FoneTwish. We initially worked with Airtel but now support almost all major telecom operators, except BSNL, in India. Any operator can use FoneTwish to enable access to Facebook through USSD for its users," says Menon. 

He adds that the service is used by over 40 operators in 30 countries. "Currently, there are over 10 million users across the world who access Facebook through USSD," says Menon. 

Of course, a solution based on USSD has its limitations. For example, Facebook is completely a text-based service when used through USSD. A user cannot access photographs on his phone through FoneTwish. Similarly, each action on Facebook - such as updating status message or reading a message -- involves sending a code or selecting a number from menu. Compared to a proper web-connected app in which options can be clicked, selecting a number from menu, sending it to telephone operator and then receiving a response after a few seconds will not appeal to users who are familiar with Facebook website or Facebook app for Android. 

Menon agrees that FoneTwish has its limitations. He says that access to web services through USSD is a sort of bridge between the web-connected world and the people who currently do not have access to a good data connection. 

"But given the ground realities today, this is one of the best solutions to enable web access to people with basic phones or those who live in areas where data connection is not available. Before everyone can get access to fast and reliable internet connection, a lot of things need to happen. That is going to take time... Currently, FoneTwish is the best solution to access Facebook for the people who do not have an internet connection," says Menon. 

U2opia is now working with several other web companies and operators to enable USSD-based access for more websites. 

"We also continue to explore other ways to solve the problems related to internet access and data connectivity," says Menon.