Centre for Internet and Society

Alternative Scenarios

Shyam Ponappa — 2012-05-10T10:49:46Z

Only about 48 per cent of India is covered by the telecom network with only 20 per cent rural coverage, says Shyam Ponappa. In his article published in the Business Standard on 4 February, 2010, he points out how alternative approaches may enhance extensive coverage.

Like the industrial revolution, India missed the infrastructure systems building stage. As a consequence, even in 2001, the telecom network covered a mere 4 per cent of our population. Now, it covers about 48 per cent, but with only 20 per cent rural coverage. Our need being extensive coverage, the following what-if scenarios explore how alternative approaches might pan out.

The market-driven scenario

One approach is that all that’s required for an effective communications infrastructure is to go ahead with the spectrum auctions — that long-delayed, but always expected “3G” auction, to begin with. Imagine that it happens. What then?

Current policies will result in three winners of 10 MHz each. If they are from among present operators, they could be any three of Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea, Tata… or one or more new players: Google, Intel… until one of these wins the fourth “3G” slot when that band is made available, and so on. These operators will probably roll out networks and services where heavy traffic is expected, as with 2G so far: more extensively in urban areas. Provided other policies evolve rationally, e.g., that acquisitions are allowed and spectrum holdings can be consolidated, in the long run India may have around five or six large countrywide operators. There may be regional/segment operators with lesser franchises, or addressing specific segments. Each company will incur capital costs for spectrum and network investment, which then must be recovered from users. Network growth is likely to be on similar lines as before.

Take the evolution of India’s telecommunications policies in the 90s, and the desultory state of the sector until the reforms of the National Telecom Policy ’99 (NTP ’99), followed by reductions in revenue share to more reasonable levels in 2002. Even so, the facts show that:

network growth is skewed heavily towards urban users; and,
broadband coverage is abysmal.

Urban bias in network growth
By November 2009, urban coverage was at 107 per cent of the population, while rural coverage was at 20 per cent. In addition, rural wireless lines grew to 91 per cent, while the wire-line share dropped to 9 per cent; hence the increased importance of spectrum. Networks need more rural reach.

Low broadband coverage

Broadband subscriptions in August 2009 were at just seven million, two million short of the estimate for 2007. According to Comscore, at the end of September 2009, India had under 36 million Internet “unique visitors” (excluding access from Internet cafes, mobile phones and PDAs). This is roughly equivalent to the installed base of PCs, compared with about 560 million phone lines, of which under 40 million are wire-line. Something must be done to increase broadband coverage at lower prices.

The shared-network scenario

Now, imagine what shared-network facilities could do to lower costs, with no duplication of capital investment. Consider the added benefits of shared spectrum as part of this shared network — which, given the fragmented, inefficient present allocation, is the primary need for effective last-mile coverage. Then, add the benefits of substituting revenue sharing for up-front spectrum auction payments. With incentives for performance, the savings in time and money in network build-up and throughput will be immense, while the green footprint from less network hardware will be a double bonus. Government revenues will be far in excess of the foregone auction bids, together with more tax from higher profits, provided the revenue-share percentage is reasonable, as witnessed after NTP ’99 plus reduced revenue-share.

Need for reforms: Networks, spectrum and broadband

Significantly, much of the wire-line rural network is reportedly unsuitable for broadband, because of the length of “last-mile” connections, their quality and the problems of maintenance in difficult terrain. Besides, the cost — more than five times wireless, according to one operators’ association — and difficulty of laying cables in rural terrain, compounded by the impediments of clearances from multiple local authorities, render this impractical. The need is for more coverage with the same investment, even if it is private sector investment.
Therefore, network-building with spectrum reform and broadband need more supportive policies. In particular, incentives and disincentives/penalties are needed for intensive rural coverage as well.

Imagine the IT companies capturing the Y2K opportunity and outsourcing without special communications facilities and tax breaks. Those regulatory measures enabled the development of an essentially outward-oriented IT services sector. Likewise, NTP ’99 with lower revenue-share has led to high growth in telecommunications. This appears to be the best way to establish broadband as an essential infrastructure, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.

Required measures

The initiatives required cover three areas:

Policies that make it profitable to build networks and provide broadband services all across the country, not just in heavily-trafficked areas. This will enable communications access to all, providing a platform for service delivery for government and the private sector with tremendous user benefits. These services could encompass education, health and sanitation, extension services related to economic activities, including logistics, telecommuting, entertainment and information.
Formulating incentives and implementing them so that the primary objectives are achieved. The public-interest broadband objectives are likely to be on the lines of access anywhere — realistically, in most populated places — at reasonable prices. Key results have to be defined and tracked to ensure achievement. There’s a mountain of work in defining reasonable cost so that many more people can access broadband, while the business is commercially attractive. However, that is a separate issue. It needs to result in a large number having subsidised access, just as they must have access to food, education, and other necessities.
Equally important, formulating disincentives that are then applied impartially, so that transgressions that detract from the objectives are penalised.

These issues must be addressed simultaneously from the perspectives of technology, economics, defence and security, and commercial interests, including existing operators’ legacy interests. For this, the government has to work with all stakeholders and specialists to develop solutions with experienced, objective facilitation. Business, government, and consumers can benefit.

The article appeared in Business Standard.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/alternative-scenarios

India’s ‘Self-Goal’ in Telecom

Shyam Ponappa — 2020-04-09T07:18:26Z

This post was first published in the Business Standard, on March 5, 2020.

The government apparently cannot resolve the problems in telecommunications. Why? Because the authorities are trying to balance the Supreme Court order on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), with keeping the telecom sector healthy, while safeguarding consumer interest. These irreconcilable differences have arisen because both the United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance governments prosecuted unreasonable claims for 15 years, despite adverse rulings! This imagined “impossible trinity” is an entirely self-created conflation.
If only the authorities focused on what they can do for India’s real needs instead of tilting at windmills, we’d fare better. Now, we are close to a collapse in communications that would impede many sectors, compound the problem of non-performing assets (NPAs), demoralise bankers, increase unemployment, and reduce investment, adding to our economic and social problems.
Is resolving the telecom crisis central to the public interest? Yes, because people need good infrastructure to use time, money, material, and mindshare effectively and efficiently, with minimal degradation of their environment, whether for productive purposes or for leisure. Systems that deliver water, sanitation, energy, transport and communications support all these activities. Nothing matches the transformation brought about by communications in India from 2004 to 2011 in our complex socio-economic terrain and demography. Its potential is still vast, limited only by our imagination and capacity for convergent action. Yet, the government’s dysfunctional approach to communications is in stark contrast to the constructive approach to make rail operations viable for private operators.
India’s interests are best served if people get the services they need for productivity and wellbeing with ease, at reasonable prices. This is why it is important for government and people to understand and work towards establishing good infrastructure.

What the Government Can Do

An absolute prerequisite is for all branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), the press and media, and society, to recognise that all of us must strive together to conceptualise and achieve good infrastructure. It is not “somebody else’s job”, and certainly not just the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT’s). The latter cannot do it alone, or even take the lead, because the steps required far exceed its ambit.

Act Quickly

These actions are needed immediately:

First, annul the AGR demand using whatever legal means are available. For instance, the operators could file an appeal, and the government could settle out of court, renouncing the suit, accepting the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) ruling of 2015 on AGR.

Second, issue an appropriate ordinance that rescinds all extended claims. Follow up with the requisite legislation, working across political lines for consensus in the national interest.

Third, take action to organise and deliver communications services effectively and efficiently to as many people as possible. The following steps will help build and maintain more extensive networks with good services, reasonable prices, and more government revenues.

Enable Spectrum Usage on Feasible Terms

Wireless regulations

It is infeasible for fibre or cable to reach most people in India, compared with wireless alternatives. Realistically, the extension of connectivity beyond the nearest fibre termination point is through wireless middle-mile connections, and Wi-Fi for most last-mile links. The technology is available, and administrative decisions together with appropriate legislation can enable the use of spectrum immediately in 60GHz, 70-80GHz, and below 700MHz bands to be used by authorised operators for wireless connectivity. The first two bands are useful for high-capacity short and medium distance hops, while the third is for up to 10 km hops. The DoT can follow its own precedent set in October 2018 for 5GHz for Wi-Fi, i.e., use the US Federal Communications Commission regulations as a model.1 The one change needed is an adaptation to our circumstances that restricts their use to authorised operators for the middle-mile instead of open access, because of the spectrum payments made by operators. Policies in the public interest allowing spectrum use without auctions do not contravene Supreme Court orders.

Policies: Revenue sharing for spectrum

A second requirement is for all licensed spectrum to be paid for as a share of revenues based on usage as for licence fees, in lieu of auction payments. Legislation to this effect can ensure that spectrum for communications is either paid through revenue sharing for actual use, or is open access for all Wi-Fi bands. The restricted middle-mile use mentioned above can be charged at minimal administrative costs for management through geo-location databases to avoid interference. In the past, revenue-sharing has earned much more than up-front fees in India, and rejuvenated communications.2 There are two additional reasons for revenue sharing. One is the need to manufacture a significant proportion of equipment with Indian IPR or value-added, to not have to rely as much as we do on imports. This is critical for achieving a better balance-of-payments, and for strategic considerations. The second is to enable local talent to design and develop solutions for devices for local as well as global markets, which is denied because it is virtually impossible for them to access spectrum, no matter what the stated policies might claim.

