Orange puts Wikipedia in the free zone for Africa and Middle East

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 25 January 2012 15:35

IT Industry - Strategy

It's not unusual to see mobile operators offering plans that include unmetered access to social networking sites such as Facebook. More constructively, Orange will waive data charges for Wikipedia access by its customers in Africa and the Middle East.

A partnership between France-based telco Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation will allow Orange subscribers in Africa and the Middle East to access Wikipedia without incurring data charges.

The arrangement will be rolled out during 2012 to 20 countries as part of the Wikimedia Foundation's strategy to reach people who only access the Internet via mobile devices. They will be able to use Wikipedia via a browser or an Orange widget.

"Wikipedia is an important service, a public good - and so we want people to be able to access it for free, regardless of what device they're using," said Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "This partnership with Orange will enable millions of people to read Wikipedia, who previously couldn't. We're thrilled to be Orange's partner in this important endeavour."

Marc Rennard, group executive vice president, Africa, Middle-East and Asia at Orange, said "In countries where access to information is not always readily available, we are making it simple and easy for our customers to use the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopaedia. It is the first partnership of this kind in the world where we are enabling customers to access Wikipedia without incurring any data charges; and shows Orange's ability, once again, to innovate in Africa and the Middle East, and bring more value to our customers."