Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has stressed that it’s the telecom companies working to connect the world, not the likes of Facebook and Google.

Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zuckerberg discussed operators’ intentions to connect people around the world, and downplayed the social network’s role in Internet.org – its not-for-profit initiative that provides free internet access to unconnected parts of the world.

“We are different from operators, we are trying to help people connect with other people,” Zuckerberg said. “It’s really important to not lose sight of the fact that the ones that are driving this are the operators.”

The parts of the world where Internet.org’s app is available receive access to Facebook, Google search and some other services free of charge, but Zuckerberg explained that the end goal is to persuade users to purchase data plans from providers once they have had a taste of connectivity.

“We can help because Facebook is one of the primary apps people want to use, so therefore it drives data usage and means we can effectively partner with operators in order to accelerate the growth of their businesses,” said Zuckerberg.

But some mobile carriers have concerns that the social network may bombard their services with its own. Last year Facebook bought chat app WhatsApp which is widely used around the world to avoid carriers’ texting fees.

Zuckerberg stood by his belief that free communication will ultimately drive data use overall, leaving operators with no reason to worry.

“These apps drive data usage. People want to use these different services, so I think people are going to pay, but I think it is what specific things do you charge for? I think over time it will be data and other services,” said Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg also touched on Google’s ‘Project Loon,’ an initiative to provide internet access through high-altitude balloons, explaining that they would be willing to work with the search giant.

“I would love to do more with them,” said Zuckerberg.