New Delhi: GSM industry body COAI on Wednesday said it has inducted social networking giant Facebook as an associate member of the association.
COAI's associate membership comprises of companies that manufacture or support the functioning, promotion, research development and evolution of mobile communications services.
The Cellular Operators Association of India's (COAI) other associate members include Alcatel Lucent India, Cisco Systems India, Ericsson India, IBM India, GTL Infrastructure, Huawei Technologies, Indus Towers, Intel Corporation, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Qualcomm India and ZTE India.
"Joining COAI as an associate member reflects our focus on mobile technologies, access and our continued desire to work in collaboration with the industry to increase connectivity," Facebook Public Policy Director (India and South Asia) Ankhi Das said.
"Affordability and awareness are significant barriers to Internet adoption. Facebook believes that overcoming these barriers and connecting people has immense value," Das said.
Facebook has more than 1.32 billion monthly active users globally, including over 100 million monthly active users in India.
She added over 85 percent of the world's population lives in areas with existing cellular coverage, yet only about 30 percent of the total population accesses the Internet.
