Mobile projects/Partnerships/Q and A
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The questions and answers below are intended to address questions regarding mobile partnerships. In order to keep the discussion from becoming fragmented, please ask any questions on the talk page for the recommendations. Please do not edit this page directly.
Mobile Partnerships General
Q: Why is Wikimedia partnering with mobile operators?
A: The short answer is to make free knowledge more accessible. One of the goals identified in the 5-year strategic plan is to reach 1 billion people by 2015 (in December 2011, we reached 470 million). As mobile phone connections begin to outnumber PC connections in much of the world, it is expected that a large amount of the next 500 million users will come from mobile. In order to introduce new readers, and contributors, to Wikipedia via mobile devices we need to do two things: 1) Help them discover it and 2) Reduce barriers to accessing it. Every mobile partnership will be designed to address one or both of these objectives.
Q: What is Wikipedia Zero?
A: Wikipedia Zero is a program that allows users to access Wikipedia without incurring extra mobile data usage charges. This is one of our primary mobile partnership programs for 2012. There is a project page which explains more in detail.
Q: Is it the same as other zero projects? Are you partnering with Facebook Zero?
A: This is not a partnership with Facebook or any other similarly branded zero program. They are the same in that they allow users (primarily in developing countries) access to the sites without paying data charges. Wikipedia Zero was inspired by the concept of Facebook Zero, but this is not a program between WMF and Facebook or any other web or mobile sites.
Q: Why would any mobile carrier give free access to one service and not another?
A: We can't speak on behalf of mobile carriers or other services, but a principal reason for giving Wikipedia for free is that it is a public good and not monetized.
Q: Are partners paying WMF to be able to deliver these types of programs? Is WMF paying partners?
A: No. The partnerships do not produce revenue for WMF, and WMF is not paying partners.
Q: What exactly does WMF get from carriers for these kinds of partnerships?
A: The only goal of these partnerships is to advance the free knowledge mission. They make it easier for people to discover Wikipedia, and reduce barriers to accessing it.
Q: What does the partner get? Why would they do it?
A: There is a marketing benefit for them. Customers are more likely to buy from and be more loyal to an operator that supports the mission, and even moreso if that operator provides Wikipedia without data charges. Additionally, in the case of Wikipedia Zero, it helps introduce people to the usefulness of the mobile internet, which means more customers for operators in the long-term.
Q: Are you making 'exclusive' deals to partners for specific territories?
A: No. We will not do any exclusive deals.
Q: Would you do any partnerships that don't involve free Wikipedia?
A: Wikipedia Zero is the priority for all partnerships, but is not the only way we partner. Some partners may, for example, incorporate Wikipedia RSS feeds into the portal or offer a Wikipedia app in their app store. This helps achieve the discovery and accessibility objectives.
Q: What parts of the world are you working with?
A: The focus for mobile partnerships is the Global South. We are focusing right now on Asia, Middle East, and Africa. After getting programs in those regions up and running, we will work next on Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Q: Do you think there are people in the 'Global North' that could also benefit from free Wikipedia?
A: Definitely. We need to prioritize the places where impact will be greatest, which means countries in which the barriers to access (data cost relative to income) are greatest and where the gap between mobile penetration and desktop penetration is higher.
Q: Are the partners hosting Wikipedia on their own servers and re-offering it for free to customers?
A: No. Nothing is changed about the way Wikipedia is hosted.
Q: How is WMF making Wikipedia Zero possible? What is the technical overhead? How much does it cost?
A: To implement Wikipedia Zero in many countries around the world does require resources from WMF including, but not limited to marketing, legal, communications, technical development, support, etc. However, mobile is one of our two primary strategic priorities and is funded by our core program budget because it gives access to Wikipedia to people that normally couldn't afford to see it on their mobile devices.
Q: These kinds of deals are great if you have a mobile phone that can render data, but what is WMF doing to increase reach for people without those types of phones?
A: This is also a priority, and we are working on developing SMS and potentially USSD services in which a user can search Wikipedia and read articles without a data-enabled phone. Unlike Wikipedia Zero, which utilizes the existing mobile site, these programs require additional infrastructure. For that reason, we anticipate being able to roll out those services to partners in the second half of the year.
Q: Why isn't editing included in these kinds of systems? Obviously we could be getting new users to edit and read from their mobile devices.
