Facebook partnership with Millicom
Stockholm, 17 December, 2013 – Millicom announced today a partnership between Facebook and Tigo in Paraguay. For the first time, Facebook appears in a TV campaign cobranded with Tigo Paraguay - the country’s premier mobile operator. With this launch, Millicom is leading the digital way in Latin America.
The partnership means Tigo customers can now access Facebook through their handset without incurring any data charges and connect with the social media network’s two million users in Paraguay and its 1.2 billion users worldwide.
Additionally, it is the first time any major social media company has made a version in Guarani which is the indigenous language spoken by the majority of Paraguayans. Having Facebook in Guarani takes us one big step closer to a connected world.
The strategic partnership is part of Facebook’s recent Internet.org initiative launched by the company’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
The time-limited free service also includes the launch of a Facebook service in Guaraní, the native language of Paraguay, a project undertaken with the help of the country’s Secretariat of Linguistic Policy.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Millicom, the company behind the Tigo brand, said “Facebook has been a fantastic driver of data on mobile networks. With this unique partnership, we are making Tigo stand out from the crowd and giving many customers their first taste of the internet and social media, including in Guaraní. That’s what creating the digital lifestyle is all about, and it reinforces our strategy to encourage more customers to use data as part of their daily communications activity.”
Javier Olivan, Vice President of Growth and Analytics at Facebook commented "We're excited to be working with Tigo to give more people in Paraguay the ability to share and connect free of data charges across Facebook apps and mobile website, and now in the traditional language of Guarani."
For more information and video please visit: www.millicom.com or contact:
Press Enquiries:
Julian Eccles, VP, Corporate Communications
+ 44 7720 409374
press@millicom.com
About Millicom
Millicom is a leading international telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. Millicom sets the pace in providing digital lifestyle services to the world’s emerging markets, giving access to the world, primarily through mobile devices. Operating in 15 countries, Millicom offers innovative and customer-centric products. Its brand Tigo had 3.9 million mobile customers in Paraguay at the end of Q3 2013. The Millicom Group employs more than 10,000 people and provides mobile services, access to the internet, content and financial services to over 45 million customers. Founded in 1990, Millicom International Cellular SA is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the symbol MIC. In 2012, Millicom generated revenue of USD 4.81 billion and EBITDA of USD 2.07 billion.
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