[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] (press release) Aircel partners with Wikimedia Foundation to offer free mobile Wikipedia access through Wikipedia Zero

[Jay Walsh]

(This press release is also posted online at
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Aircel_partners_with_Wikimedia_Foundation)

Aircel partners with Wikimedia Foundation to offer free mobile
Wikipedia access through Wikipedia Zero

[Aircel subscribers to be the first in India to have free access to
Wikipedia on their mobile phones]

SAN FRANCISCO and NEW DELHI -- July 25, 2013: Aircel and the Wikimedia
Foundation today announced a partnership to offer Wikipedia on mobile
phones without any data charges to Aircel customers. The alliance is
aimed at making knowledge available on Wikipedia accessible to all
Aircel customers in both rural and urban areas for free. This is the
first service of its kind to formally launch in India.

This partnership is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's Wikipedia Zero
program, which focuses on reaching the billions of people around the
world whose primary opportunity to access the internet is via a mobile
device. The partnership will help provide Wikipedia to 60 million new
users in the region.

Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer for Aircel, said, "Through our
alliance with the Wikimedia Foundation, Aircel is not only making
internet services reach a wider audience, but also helping to
encourage and enrich the lives of our customers by offering access to
knowledge and information free of cost. We are excited about this
partnership and hope this initiative will benefit all our customers
from various age groups."

"We hail Aircel’s commitment to enhancing and expanding access to free
knowledge for their mobile customers. With the partnership, we extend
our program to India where we potentially reach millions of people for
the first time." said Kul Takanao Wadhwa, Head of Mobile with the
Wikimedia Foundation. "Aircel is one of the operators across the globe
that has contributed towards expanding free access to Wikipedia Zero
to 470 million mobile users."

Aircel customers will be able to access versions of Wikipedia in
English, Hindi, Tamil, and 17 other Indic languages.

Aircel is a young, data led telecom player and has been continuously
innovating products and services to offer convenience to its young
customers. The company has recently introduced various noteworthy data
products like Pocket Internet Smart and the recent Pocket Internet 24,
which offers internet at less than 1 rupee a day. Therefore, Aircel
aims to empower and inspire the youth by enhancing their data
experience.

Questions and answers about this partnership can be found at:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mobile_partnerships#Aircel

About Aircel Limited
http://www.aircel.com
Aircel is one of India’s leading pan India operators. It won 3G
spectrum in 13 circles and BWA spectrum in 8 circles and has
successfully launched 3G services which is the fastest 3G roll out
ever in the Indian Telecom Space. Aircel has been constantly
innovating products and services and is credited with making 3G
affordable to masses by launching Pocket Internet Smart which offers
best value 3G packs. Aircel Pocket Internet Smart gave a boost to 3G
adoption in the country as it is a true value for money product that
allows consumers to access unlimited 3G data at extremely affordable
prices. Aircel has positioned itself as a data led telecom player and
has addressed the multi-functionality of a mobile phone in many
innovative ways which are Industry firsts, be it the Aircel Pocket
Internet, Pocket Internet Games and Facebook Voice Updates on Aircel.
Aircel is also a preferred telecom network to launch Apple iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. For more information, please log on
to www.aircel.com.

About the Wikimedia Foundation
http://wikimediafoundation.org
http://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 517 million unique visitors per month, making them
the fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, April 2013).
Available in 285 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 25 million
articles contributed by a global volunteer community of roughly 80,000
people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation
is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through
donations and grants.

Wikimedia Foundation media contact

Matthew Roth
Communications
+1 415-839-6885 ext 6635 (San Francisco)
mroth(at)wikimedia.org

Aircel media contact

Bhavya Suri
Corporate Communications
+ 91 8802999046 (India)
bhavya.suri(at)aircel.co.in

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