Policies and Organisation for Infrastructure Sharing

Further, the government needs to actively facilitate shared infrastructure with policies and legislation. One way is through consortiums for network development and management, charging for usage by authorised operators. At least two consortiums that provide access for a fee, with government’s minority participation in both for security and the public interest, can ensure competition for quality and pricing. Authorised service providers could pay according to usage.
Press reports of a consortium approach to 5G where operators pay as before and the government “contributes” spectrum reflect seriously flawed thinking.3 Such extractive payments with no funds left for network development and service provision only support an illusion that genuine efforts are being made to the ill-informed, who simultaneously rejoice in the idea of free services while acclaiming high government charges (the two are obviously not compatible).
Instead of tilting at windmills that do not serve people’s needs while beggaring their prospects, commitment to our collective interests requires implementing what can be done with competence and integrity.

Shyam (no space) Ponappa at gmail dot com
1. https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/2018_10_29%20DCC.pdf
2. http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2016/04/ breakthroughs- needed-for-digital-india.html
3. https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-considering-spv-with-5g-sweetener-as-solution-to-telecom-crisis-120012300302_1.html

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/indias-self-goal-in-telecom

July 2019 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2019-08-09T13:50:49Z

Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) newsletter for July 2019.

Highlights for July 2019
CIS presented its comments on the proposed rules 29,30,31 of the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India. The comments were made in response to Notification G.S.R 393(E) published in the Gazette of India on May 30, 2019. CIS submitted that in the domestic approach to modernising our copyright legislation, we must refrain from considering distribution of born-digital/ digitised works over the public Internet equivalent to the function of broadcasting works over cable/ satellite. The Indian National Trust for Art & Heritage Pune Chapter is working with various organisations to preserve the natural heritage places like rivers in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. After the presentation of 'Project Jalbodh' by CIS-A2K in River Dialogue organised by INTACH in April 2018, several organisations have shown keen interest in collaboration. Subodh Kulkarni shares some insights in his report. ICANN has Advisory Committees which help guide the policy recommendations that the ICANN community develops while its Supporting Organizations are charged with developing policy recommendations for a particular aspect of ICANN's operations. ICANN publishes a combined budget for all these bodies under the head of policy development. CIS inquired about the financial resources allocated to each of them specifically. CIS in partnership with the Internet Society organized an event on the impact of consolidation in the Internet economy. It was divided into two roundtable discussions, the first one focusing on the policies and regulation while the latter dealt with the technical evolution of the Internet. The roundtables aimed to analyze how growing forces of consolidation, including concentration, vertical and horizontal integration, and barriers to market entry and competition would influence the Internet in the next 3 to 5 years. The report by Akriti Bopanna and Gurshabad Grover provides an insight into the developments. As part of its Researchers at work programme on key thematics at the intersections of internet and society, CIS called for abstracts for essays that explore social, economic, cultural, political, infrastructural, or aesthetic dimensions of the ‘list’. Ten abstracts would be shortlisted by August 9 from the list of submissions and the selected authors would be requested to submit the full essay of their draft by September 15. Final versions of the essays are expected to be published in October. With the rise and popularity of app-based platforms such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy Zomato, and others, there is a growing public conversation about regulation of such 'gig-work' platforms and the working conditions of people who work for them. To explore this further CIS conducted a panel discussion at its Bangalore office. Researchers associated with the project presented their preliminary findings. Panelists preliminary field insights along with reflections on what it meant to do such studies, how they went about studying gig-work, and challenges that arose in their work. An excerpt from an essay by Maya Indira Ganesh, written for and published as part of the Bodies of Evidence collection of Deep Dives titled You auto-complete me: romancing the bot explains human relations with bots. The Bodies of Evidence collection, edited by Bishakha Datta and Richa Kaul Padte, is a collaboration between Point of View and the Centre for Internet and Society, undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development Network supported by International Development Research Centre, Canada.

CIS and the News

The following articles were authored by CIS secretariat during the month:

Fostering Strategic Convergence in US-India Tech Relations: 5G and Beyond (Justin Sherman and Arindrajit Basu; The Diplomat; July 3, 2019).
Fix Problems Before Complete Failure (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; July 4, 2019).
What is the problem with ‘Ethical AI’? An Indian Perspective (A rindrajit Basu and Pranav M.B; cyberBRICS; July 17, 2019).
Old Isn't Always Gold: FaceApp and Its Privacy Policies (Mira Swaminathan and Shweta Reddy; The Wire; July 20, 2019).
The worrying survival of moon landing conspiracy theorists (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; July 22, 2019).
India Is Falling Down the Facial Recognition Rabbit Hole (Karan Saini and Prem Sylvester; The Wire; July 23, 2019).
Why I’m not going to tell you about the dangers of apps like FaceApp (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; July 28, 2019).
The Digital Identification Parade (Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon; Indian Express; July 29, 2019). The authors acknowledge Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Amber Sinha and Arindrajit Basu for their edits and Karan Saini for his inputs.
In India, Privacy Policies of Fintech Companies Pay Lip Service to User Rights (Shweta Mohandas; The Wire; July 30, 2019).

CIS in the News

CIS secretariat was consulted for the following articles published during the month in various publications:

PIB plans a fact-checking unit to counter fake news (Smriti Kak Ramachandran; Hindustan Times; July 3, 2019).
How Sai Baba Was Made To Spy On Your Phone For Credit Ratings (Gopal Sathe; Huffington Post; July 4, 2019).
Mozilla is funding a way to support Julia in Firefox (Catalin Cimpanu; ZD Net; July 8, 2019).
Deepfakes: Algorithms at war, trust at stake (Rajmohan Sudhakar; Deccan Herald; July 14, 2019).
Digital public information system design: Talk to experts, find the right way (Prachatai; July 18, 2019).
Easing the US-India divergence on data localisation (Shashidhar KJ and Kashish Parpiani; Observer Research Foundation; July 22, 2019).
For sex workers, mobile phone becomes a double-edged sword (Tushar Kaushik; Economic Times; July 23, 2019).
Twitter reacts to the India's cryptocurrency drama (Rajarshi Mitra; FXStreet; July 26, 2019).

Access to Knowledge

Access to Knowledge is a campaign to promote the fundamental principles of justice, freedom, and economic development. It deals with issues like copyrights, patents and trademarks, which are an important part of the digital landscape.

Copyright and Patent

Research on harms caused to consumers, developing countries, human rights, and creativity/innovation from excessive regimes of copyright, patents, and other such monopolistic rights over knowledge:

Submission

Comments on the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 concerning Statutory Licensing (Anubha Sinha; July 11, 2019). This submission presents comments to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”), Ministry of Commerce and Industry pertaining to the notification G.S.R 393(E) containing the draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 issued on 30th May 2019.

Wikipedia

Under a grant from Wikimedia Foundation we are doing a project for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.

Blog Entries

Orientation programme, Wikipedia workshop & Action Plan meeting in PAH Solapur University (Subodh Kulkarni; July 19, 2019).
Wikimedia Workshop on Rivers under Project Jalbodh (Subodh Kulkarni; July 30, 2019).
Re-licensing Sessions with Authors and Organisations (Subodh Kulkarni; July 31, 2019).

Openness

Participation in Event

Learning and Understanding the Frameworks of Rights at Work (Organized by Kai Hsin Hung; IT for Change; Bangalore; July 13, 2019). Torsha and Mira attended the workshop.

Internet Governance

The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society has defined internet governance as the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles of shared principles, norms, rules, decision making procedures and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet. As part of internet governance work we work on policy issues relating to freedom of expression primarily focusing on the Information Technology Act and issues of liability of intermediaries for unlawful speech and simultaneously ensuring that the right to privacy is safeguarded as well.

Freedom of Speech & Expression

Under a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, CIS is doing research on the restrictions placed on freedom of expression online by the Indian government and contribute studies, reports and policy briefs to feed into the ongoing debates at the national as well as international level. As part of the project we bring you the following outputs:

Blog Entry

DIDP #34 On granular detail on ICANN's budget for policy development process (Akriti Bopanna; July 6, 2019).

Participation in Events

13th European Summer School on Internet Governance (Organized by European Summer School on Internet Governance; Meissen; July 13 - 20, 2019). Akriti Bopanna attended the school.
ICANN 65 De-briefing Meeting (Organized by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations ; July 16, 2019). Akriti Bopanna remotely presented on the Human Rights related developments that took place at the Marrakech meeting, over the course of the 4 days.

Privacy

Under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC we are doing a project on surveillance. CIS is researching the history of privacy in India and how it shapes the contemporary debates around technology mediated identity projects like Aadhar. As part of our ongoing research, we bring you the following outputs:

Blog Entry

The Impact of Consolidation in the Internet Economy on the Evolution of the Internet (Akriti Bopanna and Gurshabad Grover; July 3, 2019). The blog post was edited by Swaraj Barooah, Elonnai Hickok and Vishnu Ramachandran. Swagam Dasgupta provided inputs.

