Zero Rating Effects in South American Countries

Zero-rating is the practice of mobile network operators in which data traffic generated by specific applications does not count towards a subscriber's Internet data allowance. This practice has received considerable attention in the discussion about net neutrality. Although in South America, some Network Neutrality laws have zero-rating restrictions, those are not absolute and have become increasingly popular among operators. However, some scholars highlight that the practice could violate network neutrality principles, and users' rights, while others argue that it allows users to access the Internet at a lower cost. The present article analyses the zero-rating offers in four South American countries using a political-economic and developmental approach to identify the possible effects on access, competition, use, and affordability. The empirical results reveal positive and negative effects, depending on a specific market, where zero-rating could be partially positive for Colombia and Ecuador but not for Chile and Brazil.