A consortium of technology companies that includes Ericsson, Facebook, Nokia, Samsung, and others, today announced an initiative to bring Internet access to more of the world. 

The project, called internet.org, was announced today by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who noted in a statement that roughly a third of the world’s population, or 2.7 billion people have access to the Internet. Zuckerberg said that internet.org is about bringing the Internet to “the next 5 billion people.” 

As part of the project, the founding members–Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung–will develop joint projects, share knowledge, and mobilize industry and governments to bring the world online. 

To achieve its end, the initiative highlights three main goals, including: making access affordable; using data more efficiently; and helping businesses drive access. 

 Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson touted his company’s work to enable nearly 6 billion people around the globe with mobile communications as proof that the same can be done with the Internet.  

“We believe affordable connectivity and internet access improves people’s lives and helps build a more sustainable planet and therefore we are excited to participate in the internet.org initiative,” Vestberg said. 

The Internet.org website launches today and provides an overview of the mission and goals, as well as a full list of the partners. In the coming weeks, it will feature interviews with technology leaders and experts, along with the latest news on Internet.org activities.