Zero rating

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zero rating is a practice used by mobile network operators (MNO) and telecommunications network operators (ISP) to offer their end customers the data volume for specific services via their network free of charge. This enables customers to use pre-selected content or data services, such as an app store, without having to pay attention to variable costs or monthly volume limits. This practice is used especially for 4G networks, but has also been offered in the past for SMS or other Internet services.

In connection with services that are offered via zero rating , providers often also apply relatively low volume limits for open Internet data traffic or offer this overpriced. Offering special services via zero rating, which are particularly popular with an attractive target group, enables the mobile communications provider to defend or improve its market position in this segment. This price differentiation is also an advantage for the service provider.

Establishing your own services and linking them to your contracts via zero rating was also a common practice for some network operators. In this case, the provider is able to optimize these services together with its network technology. Together with the existing end customer relationship, this can be a significant advantage in competition with similar service providers. This creates barriers to market entry, especially for high-volume services.

Well-known offers

Internet services such as Facebook , Wikipedia and Google have developed special offers in order to gain market share, especially in emerging countries, through zero ratings. The customer advantage in these markets, which are particularly dependent on mobile networks for Internet access, would be a subsidy from these providers. Preliminary results for the launch in some markets were mixed, showing overestimated expectations and lack of benefits for wireless operators. In Chile , the regulatory authority determined the violation of the net neutrality laws and had it ended on June 1, 2014. Deutsche Telekom with its StreamOn offer and Vodafone with its GigaPass offer are currently being criticized. The Federal Association of Consumer Protectors has filed a complaint with the regulatory authority because, in the opinion of the Federal Association of Consumer Protectors, the offers violate net neutrality.

Mobile network providers can use classification processes such as deep packet inspection to deduct data volumes for corporate customers from the use of their employees' private smartphones and instead bill the company. This allows employees to use their own devices for business data use without additional costs ( bring your own device ).

Germany

  • The mobile communications provider Telekom Deutschland does not count traffic from its own services such as MobileTV and partner services such as Rich Communication Services (RCS), also known as Joyn, against included volumes.
  • The Telefónica Germany takes the traffic from the chat service WhatsApp from a special rate of restrictions on data volume.
  • The Vodafone GigaPass does not count the data traffic of certain services against the inclusive volume of mobile phone tariffs. A complaint has already been filed with the Federal Network Agency because the operator is violating network neutrality, according to the Federal Association of Consumer Protection.

Switzerland

The telecommunications provider UPC Switzerland releases the data traffic from the respective data volume when using the WhatsApp service for its mobile communications offers.

Netherlands

In January 2015, the Dutch supervisory authority for consumer protection and competition, Autoriteit Consument en Markt (ACM), imposed fines on the providers KPN and Vodafone amounting to 250,000 euros and 200,000 euros, respectively, for violating net neutrality in internet access services.

  • KPN had blocked Internet telephony offers for Internet access via hotspot. In the case of a premium offer for the use of the same hotspots, however, the use of these services was activated.
  • Vodafone did not count the traffic of a certain app of the video service HBO against the data volume of its customers.

Slovenia

In January 2015, the national regulator Akos banned the zero-rating offers of two providers:

  • Telekom Slovenije had excluded data traffic from the music service Deezer from being counted towards included data volumes.
  • The provider Simobi had excluded customer data traffic to its own cloud storage service Hangar mapa from being counted towards data volumes.

Hungary

The mobile phone provider Magyar Telekom offers tariff packages with unlimited data traffic for selected services. For example, the TV package only contains traffic to the TV GO and HBO Go services, the social networking package only contains traffic to the selected services Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, MySpace, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, Badoo, Foursquare, Pinterest.

Chile

The Chilean government ruled in May 2014 that the free distribution of Wikipedia and Facebook violated net neutrality and therefore prohibited them. As a result, as a result of intensive lobbying by the Wikimedia Foundation , which operates Wikipedia and others, an agreement was reached with the Chilean authorities - which in turn provoked criticism from network activists who, through such activities, long-term access to knowledge due to the restriction of network neutrality see more at risk.

