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Zero Rating Key to Internet Adoption in Third World, PPI Says

Zero-rated offerings could help kick-start Internet adoption in some of the poorest parts of the world, the Progressive Policy Institute argued in a paper released Tuesday. Zero rating offers limited Internet access at lower rates and was one of the…

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most sensitive issues before the FCC as it finalized net neutrality rules last week (see 1502250064). PPI cited the example of Africa, where fewer than 30 percent of its 1.1 billion population used the Internet in 2014. “The power of zero-rating to nourish an Internet ecosystem in poor and developing countries comes from its potential to increase connectivity by both people and businesses quickly and at low-cost,” PPI said. Free access to popular sites like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia “encourages more people to sign up for data plans, and enables greater data freedom to explore local content,” the group said. The resulting increase in demand encourages local entrepreneurs “to create new online products and services -- for example, information on Ebola outbreaks, typhoon warnings, or even wait times at local stores and government offices.”