Participation in Events

Digital ID Forum 2019 (Organized by UNDP; Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; July 3, 2019). Sunil Abraham was one of the panelists at this event.
BIS LITD 17 meeting (Organized by Bureau of Indian Standards; New Delhi; July 3, 2019). Gurshabad Grover attended the sixteenth meeting of the Information Systems Security and Biometrics Section Committee (LITD17).
Facebook Data for Good in Bangalore (Organized by Facebook; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; July 25, 2019).
Roundtable with the WhatsApp leadership (Organized by WhatsApp; Mountbatten, The Oberoi, New Delhi; July 26, 2019). Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's new global head, visited India and invited Sunil Abraham for a discussion.
Facebook Data for Good in New Delhi (Organized by Facebook; University of Chicago Center, New Delhi; July 29, 2019).

IT / Information Technology

A research on the usage of systems (computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving and sending information as well as the IT Act:

Participation in Event

Leveraging Web Application Vulnerabilities for Reconnaissance and Intelligence Gathering (Organized by Has Geek; GRD College of Science, Coimbatore; July 5, 2019). Karan Saini gave a talk at the JSFoo Conference.

Artificial Intelligence

With origins dating back to the 1950s Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not necessarily new. However, interest in AI has been rekindled over the recent years due to advancements of technology and its applications to real-world scenarios. We conduct research on the existing legal and regulatory parameters:

Participation in Events

Roundtable Discussion on “The Future of AI Policy in India” (Organized by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi; July 1, 2019).
Emerging AI technology in health care in India, health equity and justice: Critical reflections and charting out way forward (Organized by HEaL (Health, Ethics, and Law Institute of Training, Research and Advocacy) of FMES (Forum for Medical Ethics Society) in collaboration with CPS (Centre for Policy Studies), Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay; July 13, 2019). Radhika Radhakrishnan, participated in a roundtable discussion on "Emerging AI technology in health care in India, health equity and justice: Critical reflections and charting out way forward."

Gender

Presentation to Amnesty International on researching the Future of Work (Organized by Amnesty Interntional, New Delhi; July 18, 2019). Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon made a presentation on CIS research on Future of Work.

Telecom

The growth in telecommunications in India has been impressive. While the potential for growth and returns exist, a range of issues need to be addressed for this potential to be realized. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the second aspect is a countrywide access to broadband which is low at about eight million subscriptions. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum.

Monthly Blog

Fix Problems Before Complete Failure (Shyam Ponappa; Organizing India Blogspot; July 4, 2019).

Researchers@Work

The researchers@work programme at CIS produces and supports pioneering and sustained trans-disciplinary research on key thematics at the intersections of internet and society; organise and incubate networks of and fora for researchers and practitioners studying and making internet in India; and contribute to development of critical digital pedagogy, research methodology, and creative practice.

Event Organized

#MappingDigitalLabour - Panel discussion on platform-work in Mumbai and New Delhi (CIS, Bangalore; July 19, 2019). Watch the session recording video here.

Blog Entries

Studying the Internet Discourse in India through the Prism of Human Rights (Deva Prasad M.; July 1, 2019).
#DigitalPedagogies (Ashutosh Potdar, Maya Dodd, Nidhi Kalra, and Ravikant Kisana; July 1, 2019).
#OpenAccessScholarlyPublishing (Abhishek Shrivastava, Dibyaduti Roy, and Nirmala Menon; July 11, 2019).
#RenarrationWeb (Anuja Mirchandaney, Deepak Prince, Dinesh and Shalini; July 23, 2019).

About CIS

CIS is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

Follow CIS on:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

Support CIS:

Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.

Collaborate with CIS:

We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at tanveer@cis-india.org.

CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2019-newsletter

Healing self-inflicted wounds

Shyam Ponappa — 2011-12-05T09:10:20Z

A spate of dysfunctional actions and retrograde developments has led to an unimaginable mess for India. Can the damage to growth prospects be undone? Does it need to be? If so, how? Three areas are discussed below.

Some months ago, the spectre was of consoling ourselves with a reduction of two per cent in growth, from 9.5 to 7.5 per cent. That’s history. What looms ahead is a larger, more serious threat. This ominous tidal-wave-in-the-making comprises many separate currents converging to undermine India’s take-off yet again. The prospect is long-term growth hamstrung by policy stand-offs, foreign direct investment in retail being a case in point, and social tensions fuelled by high unemployment.

Those who think India has arrived should be aware that it will take another decade of eight to nine per cent growth to be able to fund reasonable basic infrastructure and necessities for everyone. Why should it matter if you live in a rich cocoon? At the very least, you’ll be able to go out without stepping into filth or smelling it, or seeing masses of people struggling to survive.

Instead of a high-growth trajectory, we may get six to seven per cent, with luck. These prospects are clouded by wasteful expenditure, such as the perpetuation of an ill-functioning public distribution system and its concomitant, ration-shop-mentality, instead of efficient direct retail subsidies through electronic transfers. The negativity is amplified by fractious social and political tensions, and shoddy infrastructure crippling productivity: power outages, low-speed communications and poor logistics. One can argue (ah, argument) that the tensions are justifiable as an antithesis to increasing levels of corruption from political, bureaucratic and corporate kleptocracy feeding off the land and people, or hardening sectarian interests competing for predatory control. But if there’s one thing we can learn from others’ experience, it is to work together for better outcomes, or suffer; in game theory parlance, collaborate to optimise, or settle for worse.

Undoing Sectarian Alignments

Undoing the fractious underpinnings of sectarian alignments of language, caste and religion is beyond the scope of this article. The unpleasant reality is that unless such structural social impediments are addressed, malfunctions will continue. So we have this reality where, at one level, India is wonderful in the way people stream and swirl together, and at another, it is horrible because our potential is not manifested in living standards, with people fed, clothed and housed properly, and clean streets.

To return to misapplied intelligence in the political economy, consider three areas: interest rates, airlines, and telecommunications.

Interest Rates

It seems only the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was unaware that the consequences of interest rate hikes since February 2010 would (a) not control inflation (short of an economic collapse), and (b) lead to a severe curtailing of growth. To be fair, some economists aided and abetted with remarks that interest rates must be raised because of high inflation.

By contrast, the accompanying charts for China and Germany (euro zone) show their negative real interest rates.

What we have to do is reduce interest rates, with selective credit controls to ensure that credit for speculation is constrained and costs are high, e.g., in certain real estate, commodities, stocks and derivatives. Implementation, likewise, has to be “intelligent”, with online tracking by exception, and not cumbersome or voluminous weekly or fortnightly reports that are manually compiled and/or analysed, filtered and then presented to committees for decisions.

Airlines

The structural anomalies in India’s taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and airport charges defy logic. For a decade, there has been talk of cuts in central and state taxes on ATF, but the problems continue. Consider the missed opportunity: India has a large domestic market and is well positioned for airlines to use this for establishing global leadership, as well as ubiquitous domestic services. Instead, the sector is bled for short-term government revenues, giving foreign airlines the advantage. ATF charges in India for international flights cost 16 per cent more than they do abroad, and local airlines pay over 50 per cent more because of taxes and additional charges. Consider the ludicrous stipulation that foreign airlines cannot invest in India, and the irrationality defies imagination. Add the illogic of a government-funded, loss-making airline undercutting private airlines, and we have the mess we are in.

Globally, airlines suffer from gratuitous free-market philosophies, the exceptions being airlines from strategically focused countries, e.g., in West Asia, Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand) and, of course, China. Wake up! Surely no one doubts that aviation is an integral aspect of logistics and transportation? The government needs to recognise this and build capacity, with policies like uniform, low state taxes. Also, as in telecommunications, aviation requires an oligopolistic structure with limited competition, which if ignored brings chaos and grief, because nothing else is sustainable.

Telecom & Broadband

The draft National Telecom Policy 2011 promises good things. Yet, like India’s potential, the promise will be realised only with convergent action. This iconic sector, which changed the way the country functions and is perceived, is on the verge of being ruined by dysfunctional intervention. For instance, the regulator and the government seem bent on applying retrospective charges for “excess spectrum”, taking the bottom out of the market. Worse, 3G services are hamstrung by government attempts to restrict services, while operators threaten litigation. Meanwhile, the bastions of “free market”, the US and the UK, are initiating shared spectrum policies. What good are our brilliant objective statements about excellent, affordable services if the government acts to achieve the opposite? And is it beneficial for India to hound solid companies like Telenor and Qualcomm (unless they commit transgressions), instead of taking a problem-solving approach?

If the confused doublespeak – of punitive charges, restrictive practices, PSUs building state-of-the-art networks, auctions and spectrum sharing, all in the same breath – continues, we may lose a decade or more because of instability and irrational policies. It is time for decisions on pay-for-use, open-access spectrum and networks. Incumbent network companies can be compensated along a downward-sloping power curve to give up their competitive advantage. We must start being reasonable and do things that make sense.

This article by Shyam Ponappa was published in Business Standard on 1 December 2011. Read the article at Organizing India Blogspot

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/healing-self-inflicted-wounds

Recapturing the Commons

Shyam Ponappa — 2019-04-03T01:44:54Z

Regulations that facilitate infrastructure with appropriate public resource use will enhance productivity.

