Hi Marc,
zero-rating a special service or a certain website on you mobile contract is a clever way to undermine net neutrality, even when it comes as such a noble service to give free knowledge to the people.
Free knowledge of the leading global encyclopedia is surely connected with a totally different approach as, let's say, a certain music-streaming website which is included zero-rated in a mobile contract, but nethertheless it is way to undermine/break net neutrality. A noble cause doesn't necessarily make breaking an important principle unproblematic.
There is already a discussion in the community about the prospective complex of problems with zero-rating as an icebreaker for introducing different price tags on data. It could be the time to start talking globally about an in-the-future exit strategy on the surely noble initiative e.g. when certain milestones are reached in participating countries/regions.
best regards
Jens Best
2014-05-29 23:02 GMT+02:00 Marc A. Pelletier marc@uberbox.org:
On 05/29/2014 04:55 PM, rupert THURNER wrote:
another sad day, wikimedia foundation as the vicarious servant of the telecom industry on its way destroying net neutrality.
I would *really* like to hear your reasoning on this, given that there is absolutely nothing that prevents any telco provider from zero-rating Wikipedia. Net neutrality doesn't even enter into it.
What *does* enter into it, however, is that literally /millions/ more people now have free access to Wikipedia that could not before afford it.
-- Marc
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