The program of zero rating has been from a short time to the present, as a point of discussion, because many consider this to be the best method or program that allows everyone, both companies and users, to enjoy the Internet at a lower cost.
Many criticize it and say that there really isn’t aand the truth is that there are many points that touch and They are not very clear to be able to convince to the public of its feasibility and feasibility.
If you seem interested in this topic, then this post is dedicated to you. Here we will show you all those points for and against that the program of zero ratingwith the purpose that you can give your own criteria of this topic.
What is the zero rate and how does it influence the use of fixed and mobile Internet?
Zero rate plans or also known as Zero rating or ZERO-RATING, exempts us from some data, and these are not counted in the total data packages we contract. From another point of view, they are exempted from accumulating additional charges, for the excess use of the plan. Although this is a subject that still generates a lot of discussion, it can be said that in a certain way as users it benefits us.
Because if we are using our data to browse the Internet and we exceed its use, the cost we pay monthly for this plan is waived. This service is not something that is present in all, that is, it has some conditions, one of them is that the excess of data must have been for specific applicationsor by Internet services through their networks.
What are the advantages of Zero Rating for the user?
The Zero Rating offers the great benefit that none of our consumed by excess is counted. On the other hand, anyone who has this plan in their service enjoys a kind of publicity, which means in other words that the data that we consume more, only complying with the specifications are paid by the companies.
East It is a system known as pay to play featured in Spanish as pay to use, where companies that can pay to be in plain sight of the user are discriminated against, while those that cannot, as non-profit companies, cannot demand it, since they do not have to cancel it. This service is not very convincing for some countries, but for those where the price of the Internet is very expensive when you consider as an excellent option.
List of the main applications that have Zero Rate programs
Although the zero fee scheme violates net neutrality, there are some programs that have accepted it. with the purpose of offering a free service to the user. When we talk about free, we are not meaning to say that it is free everywhere, because the company must pay for this term to be used by its customers.
Programs like Wikipedia Y Facebook, were the ones to start this affiliation so to speak, and given certain points of feasibility other outside programs from the hands of Facebook, joined together, as it is Google, Y .
Of the applications or programs that we use the most, these are the ones that make use of Zero rating:
- Wikipedia
- periscope
Why is it important to take into account the “Zero Rating” today?
We must take seriously zero rating, this topic is still under discussion in many community circles and countries, there are advantages and many disadvantages of this service. Although well if you are reading this post, it is because you have some concern in knowing about this rate.
So below we leave you the different points of view, of this service at present:
Affects net neutrality
The zero rating It is a kind of somewhat abstract program, since it offers in a certain way a facility and benefits on one hand, but on the other hand it affects it. Focusing on net neutrality, this violates and collides with all policies that exist giving as consequences anticompetitive effects that decrease innovation.
Another of the negative effects caused by zero rating, is the degradation of the open nature of the Internet, also affecting the role it plays in the exercise of fundamental rights. It is mainly for these reasons that many countries They are still discussing this type of service.
distorts consumption
The zero rate in terms of the content provider offers some advantages, under the same scheme as offering a free service, with the aim of attracting more participants. In South Africa, when it began, a survey was carried out and with the use of this, Twitter and WhatsApp, which had a minimal audience.significantly increased its users.
Although this is not the only thing, because it can also be converted to aim for high participation, and make the decision of who can join or not, and if the provider wants to allocate the resources for joining the program. For example, USA has a program zero ratingby through the company T-Mobilewhere they prioritize commercial services, and those that are not commercial leave them after these, favoring some characteristics of some over others.
Distorts network access
The term of unfair advantage can be applied in this sense, because the operator who has to pay for his own content with the zero rating, you have more advantages than competitors who can’t. For example, if we are from an operator and we offer a service to our customersbe it music or videos within our network, we will clearly have those clients trapped in our services.
Obviously, of all the problems, this is the least, and many do not take it into account, however, it is something that cannot be completely ignored, especially if we have an antitrust regulator that intervenes in the practice of this market.
Limit the user
The Zero rating users are affected in their experiencelimiting it during its internet browsing, preventing you from exploring the services beyond those that are normally offered, and this is because it is free navigation. This is seen very common in facebook free basics serviceswhere developing countries allow Zero rating, by itself, it is said that many of the users of this social network will not be able to venture into a deeper world of Facebook.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, many of the users who use Free Basics switch to full Internet access after 30 days of first use, which gives a plus point to full Internet access, but that only happens in small groups, where its percentage is not greater than 40%.
Creates new privacy and security issues
The zero rate program generally creates a distortion in terms of security and privacysince in order for it to run properly, needs the implementation of new guardians of the Internet, creating a bottleneck in order to guarantee user control throughout their Internet experience.
This inspection can be a bit uncomfortable for us, although we are not aware of it, and it is done in order to comply with Zero rating policies. In English this activity has the name, Deep Packet Inspection, whose translation is deep packet inspection. The fact that these during the inspection do not include encryption as an important part during the process, directly influences the privacy and security of our contents and packages.
Attempts against the nature of the current Internet
The zero rate affects in a certain way the nature of the Internet, but in countries where the Internet connection is extremely expensive, is where these cases are mostly present. Countries where the price of the Internet is not expensive and they have a great variety and accessibility, the offers of the Zero rating do not influence, because they do not take this type of service as a possible option. On the other hand, those countries where it is affected by high costs, the zero rate program, may be the best option, impacting the Internet provider.
Are there Zero Rate programs in Spain or LATAM?
The program of zero rating It is accepted by some countries of the European Union, including Spain on that list. exist 186 products including Vodafone Passwhich use the zero rate, present in 17 countries, and another 14 pay no attention to it.
This has had an impact in such a way that by 2018 the use of the common Internet network will drop by 10%. As for LATAM, the US was the main country, where it ended net neutrality, and it achieved it by a vote of 3 out of 2, and the FCC was encouraged to approve the proposal presented by President Ajit Paidwhere it ended regulatory policies giving free reign to all telecommunication providers.
Later it was a wave of water and this same discussion surrounded other countries, but it was not as successful in them. Chile was the first country to enact it with the use of Law 20453, seeing this other countries such as Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia implemented their Internet protection laws, and did the same. But this was not a resounding closure for the zero rate in South America, because other countries such as Uruguay and Bolivia decided to make way for it while discussing its feasibility.
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