Free Wikipedia, cash strapped Uninor’s ploy to get more customers on internet

Knowledge never comes for free! But cash strapped Uninor seems to be changing the norm. With its plans to expand and reach out to more customers across the country, Indian unit of Norway's Telenor, Uninor will be providing its customers with free access to Wikipedia.

Starting today, Wikipedia will be available for will be available for three months, according to a news report by The Economic Times. With the introduction of free Wikipedia and more such services in the pipeline, Uninor plans to have 50% of its users on the Internet by 2017, the company said in a statement.

As part of the programme, Uninor employees will also engage with students and teachers to spread awareness on digital literacy with special focus on Wikipedia in the rural areas.

In 2012, Telenor committed to bring Wikipedia to its customers free of data charges through a partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation. Following the agreement, free access to Wikipedia on mobile phones has been launched in Telenor business units in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Montenegro.

(image: india times)