Reception and impact

Although the zero rating of certain services or so-called fast lanes offer an advantage for customers of subsidized contracts, they are particularly criticized for distorting competition and obstructing open markets. Since many new Internet services focus on mobile use and the further spread of Internet access worldwide and the expansion of broadband are primarily focused on mobile connections, zero ratings are often seen as a threat to the open Internet, which today is usually offered as a flat rate via landline connections without volume limits is seen. In particular, the Wikimedia Foundation and Facebook were criticized for their zero-rating offers for further strengthening the existing mobile phone providers and restricting consumer rights with regard to the open Internet. If zero rating is used in a competitive environment, providers can participate in the zero rating offer without direct or hidden costs and zero rating can be activated and deactivated by customers, there are no negative consequences for customers and online competition to fear .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jan Krämer, Martin Peitz: A fresh look at zero rating ( en-US )
  2. ↑ a b AT&T launches “Sponsored Data,” inviting content providers to pay consumers' mobile data bills. In: gigaom.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  3. ^ Zero Rating and the Open Internet, Mitchell's Blog. In: blog.lizardwrangler.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Zero rating poses a conundrum for net neutrality advocates around the world - TechRepublic. In: techrepublic.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Less than Zero - Backchannel - Medium. In: medium.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Why 'zero rating' is the new battleground in net neutrality debate - Business - CBC News. In: cbc.ca. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Facebook's plan to find its next billion users: convince them the internet and Facebook are the same. In: qz.com . Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Google joins Facebook in trying to prevent IAMAI from taking strong anti-Zero Rating stand - MediaNama. In: medianama.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  9. ^ Digital Fuel Monitor, by Rewheel. In: dfmonitor.eu. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  10. ↑ In Perspective: Flexinets. In: cedmagazine.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015 ; accessed on August 23, 2015 .
  11. ↑ a b Forget fast lanes. The real threat for net neutrality is zero-rated content, Gigaom. In: gigaom.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  12. ^ For zero-rated deals, OTT providers can no longer assume the carrier will pay - FierceWireless: Europe. In: fiercewireless.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  13. ↑ When net neutrality backfires: Chile just killed free access to Wikipedia and Facebook. In: qz.com . Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Face Off in Chile: Net Neutrality v. Human Right to Facebook & Wikipedia, TechPresident. In: techpresident.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  15. ↑ consumer advice center vs. Vodafone - will the GigaPass be banned? ( bluebit.de [accessed on January 31, 2018]).
  16. ↑ MobileTV: TV on the go | Telecom. In: t-mobile.de. Retrieved May 26, 2015 .
  17. ↑ Questions and answers (FAQs) about mobile communications | Telecom. In: t-mobile.de. Retrieved May 26, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Simply brilliant! WhatsAppen without credit and without WiFi. In: eplus.de/whatsapp. Retrieved May 26, 2015 .
  19. ↑ consumer advice center vs. Vodafone - will the GigaPass be banned? ( bluebit.de [accessed on January 31, 2018]).
  20. ↑ Mobile phone subscriptions - unlimited surfing & Europe-wide data package. In: upc.ch. Retrieved May 21, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Boetes KPN and Vodafone voor overtreden rules netneutraliteit . ACM January 27, 2015; accessed on March 29, 2015
  22. ↑ a b Akos ugotovil kršitve načela nevtralnosti interneta. In: akos-rs.si. Retrieved May 26, 2015 .
  23. ↑ Üzleti Telecom. In: Üzleti Telekom. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015 ; accessed on May 26, 2015 .
  24. ^ Leo Mirani: When net neutrality backfires: Chile just killed free access to Wikipedia and Facebook. In: Quartz . May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  25. ↑ Torsten Kleinz: Wikipedia: Has the peak already passed? In: Zeit online , January 15, 2015; accessed on January 15, 2015.
  26. ^ The government ruled for net neutrality. Too bad it wasn't your government, Dan Gillmor, Comment is free, The Guardian. In: theguardian.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .
  27. ^ Blog, Access. In: accessnow.org. Retrieved August 23, 2015 .