Free access to Wikipedia for Uninor's subscribers

NEW DELHI: Telecom firm Uninor will provide free access to Wikipedia for its Internet subscribers as part of its ongoing efforts to fulfill 'Internet for all ambition'.

Uninor aims to remove obstacles for accessing relevant information by mobile users even if they can’t afford the cost of data charges. With this offer, Internet users of Uninor will be able to access Wikipedia - the largest collection of free knowledge ever assembled with no data charges.

As part of the program, Uninor employees will engage with students and teachers to spread awareness on digital literacy with special focus on Wikipedia in the rural areas.

“By giving free access to Wikipedia, Uninor will be able to put this repository of knowledge in the hands of the masses and empower the society. The partnership will unleash the true potential of the Internet by giving access to unlimited information to our Internet users,” said Vivek Sood, CEO, Telewings Communications Services (Uninor).

“It is in line with our 'Internet for all strategy' and an extension of our Sabse Sasta proposition for relevant content for the mass market. The free access to Wikipedia will spread the magic of knowledge and is a testimony to our efforts towards bringing affordable Internet within easy reach of all our customers.” he added.

In 2012, Telenor, the Norway-based parent company of Uninor, committed to bring Wikipedia to its customers free of data charges through a partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation. Following the agreement, free access to Wikipedia on mobile phones has been launched in Telenor Business units in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Montenegro.

“In Uninor, we have a partner that shares our vision of access to free knowledge for everybody. By promoting free access to Wikipedia, Uninor is spreading awareness and opening doors to information to people who might otherwise not have access to it,” said Carolynne Schloeder, Director of Mobile Partnerships at the Wikimedia Foundation.

With the introduction of free Wikipedia and more such services in the pipeline, Uninor plans to have 50% of its users on Internet by 2017. The free access to Wikipedia will be available for three months starting April 1, 2015.

Last year, Uninor had introduced service-based plans for Facebook and WhatsApp for its subscribers. The disruptive product innovation brought a paradigm shift by charging customers for the services rendered rather than the amount of data consumed.