Zero-rating practices are considered incompatible with the EU Open internet rules, following rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union in September 2021, and new guidance by the assembly of European regulators (BEREC) in June 2022.

Until now, zero-rating offers were available in many EU countries.

In these offers, the data used by a specific app or category of apps does not count against the end users’ data allowance.

Cullen International’s latest benchmark on zero rating shows if and how national regulators have reacted to this new guidance from BEREC, and whether mobile internet providers have already stopped or adjusted their offers.

As of July 2022, zero-rating offers for new or renewing clients remained available in eight of the fifteen countries studied.

The benchmarkk focuses on the main mobile operators offers at the time of publication (July 2022).  

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