Exclusive! Free Facebook launch

  

Exclusive new partnership with the global social media network Facebook in Latin America.

Stockholm - 17 December 2013

Millicom today announces two firsts for Latin America in its new partnership with the global social media network Facebook: an exclusive TV campaign that co-brands Tigo with Facebook on screen for the first time, and a Facebook service in Guaraní - the native official language of Paraguay.

The new TV campaign promotes an offer that is unique to Tigo in Paraguay. Customers can now access the popular social networking site through their handsets for free, without incurring any data charges.

As Paraguay's premier mobile operator, Tigo enables users to enjoy one of the world's most popular social media networks and connect with its two million users in Paraguay as well as estimated 1.2 billion users worldwide.

This time-limited free service also coincides with the launch of Facebook in Guaraní, the native official language of Paraguay, in a project has the strong backing of Paraguay's Secretariat of Linguistic Policy.

Guaraní remains one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in South America, with an estimated 4.8 million speakers spread throughout Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. More people speak Guaraní in Paraguay than they do Spanish and it is considered the only indigenous language in the Americas whose speakers include a large proportion of non-indigenous people.

Since its launch in 2004, Facebook's popularity has introduced millions worldwide to a digital lifestyle built around sharing messages, pictures and information with their friends online.

In May 2013, it became the most highly valued US company to debut on the stock markets with an initial public offering set at $104 billion.

In partnering with Facebook, Millicom is leading the digital way in Latin America and joins the recent internet.org initiative, launched by the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg.

Both are dedicated to making internet access available to those who are not connected.

An estimated two thirds of the world do not yet have access to communications online.

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 Guarani. 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 Guaraní."