Previously, Telenor and other providers participated in Facebook’s Free Basics program.
In Pakistan’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the concept of zero-rated websites has played a crucial yet controversial role. “Zero-rating” refers to the practice where mobile network operators (MNOs) offer access to specific websites or apps without deducting data from a user’s paid internet package.
While this may sound like free internet, it has significant implications for consumer choice, digital rights, and the future of net neutrality in the country. zero-rated websites pakistan
The most famous (or infamous) example of zero-rating in Pakistan is Free Basics by Facebook.
Launched in Pakistan in 2015 after extensive trials, Free Basics offered a walled garden of websites—news, health, jobs, and local classifieds—without data charges. Tens of millions of Pakistanis used it. For many, it was their first taste of the internet. By 2018, pressure mounted
The Pro-Zero Rating Argument: Advocates argued that Free Basics was a digital "training wheel." It allowed a farmer to check crop prices, a mother to find pediatric advice, and a student to access Wikipedia (also zero-rated) without risking financial ruin. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) initially backed the move, seeing it as a tool to break the "data cost barrier."
The Net Neutrality Backlash: The honeymoon ended quickly. Critics, including the Internet Society and local bloggers, pointed out a fatal flaw: Free Basics was not the internet; it was a curated web. In Pakistan’s rapidly evolving digital landscape
By 2018, pressure mounted. While the PTA never "banned" zero-rating outright, the regulatory environment turned hostile. The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) began scrutinizing anti-competitive behavior. Today, while Free Basics still technically exists in some forms, its dominance has waned due to regulatory ambiguity and cheaper general data packages.