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Wikipedia Zero

It was a project by the Wikimedia Foundation to provide access to Wikipedia free of charge on mobile phones via zero-rating, particularly in developing markets. The objective of the program was to facilitate access to free knowledge for low-income pupils and students, by means of waiving the network traffic cost. It was estimated that access to Wikipedia was provided to more than 800 million people through the entire duration of the program.

Some of the main deployments were:

  • 2012: Malaysia (Digi Telecommunications), Kenya (Orange S.A.), Thailand (DTAC), Saudi Arabia (Saudi Telecom Company)
  • 2013: Pakistan (Mobilink), Sri Lanka (Dialog Axiata), Jordan (Umniah), Bangladesh (Banglalink)
  • 2014: Kosovo (IPKO), Nepal (Ncell), Kyrgyzstan (Beeline), Nigeria (Airtel), Ukraine (Kyivstar), Ghana (MTN), Angola (Unitel)
  • 2015: Algeria (Djezzy), Moldova (Moldcell)
  • 2017: Iraq (Asiacell), Afghanistan (Roshan)
Start year
End year
Target Education Level
DTC Framework Pillars

Pros

Enabled millions of users in developing countries to access educational resources without data costs

Language diversity

Increased access to information, bridging the digital divide

Cons

Limited access to other websites

Reliance on a single source

Criticized for violating net neutrality by offering preferential access to specific services.

Partners

97 operators in 72 countries

Links and Ressources

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