Now, surf the web on your mobile, free of cost

As Reliance Jio Infocomm ends its free offer and moves into a billing mode, Indians are being pampered with another, this time from Boston-based mobile advertising firm Jana. 

The company is readying to launch an Android browser — mCent Browser — that enables users to surf the web free-of-cost.

Jana will launch the browser globally on Friday March 10,2017, including in India and other emerging markets. In the initial phase, it will provide users up to 10 MB data free per day (70 MB per week), while the company will get its revenues from advertisements, which pop-up or roll across user screens.

“Our mission is to make the internet free for the next billion. We aim to provide unrestricted access to the entire internet, with a quality user experience. Through mCent Browser, users can now pick up their phone every day and browse the internet without worrying about high data costs,” said Jana Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Nathan Eagle.

However, a user would require a mobile connection to access the browser, which has to be downloaded on to Android handset.

Jana has already tied up with all the mobile operators in the country, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm, as a wireless connection is necessary to access the services.

mCent Browser will increase the data limit as more advertisers are added on to its platform.

The launch of the browser follows Jana’s successful launch of its mCent app, an app store, much like Google Play. The app store, launched in 2014 in India, rewarded a user with free data on every download from the store and garnered more than 30 million users.

According to GSM Association, the number of unique mobile subscribers globally will surpass 5 billion later this year and will rise to 5.7 billion by the end of the decade. The subscriber growth will be driven primarily by large Asia markets such as India, which alone would add 310 million unique subscribers by 2020.

“Until now, high data costs have made users more selective and data conscious, which has posed a challenge to mobile advertisers. mCent Browser will not only provide an opportunity for users to freely browse the internet, but also offers advertisers a way to reach emerging market consumers by integrating their brand into the browser experience,” said Jonathan D’Souza, Jana’s Country Manager, India.

At an era of ad-blocking, mCent Browser bridges the divide between advertisers and users through the ad-sponsored data model.