Wikipedia Zero
Sign in to saveformer project by the Wikimedia Foundation providing Wikipedia free of charge on mobile phones via zero-rating, abolished in 2018
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Wikipedia Zero was a program that let people in developing countries access Wikipedia for free on their mobile phones without using their data plan. The Wikimedia Foundation shut down the project in 2018, ending this free access service.
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Logo 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.