but I also think the world would be better off if millions of people who have never had a computer before can have the access to information that we take for granted
Like Netflix? Or only like Wikipedia? That's the question. Are you saying it's more important for Sub-Saharan Africans to get access to Wikipedia than Netflix? Netflix might disagree. scholarpedia.org might have something to say about it as well. So might stackexchange.com.
I think I did answer the question. I don't think that users should be billed for Internet access based on what they use, and I don't think that carriers should be able to play favorites when it comes to content providers. However, given that the wireless industry in many third-world countries works this way, and given that the WMF is unlikely to change either business practices or telecom policy in these countries, I would much rather see the WMF work within the system and try to provide free resources to people then refuse to participate on principle.
There's a huge practical benefit to Wikimedia Zero - people who have very limited access to information resources can get these great resources for free. Balanced against that, I just don't see how not participating benefits anybody, except, perhaps, by letting some people in San Francisco and Cambridge, MA feel good about standing up for an abstract principle.
but I also think the world would be better off if millions of people who have never had a computer before can have the access to information that we take for granted
Like Netflix? Or only like Wikipedia? That's the question. Are you saying it's more important for Sub-Saharan Africans to get access to Wikipedia than Netflix? Netflix might disagree. scholarpedia.org might have something to say about it as well. So might stackexchange.com.