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

[CherianTinu Abraham]

Thank for sharing, Jay.

Is the press release ready to be conveyed to the media in India?

Regards
Tinu Cherian

On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 9:45 AM, Jay Walsh <jwalsh at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> (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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