The article was published in Business Standard on March 7, 2019 and in Organizing India Blogspot on March 8, 2019.

Growth in the third quarter was disappointing, but there are signs of a cyclical recovery, with a Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing at a 14-month high. For a significant upward shift of our growth curve, however, apart from lower interest rates, policy-makers have to be constructive. What might we wish for? Here are some suggestions.

Accept the reality that investible funds in India are insufficient for our needs. These include our stock and net inflow of capital, and profits available for investment. We can try to increase our productive capacity or choose business-as-usual, thereby staying below our potential. Why? Because our activities aren’t profitable enough to induce and sustain investment. We need investment —in hard infrastructure, such as transportation and logistics, electricity, water and sewerage, and communications, and in second-order infrastructure, such as security and law and order, health care, education and training, banking, finance and insurance. There’s also the need for reorganisation of markets and practices, e.g., in agriculture, infrastructure, and government procurement.

There’s little doubt that digital connectivity is invaluable for all these. While the imperative is clear, the question is how to orchestrate achieving the desired results.

The telecom operators, alas, have low profitability, inadequate network coverage, and too much debt. Continuing as before means subpar access and productivity for all. We are all hamstrung, and even more so in rural areas. Because of the expanse an7d scattered users there, connectivity entails much higher costs with lower revenue potential.

Self-Organising Infrastructure – A Conceptual Flaw Without Regulatory Support
Meanwhile, there are conceptual flaws in our approach. The National Optical Fibre Network (Bharat Broadband Network Limited or BharatNet) was conceived as a countrywide fibre backbone. The plan was for optical fibre links to 250,000 gram panchayat villages covering India’s approximately 600,000 inhabited villages. A major assumption, however, was that private operators would build access networks to villages and to users. This was unrealistic for a number of reasons. First, there’s the cost of covering sparse users over large expanses with low revenue potential. Second, the supportive regulations for wireless technologies to build the access networks were/are not in place. For example, even for the established 5 GHz WiFi range used globally for WiFi hotspots, restrictive policies meant that 5 GHz equipment could not be used effectively in India in urban or rural installations. This changed with new regulations for 5 GHz, but only four months ago in October 2018 (for details see https://organizing-india.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-great-start-on-wi-fi-reforms.html).

Other wireless technologies for intermediate- and last-mile links are still blocked, and need enabling regulations.

The 700 MHz band: No operators bid for this given its high price, although it is very useful for covering distances of 5-10 km, and can penetrate walls and foliage. This band together with the 500 and 600 MHz bands could be used to connect gram panchayats to nearby villages. A study of inter-site distances in 14 states shows that most villages would be covered with this range (see Chart below).
Study of Inter Site Distances - Gram Panchayats and Villages

Source: https://tsdsi.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Krishna-Ganti-Day-1-5th-Session-1.pdf

The 500 and 600 MHz bands are allocated for TV, and therefore are part of the “tragedy of the unused commons”. Only a small fraction is used for broadcasting in India because of limited free-to-air TV and better alternatives. As they are earmarked for broadcasting, they are not used for telephony either.

The 70-80 GHz band (E-band) is effective for short-range links covering more users at 3-4 km, but not permitted in India, although it is light-licensed in many countries with nominal fees, e.g., the USA, UK, Russia, and Australia. While ideally our regulations should align with global norms, there are exorbitant charges on operators (reportedly 37 per cent, plus corporate taxes), a debt overhang from spectrum auctions, huge investment needs, and relatively low revenue potential. Compelling arguments to let operators use the E-band with unlicensed access, with registry on a geo-location database to manage interference, to be reviewed after some years. The additional traffic will generate revenues from which government collections will increase.

The 60 GHz (V-band for distances up to 1.6 km): the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) opposes making it licence-free as in most countries, and wants it assigned to operators for access and backhaul. For the same reasons as for E-band, operators could be allowed unlicensed access, with a review after some years.

Market Structure and Organisation

A larger problem is that legacy structural and organisational issues need concerted efforts to take requisite policy initiatives. This is perhaps a greater, more urgent need for ubiquitous connectivity.

Successive governments have struggled with revival plans for BSNL and MTNL, somewhat analogous to Air India and Indian Airlines in aviation. Governments have not provided sustained support for ambitious connectivity objectives. There is sometimes inadequate understanding of fast-changing, technically complex enterprises, and episodic attention is given to large enterprises that need timely capital- and skill-intensive decisions (and decision-makers in place), and the upgrading of skills and operating practices. BSNL and MTNL are declining, with bailouts, market disruption through price-cutting, and inability to deliver profits. This is a huge opportunity cost on citizens. However, it is conceivable that with appropriate leadership, and organisational and capital backing, these enterprises could contribute effectively to ubiquitous connectivity, rather than being a drag and/or a disruptive factor. This could happen, for instance, if an alliance were possible with private sector operators providing leadership, organisation and capital, while state ownership concentrates on safeguarding the public interest.

Bharti Enterprises’ Chairman Sunil Mittal has suggested an alliance with Vodafone for an optical fibre network. Bharti and Vodafone already have a joint venture, Indus Towers, providing passive infrastructure services to operators. If regulations enabled active infrastructure from a consortium including BSNL and MTNL, it would leverage the infrastructure while reducing the capital requirements, and increase delivery capability. The entire thrust of regulations could be oriented to facilitating service delivery, leveraging capital, equipment and human resources.

The regulatory approach should aim to facilitate access equitably to public resources that belong to citizens, and not to create obstacles.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-march-7-2019-recapturing-the-commons

BIF conference on “Substitutability of OTT Services with Telecom Services & Regulation of OTT Services

Admin — 2019-04-12T00:52:07Z

Anubha Sinha was a panellist at a BIF conference on “Substitutability of OTT Services with Telecom Services & Regulation of OTT Services” organized by Broadband India Forum on April 5, 2019 at Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, New Delhi.

The event was supported by the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Govt. of India, NITI Aayog, and Department of Science and Technology. Click to view the agenda.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/news/bif-conference-on-201csubstitutability-of-ott-services-with-telecom-services-regulation-of-ott-services

Plugging into India’s broadband revolution

Navadha Pandey — 2019-06-05T14:02:48Z

After many false starts, the plan to wire India’s digital future may finally take off with Jio GigaFiber’s entry.

The article by Navadha Pandey was published in Livemint on June 4, 2019. Sunil Abraham was quoted.

All through 2018, 58-year-old Ashok Kumar Rai’s Lucknow-based small architecture firm used to spend a princely sum of ₹11,800 each month for the privilege of a good broadband internet connection. “We used to send building walk-through files to clients every day and the size of each file could go up to 1GB (gigabytes)," he says. Doling out cash for reliable internet was a necessity. All that changed when a new player, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd (ACT), came to Rai’s upmarket Gomti Nagar neighbourhood in Lucknow. In the summer of 2019, Rai’s internet access speed has shot up from 4 to 150 Mbps (megabits per second). And the monthly bill has come crashing down to about ₹1,000.

For far too long, India’s internet action lay centered in its metros, leaving out even relatively big cities like Lucknow. The fledgling online access push into smaller cities and rural India happened primarily via mobile data transmitted over wireless spectrum. Home broadband was nowhere in the picture. But all that seems set for some dramatic change. If the country’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has his way, high-speed broadband will become a reality in at least 1,600 cities.

In the process, he aims to also leapfrog India from its current rank—134—in fixed-line broadband penetration to the top five with the help of Jio GigaFiber.

The dream of a broadband revolution, however, has its fair share of detractors. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, for example, who helms the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CWEiT at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), says: “Fiber penetration will take a long time in India."

The logic is simple: unlike mobile towers, fiber needs to reach each home physically. China’s broadband boom happened because it has rebuilt nearly its entire housing stock in the last 15 years, fuelled by a construction-led growth bubble. “In India, initially only all the upcoming new buildings may get connected to fiber-based (fast) internet," says Ramamurthi.

But India’s untapped millions are about to set off a race. And this journey, which will clearly not be a cakewalk, has huge rewards in store. Sample this: India has 1.16 billion mobile subscribers but just 18.42 million wired broadband subscribers. And many of them, like Rai, are data hungry. There is an existing playbook: what happened to mobile broadband after 2014.

In 2014, the cost of one GB of mobile data was ₹270. Now, it is ₹10 per GB. As a result, mobile data consumption has soared. In late-2014, an average user on Airtel’s network (India’s largest telecom operator back then) used 622 megabytes (MB) of data in a month. By late-2018, the number of users had tripled, but, despite a broader base, average data usage stood at 10GB a month.

First-mover advantage

The expansion in wired broadband access may have far-reaching implications beyond a mere spike in data usage. When Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industry Ltd which owns Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, declared optical fibre based fixed-line broadband as “the future" last July, the real play was not on the infrastructure itself, but the services that would ride on top—from smart home experiences to new forms of e-commerce. The revenue and the first-mover advantage lie in who gets to tap into the “ecosystem"—of how a household connects to the wider world to buy, watch, and exchange.

