Facebook founder's Internet.org initiative has potential for mHealth

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week a new initiative, Internet.org, with the lofty goal of bringing web access to five billion people throughout the developing world. In addition to Zuckerberg's company, the project has enlisted the support of such wireless heavyweights as Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung--leading pundits to surmise that mobile connectivity will dominate the effort.

In particular, one commentator notes that U.S. chip vendor Qualcomm and Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung have prior experience in healthcare. Qualcomm has established a mobile health unit called Qualcomm Life, and Samsung has released health apps to support its handset launches. Not surprisingly, in an interview with CNN, Zuckerberg gave some suggestions as to the uses that billions of people might have for their new-found connectivity, including getting "access to healthcare for the first time ever." Article