Google preps 'zero rating' on a grand scale, might wave Android app data charges for millions

Google preps 'zero rating' on a grand scale, might wave Android app data charges for millions

Google might wave data charges for app download and usage in certain emerging markets like India, for instance. Insiders have tipped about the development of the so-called "zero rating" strategy, where the carrier monitors the amount of data individual apps have generated during download and usage, and doesn't charge the subscriber for that.

The strategy has been successfully employed numerous times with essential communication apps like Facebook, WhatsApp and the like by carious carriers around the world, but Google's undertaking will be on a much grander scale, it seems. Basically, the carriers would recognize when you get a "zero rating" app from the Play Store, isolate the data generated by it, and Google will cover the cost, eventually passing the subsequent expense to the app developer, too.

This way Android users in emerging markets can essentially use many apps without worrying about the often exorbitant carrier data plans, which in turn will tie them even further to Google's Android ecosystem. Source