Essentially, new businesses could emerge to feed the “ecosystem". And some existing small and medium-scale businesses may finally become viable enough to expand and go big. Netflix, for example, emerged as one of the world’s largest video streaming platform, riding on top of the US broadband boom. But India already has a crowded pack of 34 web video streaming entertainment platforms, most of which have cropped up to sustain the attention of mobile data guzzling Indians. With wired broadband following mobile usage expansion, unlike in most other countries, India’s new-age internet businesses are likely to be unique and different.

Home-based surveillance and security systems could be one space that could gain significant traction, says Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Bengaluru-based think-tank Centre for Internet and Society. “If there are 40 families (in a high-rise apartment) who have babies and need surveillance facilities, each apartment going for an individual connection from a telecom service provider would involve a huge amount of money. But a fibre-based intranet or peer network could connect all 40 flats for a much smaller price," he says.

There could also be unintended consequences for the country’s digital gender divide. Only 29% of India’s current internet users are women, according to a recent Unicef report. If the cost of wired broadband begins to crash—thereby increasing the number of homes which have access—women who will never get access to a phone (due to the cost of device and patriarchy) will finally be able to see things on the internet, says Nandini Chami, a researcher at IT for Change, a non-governmental organization. “How this negotiation will happen inside the house, we will have to wait and watch," she says. Household-level access would also confuse corporate entities trying to “hyper-profile" users since multiple people will be accessing the internet through shared devices at home, she adds.

But as internet access improves, making the digital economy more vital, Chami says, governments would have an important role in ensuring women get to use the internet “on terms that are empowering". “We can think of innovative models when fixed broadband becomes cheap. The household is not the space for this. It can be libraries which have special times for young girls or digital labs for women. We need to rethink the missed opportunity of the BharatNet and the national optic fibre network. Internet access should not stop at just the panchayat office. We must think of different points of access, particularly for women," Chami adds.

The possibility of many of these radical changes in both the social and business realms will, of course, entirely rely on the pace at which India goes broadband. Despite the rapid expansion in mobile internet, data originating from mobile devices still account for only 20% of India’s data consumption. That is why what happens in the wired broadband space will matter increasingly. And that is also why Jio is betting big on expanding the existing wired user base (18 million) to 50 million.

The Jio gameplan

Jio is currently running beta trials for GigaFiber in New Delhi and Mumbai, providing 100GB of data at 100 Mbps for free, except for the ₹4,500 one-time deposit for a router. While the landline will come with unlimited calling facility, television channels will be delivered over the internet (Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV). The packaged trio of fast Internet, landline telephony, and television access will remain free for a while—similar to what had happened in the mobile phone services segment in 2016. After commercial launch, the per month cost is expected to be ₹600, roughly half of what similar services cost currently.

Jio’s rival Bharti Airtel Ltd has decided that it is not interested in the entire pie but just the creamy top layer. It will focus on premium customers and expand its broadband services across India’s top 100 cities, instead of copying Reliance Jio’s ambitious plan to create a fibre-optic network across the country. To achieve this, Airtel, which already has 2.36 million fibre customers, will stay focussed on high-rise buildings rather than horizontal deployment, as this business model is more economical and logical.

The dark horse in this race is, of course, ACT with its existing 1.42 million customers. Its presence is much smaller with just 18 cities, largely in the south India and the newly expanded zones of Delhi, Jaipur and Lucknow. On the ACT fibre network, average data consumption per user is already at 130GB a month.

“We have seen a 150% increase in average consumption in the last 18 months," says Bala Malladi, chief executive officer, ACT. “People are now looking at higher speeds and the experience is taking precedence over cost. In fact, even in the hinterland, people want higher speeds and non-buffered experience," he adds.

But why hasn’t fibre penetration gone up if the demand is booming? Why did India miss the bus when other countries like the US have an 80% fibre penetration?

Policy paralysis

Firstly, fibre is expensive to lay, unlike a SIM card which can be given away for free. Moreover, India till a few years ago was mostly a voice calls market and not a data market. Secondly, municipalities in India have complicated right-of-way (RoW) procedures which act as a big hurdle for digging and laying fibre. This is one of the reasons why even government (such as the Delhi government) plans to set up citywide surveillance and Wi-Fi hotspots have failed.

“The centre has finally issued a very good RoW model, but now every state has to come up with its own policy modelled on the central guidelines. They are taking their own sweet time," says Rajan Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

The lack of forward movement on these fixable policy issues assumes significance given the government’s focus on fibre in its National Digital Communications Policy-2018, which has a target of attracting $100 billion worth of investments in digital communications.

The policy’s goals include universal broadband for all, creating four million jobs in digital communications, and raising the share of digital communications in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 8% (from less than 6% in 2017). Deployment of five million public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2020 through a National Broadband Mission is also on the agenda. The key goal, however, is to provide 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) connectivity to all gram panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022.

The sad reality is that the last five years were an absolute failure in laying fibre in the country. BharatNet, the flagship mission to connect 250,000 gram panchayats with broadband, which was being implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL), a special purpose vehicle set up under the department of telecommunications (DoT) in February 2012, has been a disappointment, to say the least.

The government has completed laying optical fibre cables across more than 100,000 gram panchayats in the first phase and had aimed to complete connecting the remaining 150,000 councils by March 2019. The second phase has seen “zero progress", according to government officials close to the matter. Pained by poor utilization of digital infrastructure, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) suggested auctioning BharatNet infrastructure on an “as is where is" basis after a meeting held in December at the prime minister’s office to take stock of the mission.

To start with, the DoT plans to monetize fibre assets built by the government under its flagship mission BharatNet through outright sale to private players or by leasing these assets for a 20-year period after a bidding process. If successful, it could boost connectivity in Indian villages, which have so far been kept out of the digital dividend.

Bigger cities, however, will have a different consumption story. With intra-city fibre coverage leading to improved penetration, wired broadband would not just offer an enhanced content viewing experience, but also open doors for internet of things, or IoT. “Home security is going to become a big business going forward, riding on fibre. Even gaming will see a lot of traction as you can enjoy a 4K game in real-time, thanks to low latency and high speed of an optic network," Malladi of ACT says.

The looming question, however, is how much investment can operators put in given the current low tariff environment in the telecom sector. Big players are stressed for funds and are diluting their non-core assets to generate funds to keep networks afloat. “If you are looking at what will happen in the next three years... I believe that there is a business case to be made and tariffs should sustain it (the investment)," Mathews says.

Whether that happens or not could become an important footnote in India’s growth story. The far-reaching implications of fast internet access pushed billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), to launch 60 internet-beaming satellites last month. The grand scheme is a response to the practical constraint of laying fibre, a concern which is more pressing in India’s vast landmass.

Unlike Musk, the country’s broadband dreams, however, still remain rooted to the ground—in the simple tech of optic fibre. And the success or failure of those dreams will be written by how fast the fibre network expands.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/news/livemint-navadha-pandey-june-4-2019-plugging-into-indias-broadband-revolution

Democracy, Digital India and Networks

Shyam Ponappa — 2019-06-09T06:01:53Z

Digitisation and democracy are ruled by the ineluctable dynamics of networks.

The article was published in Business Standard on May 1, 2019 and mirrored on Organizing India Blogspot on May 2, 2019.

There’s no escaping the blessing or the curse of the Digital Age in India, any more than the benefits and challenges of democracy. The headlong rush into digitised networks provides incredible benefits of reach and efficiency in many different ways, at the individual and many collective levels — of family, friends, community, nation, polity, work, domain, and so on. It also lends itself to the dark side, plumbing the depths of social, religious, or political factions and tribalism, bigotry, autocracy and fascism, anarchy, social dysfunction, and the rest. Yet, there’s no denying that for India, with all its needs, talents, foibles, and contradictions, digitisation is a great enabler.

Likewise democracy. Romanticised notions of it are pure fluff, epitomised by selfies at the Parthenon, conjectures about Vaishali, or the spectacle and pageantry of electioneering. The reality was, and is, much harsher, whether then or now. Then, it was the practice of a privileged elite. Now, the reality of democracy in India with universal franchise and an insufficiently prepared polity is a space captured by politicians, many of them fractious opportunists, not really prepared or equipped for the complex analysis and decision-making that governance requires. Most citizens, however, have an illusory freedom of choice, despite the choice being restricted to accepting or rejecting incumbents, or choosing replacements from among these very politicians. This is where digitisation has a direct role and enormous impact through media in all its forms, including the nexus between money and politics as in the Cambridge Analytica episode.

According to McKinsey’s ‘Digital India’ report of 2019, the benefits of digitising India are impressive, although only 40 per cent of the population has internet access, and there is uneven adoption in businesses, leaving considerable room for improvement. Yet, newly digitising sectors have experienced tremendous gains. For example, in logistics, fleet turnaround time has been reduced by 50 to 70 per cent, and digitised supply chains helped companies reduce inventory by 20 per cent. The question is whether and how this can be managed to yield more benefits than detriments, while preserving privacy, social convergence, and harmony, while avoiding divergence, repression, and instability through disharmony.

