Facebook recently began testing a Live Audio streaming service that lets a select group of publishers broadcast audio messages on its popular social network, with plans to open it up to all of its users next year.

The Live Audio service could bring content like podcasts into Facebook News Feeds to listeners, which could be useful for the social network users in low-connectivity areas to broadcast more data-efficient media. Listeners can also ask questions and leave reactions in real-time during broadcasts.

Facebook is partnering with BBC World Service, book publisher HarperCollins, British talk radio station LBC, and authors Adam Grant and Brit Bennett to test Live Audio.

“We know that sometimes publishers want to tell a story on Facebook with words and not video,” Facebook product specialist Shirley Ip and software engineer Bhavana Radhakrishnan said in a blog post.

With plans for a global launch next year, the social media giant didn’t specify the rate it would be expanding broadcasting privileges.

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