Understanding and Appreciating Zero-Rating: The Use and Impact of Free Data in the Mobile Broadband Sector

As policymakers, innovators, and other stakeholders continue to discuss and debate the proper level of regulation in the modern mobile broadband ecosystem, they should not lose sight of the fact that, by and large, consumers are reaping the benefits of intense competition among network, device, and content providers.

Free data, a common business practice that has quickly diffused across the mobile broadband space, is a prominent feature of such heightened competition. It is a symptom of a hyper-innovative space, not an invasion of an Open Internet. The digital elite can afford to intellectualize the value of free data, but for communities of color it can mean an affordable digital connection to the future. This is even more true for small, multicultural businesses that rely on mobile connections to reach their audiences. The increasing prevalence and significant popularity of free data also underscores the critical role that mobile broadband plays in ensuring that people of color and low-income consumers have a viable on-ramp to the Internet. Wireless connectivity is preferred in these communities, and free data delivers to them additional benefits in the form of lower bills and additional data to use on more meaningful activities. Similarly, free data holds enormous promise in the ongoing struggle to close the digital divide and ensure that as many people as possible are online and using the Internet to improve their lives. Free data can and should play a key role in finally making progress toward universal first-class digital citizenship for every American.