The Imperative for Conscious Regulation
Network science tells us that real-world networks share two characteristics. The first is growth with time, and the second is that new nodes link more often to more connected nodes, or hubs. Growth and preferential attachment result in the emergence of a few, highly connected, dominant hubs in all networks, whether the networks are of the cells in our bodies, computer chips, transport networks for airlines, social networks connecting people, or the World Wide Web. These characteristics are common across networks of any size and are scale-free.

The dominance manifested by companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, combined with the attenuated influence of less connected nodes highlights the role of regulation and structure for equitable development and outcomes in networks. The same issues of dominance and the need for regulation arise in democracy. In India, outrageous changes introduced recently with regard to election funding have increased opacity and the potential for abuse at the heart of democratic processes. Political parties can now receive foreign or domestic funding from any source without constraint, and funds can be anonymous through electoral bonds. Introduced with retrospective effect, both the National Democratic Alliance and the Congress benefitted, as previous adverse judgments were nullified. Therefore, one pointer is the need for regulation and appropriate controls applied in a host of areas including news and social media.Evidence-Based Policies
An entirely constructive aspect of digitisation relates to the application of network science to issues by mapping the links between factors and actionable policies. Examples are the connection between genes and diseases for effective treatment,1 or the feasibility of upgrading products and exports for countries. An example of how proximate products and exports developed over 20 years is visualised in Chart 1, showing the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) of Colombia (COL) and Malaysia (MYS) in production and exports from 1980 to 2000.

Chart 1: Revealed Comparative Advantage – Colombia and Malaysia

Source: Hidalgo et al: ‘The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations – Science, 27 Jul 2007). https://science.sciencemag.org/content/317/5837/482
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6181618_The_Product_Space_Conditions_the_Development_of_Nations
The premise is that most upscale products are from a densely connected core, while lower order products are in a less connected periphery. Countries tend to move to products close to those for which they have specialised skills.The lower chart is for Malaysia alone (it helps to view enlarged images in colour on a screen to trace the progression).
India’s manufacturing and export opportunities in its product space in 2017 are in Chart 2.

Chart 2: India - Export Opportunities Product Space - 2017 $292 billion

Hidalgo: https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/network/hs92/export/ind/all/show/2017/
Such interactive charts are available and can help in planning for product areas such as automobile parts, chemicals, or electric motors.2

A great deal of appropriate regulation followed by planning and execution is needed, incorporating insights such as these in areas like governance, healthcare and industrial policy. Realpolitik and preoccupation with obscurantism, religiosity, and caste/tribe, require that changes be driven by unraveling the nexus between politics and funding, evolving a transparent, state-funded system. Is such a transformation possible? Recent developments that have overtaken earlier attempts at electoral reform such as the Goswami Committee (1990) and the Vohra Committee (1993) emphasise an urgent need. But can public opinion and opportunistic opposition interests converge to effect appropriate changes in political funding? And elicit enlightened government action in public interest projects for health, manufacturing and export policies, agriculture, finance, construction, and so on? A tall order. Perhaps the best hope is that reactions to phenomena such as Brexit help create more equitable practices.

1. For connections between diseases and genes, see Alex J. Cornish et al: https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-015-0212-9

2. https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/ AJG Simoes, CA Hidalgo. The Economic Complexity Observatory 'An Analytical Tool for Understanding the Dynamics of Economic Development.' Workshops at the Twenty-Fifth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence. (2011)

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-may-1-2019-shyam-ponappa-democracy-digital-india-and-networks

Configuring a 'Non-Toothless' Regulator (TRAI)

Shyam Ponappa — 2013-06-05T10:10:32Z

A proposal to give the telecom regulator the right to impose penalties marks a sea change in the government's approach to regulation.

Shyam Ponappa's column was published in Organizing India Blogspot on May 10, 2013 and in the Business Standard on May 9, 2013.

On April 27, this newspaper carried a report on the department of telecom's proposed amendments to powers of the regulator in the Telecom Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill. These amendments are remarkable, because they are an institutional evolution of the kind that we have rarely experienced, but need much more. Such salutary changes are heartening at a time of perceived drift in governance and stalled decisions. They are also important for our institutional development as examples of change initiated from within for legacy systems.

According to the report, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai's) role will be extended to include the power to:

impose penalties on operators for non-compliance with its orders and regulations;

determine how to address consumer grievances and implement a plan; and

recommend how spectrum should be audited for efficient usage, and penalise transgressors for inefficiencies.

In addition, Trai is to be on a par with other independent regulators.

The right to impose penalties reflects a sea change for the better in the government's approach to regulation. It is especially significant because of the difficulties in setting up the regulator years after privatisation began, as well as in the period thereafter. This amendment has the potential to correct many deficiencies, provided it is implemented properly. Good outcomes, however, are not a foregone conclusion because outcomes require a combination of properly designed systems, people with the required skills in place and functioning well in circumstances that are not adverse.

Together with the other changes, namely, addressing consumer grievances and recommending how spectrum should be monitored for optimal usage, with the stipulation of penalties for inefficiencies, Trai will be empowered to facilitate usage and access.

The question is whether these changes sufficiently empower our regulator for our communications needs. The recommendations are good, but do they need improvement? Ideally, what should be the structure, function and powers of the agency in practicable terms, without making the "best" the enemy of the "good"? To formulate answers to these, it is useful to consider relevant benchmarks and markers. Some of the following material is derived from the ICT Regulation Toolkit of the International Telecommunication Union.

Scope
Some countries have a single-sector regulator for telecommunications, as in Botswana, Spain and Peru. Others have multi-sector regulators, with responsibility over utility sectors that typically include telecommunications, water, electricity and transportation, such as in Jamaica, Costa Rica, Germany, Latvia and Panama. More recently, there has been an increase in "converged regulators" with responsibility over broadcasting, telecommunications and information technology. Today, such regulators are found in most European Union countries, including Finland, Italy and the UK, as well as in Australia, Hong Kong, China, Malawi, Malaysia, South Africa and Tanzania. This is because such structures are considered to be better equipped to address convergent environments where different services are offered over the same platform. Such a move also facilitates the transition to modern, packet-switched "Next Generation Networks".

Responsibilities
Regulators in several countries, such as the US, the UK, and Malaysia, are the designated authorities responsible for spectrum allocation and management for the government; they do not only make recommendations. Should Trai have such a role and responsibility? To understand why the answer needs to be worked out thoroughly, read on.

Spectrum monitoring and management undoubtedly need modernised capabilities to provide information and decision support. This includes the use of online tools such as user-friendly databases and graphical user interfaces, and public access in areas not related to security or defence. These technological aspects are one dimension of need.

A different dimension is that of institutional readiness and interfaces, and the state of institutional development in counterparty agencies. In other words, it is not simply a matter of elegant logic and organisational design, but also culture and work processes that fit as well as the interrelationships, such as between telecommunications, broadcasting and competition laws, that will ultimately result in effective governance in our context.

Qualifications
What are the desirable qualifications for the head of the regulatory agency? The requirement is for coordinating interdisciplinary issues effectively, in addition to integrity, intellectual capacity, and governance/administrative ability. The first Trai was headed by a judge; thereafter, there was a banker, then people from the Indian Administrative Service. In the US, lawyers head the agency, while in the UK, it is economists; both have very different cultures and institutions from ours. In addition to experience in administration and contracts, knowledge of economics, commercial dealings and coordination using multiple inputs is desirable. Technical expertise, while essential as an input, may not be a key criterion for effective regulation and oversight.

Here are some examples of national anomalies:

In Canada, spectrum matters are addressed by Industry Canada rather than by the regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC.
In Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority has responsibility over telecommunications and information technology matters, but the Media Development Authority licenses over-the-air television and regulates content.
In Australia, the communications regulator has no authority over competition issues, whereas in the UK, Ofcom has jurisdiction concurrently with the Office of Fair Trading.

For all these reasons, to properly configure Trai's role and powers, a consultative process is advisable (i.e., solutions collectively formulated that are likely to work) with the help of experienced facilitators who can help elicit convergence through stakeholder interactions. Such issues are ill-served by consultations in the form of a quasi-judicial hearing, which is predicated on the "rightness" of a position in the law.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-may-9-2013-shyam-ponappa-configuring-a-non-toothless-trai

Law & Order through Traffic Systems

Shyam Ponappa — 2013-07-03T05:29:14Z

A TV white space system for traffic management may induce us to observe discipline and law-abiding behaviour, writes Shyam Ponappa in an article published in the Business Standard on June 5, 2013.

Read the original column published in the Business Standard. This was cross-posted in Organizing India Blogspot.

India coasts on a post-feudal-colonial mélange of currents and tides, with the brigandage of opportunistic politics fed by our (the voters’) greed for short-term benefits. The result is grotesque populism and corruption in lieu of the deferred gratification of pleasing cities and countryside with the appurtenances of proper governance: sidewalks and drains, toilets, transport, administration and order. We must develop solutions with an integrated, problem-solving approach, not just wait.

