Uninor has announced that from today onwards, users in India will not be charged while browsing the Wikipedia mobile web pages up to a period of three months. In a move similar to the Chennai-based Aircel network operator’s three-year partnership with Wikipedia, the Telenor-owned company hopes to increase the number of Internet subscribers using this initiative.
CEO of Uninor, Vivek Sood said that the company is expected to get around 50% of Internet users by 2017, according to an official press release. He further stated that by allowing its customers free access to Wikipedia, it is aiding the dissemination of cost-free learning. Employees of the telecom network will reach out to students and teachers, in order to emphasize on the benefits of modern technology and Internet in education.
This program will also highlight the role of non-profit organizations like Wikipedia in the traditional schooling system, especially in rural areas. Last year in India, Uninor had offered unlimited access to Facebook and WhatsApp at Rs 15 per month to its subscribers. Interestingly, the company did not purchase any spectrum during the auction by the Indian government this year and declared that it would acquire the needed bandwidth through sharing, trading or during fresh bidding processes.
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The non-profit Wikimedia Foundation has secured partnerships with a number of network providers all over the world that has resulted in granting of free mobile access to m.wikipedia.org or zero.wikipedia.org or both to a large number of cell phone users. In 2012, Telenor which is a parent company of Uninor, along with Wikimedia Foundation offered free access to the online encyclopedia in the countries of Bangladesh, Malaysia, Montenegro, Myanmar and Thailand.
Free mobile access to Wikipedia will be effective for Uninor users from April 1 onwards for the next three months.