: Zong and Telenor previously partnered with Meta (formerly Facebook) for Free Basics , allowing data-free access to a scaled-down version of Facebook and various news/health sites. 2. Zero-Rated Goods & Services (Sales Tax)
Smaller local websites that are not zero-rated may struggle to gain traffic compared to large platforms (e.g., Facebook) that are free.
Telenor has historically offered bundled zero-rating packages for Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, though with daily limits. At one point, Telenor set a daily cap of 100 MB per day for its free social media bundle. Telenor was also the launch partner for Internet.org/Free Basics in Pakistan, playing a pivotal role in introducing zero-rated basic internet services to the Pakistani market. zerorated websites pakistan
Zong has previously zero-rated government and health portals (like NDMA and WHO pages) during crisis times.
Telecom Operators' Initiatives in the wake of COVID-19 ... - PTA : Zong and Telenor previously partnered with Meta
Net neutrality mandates that internet service providers treat all online traffic equally, without discrimination or preference toward specific companies or domains. Zero-rating fundamentally tilts this playing field:
: While rarely fully zero-rated for all media, networks like Jazz offer "free" WhatsApp data (up to 250 MB daily) as a bonus for making voice calls (dial *225# ). Zong has previously zero-rated government and health portals
Telenor has been a pioneer in using zero-rating to drive internet adoption. One of the most significant examples was its partnership with Facebook in 2015 to launch Internet.org in Pakistan, providing Telenor customers free access to a set of 17 basic online services including Facebook. This "onramp to the Internet" was designed to bring first-time users online, with a notable spike in internet uptake as a result. More recently, Telenor has continued this trend, offering specific promotions like additional data for WhatsApp and TikTok to eligible customers.
Students can access platforms like the Virtual University or other zero-rated educational tools.
often team up with essential platforms to keep you connected for free. Whether it's for learning, staying informed, or just saying "Hi" on WhatsApp, these services don't touch your data balance. What’s usually on the "Free" list? Essential Health:
Yet the trade-offs are significant. The absence of net neutrality laws has allowed a two-tiered internet to emerge, where large corporations can pay for preferential treatment while smaller innovators are left behind. Users, unaware of the implications, happily consume free services not realizing they are "trading one kind of free internet—an open internet that nobody owns and yet belongs to everyone—for another kind—an absence of cost."