In such chaotic times, should we even consider minor themes, like trying to bring order to our traffic, and our behaviour on our roads? Yes, if one accepts that turmoil and crises provide opportunities as much as threats, and because these areas are among the few in which there may be chances of success if there are well-directed efforts. Instead of passively being buffeted by fate, we can do something about it: analyse the causes of our horrific traffic, devise an approach to mitigate or contain some factors, and formulate and implement solutions. Also, the technology is readily available, and the solutions need not be all-encompassing efforts on a countrywide scale, or not at all. Hence this pitch for a technology- and institution-driven, systems approach to traffic management that could potentially change the way we are. The big assumptions are: (a) that systems can induce order and law-abiding behaviour on our roads, for a start, and (b) that this will reduce traffic accidents. Let's consider how.

Traffic Accidents & Deaths

Information on traffic accidents is available from the National Crime Records Bureau at the ministry of home affairs. The latest report available is for 2011. There were 473,084 reported traffic accidents in 2011, comprising 440,123 road accidents, 2,385 "rail-road accidents" and 30,576 "other railway accidents". The figure for accidental deaths from unnatural causes was 367,194, of which traffic accidents accounted for 165,072. The latter included road and rail accidents, but excluded deaths from drowning and accidents involving aircraft. Road traffic accidents and deaths countrywide and for the Union territory of Delhi for the last five years are shown in the graphs below.

While frightful enough, the graphs do not quite convey the horrid rough-and-tumble unpleasantness of our roads. Could there be some way to bring order to this aspect of our lives? Perhaps, if we can imagine better scenarios, and then apply ourselves to act collectively to achieve them. It may be possible to introduce systems that elicit better governance and behaviour, as in the following instances.

Wireless smart grids and TV white space

An early example of augmenting existing communications networks with TV "white space" (ie, the unused TV spectrum) devices was implemented in America, in the city of Wilmington in North Carolina and its environs of New Hanover County. The City of Wilmington has about 100,000 people in about 105 square kilometres, while the county has a population of nearly 200,000 in an area of about 515 square kilometres. [1]

Because of the distance between localities, the extent of wetlands and waterways, and the dense foliage, extending broadband coverage to all its residential areas was difficult and expensive. In January 2012, Spectrum Bridge helped with installing a wireless overlay in three locations using TV white spaces to provide broadband connectivity. Additional equipment enabled real-time traffic monitoring to improve efficiency, reducing congestion and travel time, as well as aiding in law enforcement, in disaster management such as hurricane evacuations, and in enabling broadband connectivity for public schools. The coverage extended to the parks and recreational areas, providing better facilities for citizens, as well as more efficient environmental monitoring. The point is that communications can be effected much more effectively and efficiently through using TV "white space" bands.

In April 2012, a different group including Google, Microsoft, the BBC, and so on set up a smart grid in the university town of Cambridge in England, using TV white space in six locations covering a radius of about 6 km, comparable to central New Delhi. This network covers a population of about 125,000 and enables the management not only of services like electricity meters, but also of air quality sensors, street lights, traffic management, and parking spaces.[2]

Traffic and law enforcement systems for India

Now consider New Delhi and the National Capital Region. While it has a huge population over an extensive area, central New Delhi covers a radius of some 6-7 km, as do other localities in the city and its environs. Apart from the scale of population and geography, there are also the differences in culture or ethos with the instances mentioned earlier.

Yet, if our authorities could pull together a coordinated effort to develop and implement a network that would support wireless webcams, it may well provide a basis for governance that could work. If initiated for traffic and area management, there could be major improvements in bringing order through non-discretionary traffic management, as also in upholding law enforcement for the safety of citizens.

There may be an outcry from civil liberties champions, but residents will likely welcome the benefits, although they might cavil at unpopular but essential disciplines like system extensions to electricity and water metering. It will also bring about the cutting of the knot of India's welter of unimplemented laws.

The elements of this system would have to consist of really good overall design for the wireless overlay using TV white space bands, initially for a system of web cameras. These spectrum bands are unused despite being very effective for long-range communications. There would need to be some form of automated action report generation systems - for example, penalties for traffic violations. Also needed would be appropriate institutional support so that violators cannot ignore penalties, like fast-track collection processes that do not require recourse to an overburdened and dilatory judicial system. In addition, some degree of surveillance for crisis detection and rapid response would be necessary to deal with law enforcement.

The actual implementation could be modular by location and purpose while maintaining an integrated systems approach, so that areas of action as well as locations could be phased and need not be done simultaneously on a massive scale. In other words, it need not have the ab initio monumental scale of the UID, and could perhaps avoid some of the controversial design issues confronting the latter. It needs the approach, coordination and effort that achieved the Metro.

[1].http://www.spectrumbridge.com/ProductsServices/WhiteSpacesSolutions/success-stories/wilmington.aspx

[2].http://gigaom.com/2012/04/25/brits-score-white-space-first-with-city-wide-network/

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-article-opinion-shyam-ponappa-june-5-2013-law-and-order-through-traffic-systems

Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler's Views On Auctions

Shyam Ponappa — 2018-01-05T14:09:57Z

The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure.

The article by Shyam Ponappa was published in Business Standard on November 1, 2017 and in Organizing India Blogspot on November 2, 2017

You may be surprised to learn that the central government has been applying ideas from this year’s Nobel Prize winner for economics, Richard Thaler, even before the award. According to press reports, a “Nudge” unit was set up last year (2016) by the Niti Aayog in association with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its purpose is to apply behavioural insights in policymaking for initiatives such as Swachh Bharat, Jan-Dhan Yojana, and Digital India. There are issues about ethics and motivation in the use of “nudges”, of course, with the best nudges likened to effective GPS devices that make it easier for people to get where they want to go with enabling information, and without covert manipulation.

Recognise, however, that manipulation can cut both ways. It can be beneficial for those being influenced, as when we eat healthier, observe regulations, or manage waste better. It can also be detrimental, as when manipulators entice, persuade, or coerce us to act against our interests, whether it is the private sector, government or vote seekers. Examples are enticements or misleading consumer information, government pressure for compliance without appropriate regulatory bases, or populist measures for votes.

Incidentally, Mr Thaler also advises the $6-billion Undiscovered Managers Behavioral Value Fund, which reportedly does better than 97 per cent of its peers, with average annual returns of 16 percent.

Ironically, one of Mr Thaler’s powerful early insights has been ignored and is awaiting discovery and application especially in India. It is about the “winner’s curse” in auctions, the phenomenon that winners of highly contested auctions tend to overbid. This is because when there is strong contention for a desirable asset, the one who most overvalues the asset tends to bid the highest. Mr Thaler demonstrates that the curse occurs in two ways: Where the winning bid exceeds the value of the winnings, or where the gains are below expectations. Mr Thaler’s 1988 paper demonstrated these effects through examples including oil and gas leases, corporate takeovers, publishing rights for books, and bidding for baseball players.1 This is especially important for India because we need more effective resource management, whether of coal/fuel for power, or of spectrum for communications. We can ill-afford the high opportunity costs of bad policies.

To be fair to policymakers in India, findings by Mr Thaler and others on auctions have been ignored by other governments greedy for immediate revenue. The UK, Europe and the USA went through disastrous 3G auctions that bankrupted their telecommunications industries. The exceptions were the Scandinavian countries and others such as Japan, South Korea, and China, where circumstances were managed so that there were either no auctions, or less contentious auctions. Tomes have been written on the “success” of high bids that resulted in enormous government collections. The consequences for the operating companies, however, were devastating, because of the severe drain on their finances from the heavy up-front investments. This was aggravated by the collapse of the technology bubble in 2000.

All the following auctions had disastrous outcomes for services:2

1994: The first US auction netted huge bids. Soon after, a number of “successful” bidders declared bankruptcy.

In India, the 1994 auction was followed by chaos because of overbidding and default. The sector recovered only after the auction fees were set aside for revenue-sharing in 1999 through the New Telecom Policy (NTP 1999), and lower shares were set in 2003.

1995-1996: US “C”-Block auction — several “successful” bidders declared bankruptcy.

2000 UK and 2001 EU 3G auctions: Netted $35 billion in the UK. In Austria, Germany and Italy, bids netted over $100 billion, 10 times the expectation. Considered a huge success, but winners couldn’t repay their debts, and the markets took a decade to recover.

2010: India’s 3G and broadband wireless auction with over Rs 1 lakh crore bid was considered a great success. Having paid too much for spectrum, operators struggled thereafter and new systems are slow to roll-out.

Meanwhile, auction experts wrote disparagingly of “failures” (low fees) in countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and ignored countries such as South Korea, Japan and Finland where there were no auctions (until 2009). However, these “failures” had the best broadband services, according to a 2010 study by the Saïd Business School at Oxford.

After India’s 2015 auction, researchers at ICRIER observed that the anticipated growth dividend from telecom didn’t materialise. Their rhetorical question and answer: “Does this mean the much-needed mobile broadband ecosystem will be further pushed into the future? If so, this would be another case of lost opportunity in telecom.”3 And that’s what it has been so far.

Broadband is an essential aspect of infrastructure. For India to break out of its low-growth trajectory, our policies have to recognise the impediments caused by spectrum fragmentation and high-cost auctions, and create practicable alternatives such as shared networks including spectrum that is paid for only when it is used. Also, more open-access and light-licensed bands in line with global developments will help India reap the benefits of ecosystems of devices as they evolve, e.g., in 60 GHz and TV White Space bands (for which India is ideally positioned). Instead, these technologies are blocked as is the spectrum, which remains unused, creating more barriers for ourselves by having to devise high-cost workarounds. Our ministries – for communications, electronics and information technology, information and broadcasting, defence, and finance – need to address technology applications and policies collectively to induct and align our systems and practices with global developments now and for the future.