A: The ability to edit Wikipedia from a mobile device is in WMF's product roadmap. One of the main goals of WMF's engineering department in 2011 was to integrate mobile Wikipedia into the core platform -- Mediawiki -- as an extension. Since that was completed, this will allow us to enable users to contribute to Wikipedia on mobile device and not just on personal computers. We will start testing new contribution features on mobile in a few months and it's an initiative that's currently independent of our mobile operator partnerships.
Q: What role do community members have in these partnerships?
A: Community plays a vital role in helping us discover the opportunities to expand mobile reach and how to improve the experience for contributors and readers.
Orange Partnership
Please read the press release announcing this partnership. (Provide link here)
Q&A about the partnership
Q: What's the primary purpose of this relationship with Orange?
A: The purpose is to make it possible for more people to access Wikipedia on their phone. Orange is removing price (i.e. cost of data) as a barrier, which supports that mission.
Q: Why Orange and not other mobile operators?
A: We will be working with more mobile operators across the world to provide Wikipedia for free. Orange is just the first.
Q: Is there money involved?
A: No. There is no money involved with this partnership. Orange is not paying Wikimedia Foundation, and Wikimedia Foundation is not paying Orange.
Q: How big is Orange's presence in Africa and the Middle East?
A: As of September 2011, Orange had 70.4 million customers in the Middle East and Africa (hereafter, "MEA") across 20 countries.
Q: Is this different from the previous partnership with Orange?
A: Yes, this is a new partnership. It is focused only on MEA and and on providing access to Wikipedia without data charges. You can also read the FAQ about the previous partnership.
Q: Is this Wikipedia Zero?
A: This is the same as Wikipedia Zero in that it provides access without data charges. However, it is not wrapped under the Wikipedia Zero name because it is not the text-only version (it is the full version of Wikipedia).
Q: How many countries will this involve? Which ones?
A: All 20 of Orange's operations in AMEA. The countries are Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Jordan, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Niger, Senegal and Congo. Vanuatu (though not in MEA) is also included in the partnership.
Q: Is this an exclusive deal?
A: No. As mentioned above, we do not do exclusive deals with any operator.
Q: What is the duration of this deal?
A: Three years, through November 2014.
Q: Will these operators be putting Wikipedia in their advertising?
A: Many of them will put out various communication materials (ranging from leaflets to billboards) about the program in order to promote it and encourage usage. Anytime the Wikipedia logo is used, WMF will have to give approval to ensure that the use is in line with the mission.
Q: It seems like Wikimedia has only really signed with two partners on any mobile front, and one of those is Orange. Where are the other providers? What's the delay?
A: We are working on plans with several other partners right now, and will be announcing each one as they are confirmed. The process can take time as partners have to get internal support and approval to run these programs. Additionally, we need to gradually roll out partners so that we are able to test, debug, and evaluate programs to minimize errors.
Q&A about the offer
Q: When will the offer be available in each country?"
A: Countries will be rolled out gradually throughout this year. We do not know dates yet, but Tunisia will be the first country to launch.
Q: Why is Tunisia first?
A: It is where the technological integration is ready first. All countries in the deal are of equal priority.
Q: Can someone with an Orange phone who doesn't have money in their account access the free content?
A: Customers need to have Orange credit available on their Orange SIM cards to take part in this offer but they will not be charged for using it.
Q: Is every Orange customer within the country eligible?
A: Each country will establish their own parameters. In some cases, certain plans will not be included. These will be case-by-case with each operator, and any exceptions should be very few.
Q: Are there usage caps?
A: There are no caps to free access. Users can read as many articles as they want without incurring data charges. To ensure fair usage and prevent abuse, each country may impose a soft cap after which a user's connection may be slower. The threshold for this soft cap will vary, but it should be around the equivalent of 100 page views in a month. The average usage of Wikipedia on mobile devices, from December 2011 statistics, is 26 page views per reader per month.
Q: What language versions of Wikipedia are included?
A: All languages are included, though, of course, the user's phone must be capable of rendering that language.
Q: Why can't I use this service to edit Wikipedia as well? Isn't that the whole point of getting more people involved?
A: Please see the question in "Mobile Partnerships General" regarding mobile editing. The program with Orange should improved readership accessibility and introduce many first-time readers to Wikipedia in MEA. This paves the way for more participation."
Q: Does the offer include other Wikimedia projects? If not, why?
A: For the moment, most mobile operators would only like to start off with offering Wikipedia through this program. Orange, however, will be offering access to Commons via Wikipedia as well.