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)
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