Known as internet.org, the partnership will work to develop joint projects, share knowledge, and mobilise industry and governments to bring the world online. As well as Facebook, founding members include Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung.
Today, only 2.7 billion people – just over one-third of the world's population – have access to the internet, according to Facebook. Internet adoption is growing by less than 9 per cent each year, which is slow considering how early it is in its development.
The goal of Internet.org is to make internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected, and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today.
"There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy," said Zuckerberg, who has also published a white paper entitled ‘Is Connectivity a Human Right?’.
"Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome these challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it."
Internet.org will focus on three key challenges in developing countries: making access affordable, using data more efficiently and helping businesses drive access. In particular, it will explore ways to reduce the cost and amount of data required for most apps and enable new business models.
The founding companies have a long history of working closely with mobile operators and expect them to play leading roles within the initiative, which over time will also include NGOs, academics and experts.
Internet.org is inspired by the Open Compute Project, an open source initiative launched by Facebook in 2011 to help build cheaper, more efficient computing infrastructure.