Orange plans to offer Wikipedia access for free on mobile devices in Middle East and Africa

Orange is collaborating with Wikimedia Foundation to offer access to Wikipedia without any charge in Middle East and Africa.

This feature would be applicable on mobile devices. Accessing internet on the mobile phone is a popular mode of communication for users in African markets.

Orange said that this is the first such initiative across the world. It is not clear how many mobile internet users Orange has in these markets.

Wikipedia spoke about this initiative: “Wikipedia is an important service, a public good, and so we want people to be able to access it for free, regardless of what device they’re using. This partnership with Orange will enable millions of people to read Wikipedia, who previously couldn’t.”

One thing worth considering is that this service goes against the principles of network neutrality. Just that in this particular case it is being done for a good cause.