[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation and Saudi Telecom (STC) partner to provide access to Wikipedia free of mobile data charges in the Middle East

[Yann Forget]

Hello,

2012/10/16 Kul Wadhwa <kwadhwa at wikimedia.org>:
> The goal in working with Intigral/STC is to remove barriers so more people
> in the world can have access to free knowledge, and in this specific case
> it's in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. There isn't a "deal" here that
> involves content management, revenue (no money exchanges hands), or
> anything that affects the normal way we support the projects. You can find
> more info on our Q&A here:
>
> https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mobile_partnerships#STC
>
> If we did not launch Wikipedia Zero in Saudi Arabia then that would mean
> that people in the region would still have to pay to access Wikipedia
> through their mobile phones. And that financial cost, which may be nominal
> or tolerable for some of us, it's very prohibitive to many more people. As
> other mobile operators such as Orange and Telenor have done, Intigral/STC
> graciously offered to eliminate that cost to eliminate the cost barrier.
> It's limited to that. The Wikimedia Foundation has not, and will not,
> censor or block any content whatsoever as part of its partnership with
> Intigral/STC.
>
> --
> Kul Wadhwa
> Head of Mobile
> Wikimedia Foundation

Thanks Kul for your message.
The suspiction came also because of a mention of "improving content in
the Arabic Wikipedia." I understand now that it is separate issue.

Regards,

Yann