Product Code Database
Wikipedia Zero 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. With 97 operators in over 72 countries, it was estimated that access to Wikipedia was provided to more than 800 million people through the program. The program ended in 2018.
The program was launched in 2012, and won the 2013 South by Southwest Interactive Award for activism. It received criticism over the years for violating the principle of net neutrality. In February 2018, the project announced the end of the initiative, stating that it would take a new strategy on partnerships. Despite providing service to 900 million persons, the project was seen as jeopardized by a lack of growth, and by the declining price of cell phone data.
Facebook Zero has been cited as an inspiration for Wikipedia Zero.
In addition to that, has a complete list of participating mobile networks and launch dates.
| +Countries that got Wikipedia Zero !Country !Date !Company | ||
| Malaysia | 12 May 2012 | Digi Telecommunications |
| Kenya | 26 July 2012 | Orange S.A. |
| Thailand | October 2012 | DTAC |
| Saudi Arabia | October 2012 | Saudi Telecom Company |
| Pakistan | May 2013 | Mobilink |
| Sri Lanka | June 2013 | Dialog Axiata |
| Jordan | October 2013 | Umniah |
| Bangladesh | October 2013 | Banglalink |
| Kosovo | April 2014 | IPKO |
| Nepal | May 2014 | Ncell |
| Kyrgyzstan | May 2014 | Beeline |
| Nigeria | May 2014 | Airtel Nigeria |
| Ukraine | October 2014 | Kyivstar |
| Ghana | December 2014 | MTN Ghana |
| Angola | December 2014 | Unitel S.A. |
| Algeria | January 2015 | Djezzy |
| Moldova | July 2015 | Moldcell |
| Iraq | March 2017 | Asiacell |
| Afghanistan | September 2017 | Roshan |
The Wikimedia Foundation's Gayle Karen Young defended the program to The Washington Post, saying, "We have a complicated relationship to net neutrality. We believe in net neutrality in America", while adding that Wikipedia Zero required a different perspective in other countries: "Partnering with telecom companies in the near term, it blurs the net neutrality line in those areas. It fulfills our overall mission, though, which is providing free knowledge".
Journalist Hilary Heuler argued that "for many, zero-rated programs would limit online access to the 'walled gardens' offered by the web heavyweights. For millions of users, Facebook and Wikipedia would end up being synonymous with 'internet'." In 2015, researchers evaluating how the similar program Facebook Zero shapes information and communications technology use in the developing world found that 11% of Indonesians who said they used Facebook also said they did not use the Internet. 65% of Nigerians and 61% of Indonesians agree with the statement that "Facebook is the Internet" compared with only 5% in the United States.
An article in Vice magazine notes that the free access via Wikipedia Zero made Wikimedia Commons a preferred way for its users in Bangladesh and elsewhere to share material illicitly. This caused problems at Wikimedia Commons (where uploading media that is not free content is forbidden). The Vice article is critical of the situation created by Wikipedia Zero and of the backlash among Wikimedia Commons editors, arguing: "Because they can't afford access to YouTube and the rest of the internet, Wikipedia has become the internet for lots of . What's crazy, then, is that a bunch of more-or-less random editors who happen to want to be the piracy police are dictating the means of access for an entire population of people."
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