Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation to offer Wikipedia in Africa and the Middle East

By James Ashworth

ORANGE and the Wikimedia Foundation yesterday announced a major partnership in which they will provide more than 70 million Orange customers in both remote and urban areas of Africa, the Middle East and Asia with mobile access to Wikipedia. 

Any customer with an Orange SIM and mobile Internet enabled phone will be able to access the Wikipedia site either through their browser or an Orange widget. They can access the Wikipedia encyclopedia services for as many times as they like at no extra charge as long as they stay within Wikipedia’s pages.

"Wikipedia is an important service, a public good -- and so we want people to be able to access it, regardless of what device they're using," said Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "This partnership with Orange will enable millions of people to read Wikipedia, who previously couldn't. We're thrilled to be Orange's partner in this important endeavour."

In 2009, Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation formed the world’s first mobile and Internet partnership to expand the reach of Wikimedia’s projects through channels on Orange mobile and web portals in Europe. This partnership will be gradually launched throughout 2012 across 20 African and Middle Eastern countries where Orange operates, with the first markets launching early in the year. The initiative is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile strategy that aims to reach the billions of people around the world who access the Internet solely through mobile devices.

Marc Rennard, the Africa, Middle-East and Asia Group Executive Vice President at Orange, commented, “In countries where access to information is not always readily available, we are making it simple for our customers to use the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopedia. It is the first partnership of this kind in the world where we are enabling customers to access Wikipedia without incurring any data charges; and shows Orange’s ability, once again, to innovate in Africa and the Middle East, and bring more value to our customers.”

Stephanie Hospital, Executive Vice President, Orange Audience & Advertising division, commented, "Since we first partnered with the Wikimedia Foundation two years ago, we have remained committed to helping them spread knowledge to as many people in the world as possible. We're proud to once again be the Wikimedia Foundation's first partner in Africa and the Middle East."

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