Shyam (no space) Ponappa at gmail dot com

1. Richard Thaler, “Anomalies: The Winner’s Curse,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 2, no. 1 (Winter 1988): 191-202

2. There was one successful auction in India in 2001 for a fourth mobile operator in each circle (state), when markets were depressed and competition was subdued. Other auctions in India and abroad hailed as successes because of high-auction bids resulted in constrained networks and services

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-november-1-2017-nobel-laureate-richard-thaler-views-on-auctions

October 2017 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-01-10T00:53:03Z

October 2017 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
CIS submitted its comments on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India. Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online. Manasa Rao captured the developments in a blog post. Padma Venkataraman in a blog entry chronologically mapped CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done. Shyam Ponappa's article on NPAs and structural issues was published in the Business Standard on October 5, 2017.

Highlights

CIS submitted its comments on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India.
Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online. Manasa Rao captured the developments in a blog post.
Padma Venkataraman in a blog entry chronologically mapped CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done.
Shyam Ponappa's article on NPAs and structural issues was published in the Business Standard on October 5, 2017.

CIS in the News:

Attempted data breach of UIDAI, RBI, ISRO and Flipkart is worrisome (DailyO, October 4, 2017).
Sex, drugs and the dark web (Hindu; October 7, 2017).
Ahead of data protection law roll out, experts caution that it shouldn't limit collection and use of data (First Post; October 12, 2017).
#NAMAprivacy: The economics and business models of IoT and other issues (Medianama; October 18, 2017).
#NAMAprivacy: Data standards for IoT and home automation systems (Medianama; October 18, 2017).
Majority of top politicians' Twitter followers fake: audit (Furquan Moharkan; Deccan Herald; October 24, 2017).
Awards for those working on employment opportunities for disabled (Eastern Mirror; October 24, 2017).
Nibbling away into your bank account, salami attackers cart away a fortune (New Indian Express; October 25, 2017).
Nirmita Narasimhan wins the 18th NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award 2017! (National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People; October 31, 2017).

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Access to Knowledge
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Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.

►Wikipedia

Blog Entries

Odia Wikisource Turns 3 (Manasa Rao; October 22, 2017).
Wikimedia Workshop at Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College, Satara (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Satara (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Orientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi (A. Gopalakrishna; October 24, 2017).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).
Discussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia (Manasa Rao; October 24, 2017).

►Openness

Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.

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Internet Governance
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As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.

►Freedom of Expression

ICANN’s Problems with Accountability and the .WEB Controversy (Padma Venkataraman; October 24, 2017).
Why Presumption of Renewal is Unsuitable for the Current Registry Market Structure (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).
CIS’ Efforts Towards Greater Financial Disclosure by ICANN (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).

►Cyber Security

Participation in Event

CyFy 2017 (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; New Delhi; October 2 - 4, 2017). Sunil Abraham was a speaker.

►Privacy

Blog Entry

GDPR and India: A Comparative Analysis (Aditi Chaturvedi; October 17, 2017).

Participation in Event

Securing The Digital Payments Ecosystem (Organized by NITI Aayog; October 9, 2017).

►Big Data

Blog Entry

Revisiting Per Se vs Rule of Reason in Light of the Intel Conditional Rebate Case (Shruthi Anand; October 4, 2017).

Event Organized

Emerging Issues in the Internet of Things (CIS, Bengaluru; October 23, 2017). Andrew Rens gave a talk.

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Telecom
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CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:

Article

NPAs & Structural Issues (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; October 4, 2017).

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Researchers at Work
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The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:

Articles

Digital Native: There is no spoon, There is no privacy (Nishant Shah; October 9, 2017).
Digital Native: Finger on the buzzer (Nishant Shah; October 22, 2017).

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About CIS
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The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

► Request for Collaboration

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2017-newsletter

November 2017 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-01-10T01:57:29Z

November 2017 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
Anubha Sinha took part in the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017. She posed a question on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017. CIS also gave statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives and GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment. CIS-A2K signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu. The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society gave comments on GIGW. The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure wrote Shyam Ponappa in an article in the Business Standard on November 1, 2017. DataMeet and CIS have collaborated on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector. CIS commented on the Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on August 9, 2017. CIS published a report that compares laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and India to see the similarities and disjunctions in cyber security policy between them. CIS sent comments on TRAI consultation paper on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing. The submission drew on research primarily done in the Pervasive Technologies project.

Highlights

Anubha Sinha took part in the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017. She posed a question on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017. CIS also gave statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives and GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment.
CIS-A2K signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu.
The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society gave comments on GIGW.
The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure wrote Shyam Ponappa in an article in the Business Standard on November 1, 2017.
DataMeet and CIS have collaborated on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector.
CIS commented on the Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on August 9, 2017.
CIS published a report that compares laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and India to see the similarities and disjunctions in cyber security policy between them.
CIS sent comments on TRAI consultation paper on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing. The submission drew on research primarily done in the Pervasive Technologies project.

CIS in the News:

Big Data for governance (Alekhya Hanumanthu; Telangana Today; November 4, 2017).
How tech is making life easier for differently-abled (Shalini Umachandrani; November 7, 2017).
India Today Conclave Next 2017: Aadhaar was rushed, says MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Priya Pathak; India Today; November 8, 2017).
What You Need To Worry About Before Linking Your Mobile Number With Aadhaar (Roopa Raju and Shekhar Rai; Youth Ki Awaaz; November 8, 2017).
OPINION | Data is New Oil and Human Mind the New Battlefield. India Must Wake Up Now (Lt. General (Retd.) D. S. Hooda; News18.com; November 11, 2017).
Aadhaar seeding: benefits and concerns (Shaikh Zoaib Saleem; Livemint; November 14, 2017).
Privacy issues exist even without Aadhaar (Ronald Abraham; November 15, 2017).
Advocating for Openness: Nine Ways Civil Society Groups Have Mobilized to Defend Internet Freedom (Centre for International Media Assistance; November 15, 2017).
Govt working to set up financial CERT to tackle cyber threats (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 16, 2017).
Financial CERT to combat cyber threats, says MoS home affairs (CISO MAG; November 17, 2017).
UIDAI admits 210 government websites made Aadhaar details public (Financial Express; November 20, 2017).
India’s internet missionaries: The women Google is relying on to spread its Next Billion message (Sunny Sen; Livemint; November 21, 2017).
FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).
Indian activists slam FCC decision to ditch net neutrality (Kul Bhushan; Hindustan Times; November 23, 2017).
FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).
Why should you keep a close eye on the net neutrality debate in the US (Subhrojit Mallick; Digit; November 24, 2017).
Cyberattacks a significant threat to democracy: Modi (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 24, 2017).
Aadhaar verification at airports raises need for stricter data privacy regulations (Aman Sethi; Hindustan Times, November 27, 2017).
IDAP Interview Series: Interview with Nirmita Narasimhan (IDIA Law; November 27, 2017).
Govt releases white paper on data protection framework (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 28, 2017).
Bengalureans to receive Helen Keller award (Deccan Herald; November 30, 2017).

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Accessibility & Inclusion
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India has an estimated 70 million persons with disabilities who don't have access to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. As part of our endeavour to make available accessible content for persons with disabilities, we are developing a text-to-speech software in 15 languages with support from the Hans Foundation. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed here.

Submission

Comments on Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (Nirmita Narasimhan; November 26, 2017).

►Copyright & Patent

35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives (Anubha Sinha; November 15, 2017).
35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives (Anubha Sinha; November 17, 2017).
35th SCCR: CIS' Question to Dr. Rostama on her Study on the Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Legislation (Anubha Sinha; November 19, 2017).

►Wikipedia

Blog Entry

CIS-A2K signs MoU with Telangana Government (Manasa Rao; November 8, 2017).

►Openness

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Internet Governance
-----------------------------------

►Privacy

Blog Entries

A Comparison of Legal and Regulatory Approaches to Cyber Security in India and the United Kingdom (Divij Joshi; edited by Elonnai Hickok; November 12, 2017).
Counter Comments on TRAI's Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector (Amber Sinha; November 23, 2017).

Participation in Event

BIS International Seminar on Internet of Things (Organized by BIS; November 15, 2017; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi). Amber Sinha attended the event.
Internet Universality Indicators for a Safe, Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development (Organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India; UNESCO Conference Room, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi; November 17, 2017). Amber Sinha attended the event.

Roundtable on Data Integrity and Privacy (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; November 18, 2017). The round table discussion was chaired by Shri Baijayant Panda, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.

►Cyber Security

Blog Entry

Breach Notifications: A Step towards Cyber Security for Consumers and Citizens (Amelia Andersdotter; November 14, 2017).

Event Organized

Roundtable on Enhancing Indian Cyber Security through Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation (Indian Islamic Centre; Lodhi Road; New Delhi; November 4, 2017).
Open House on Security Practices in FinTech (Organized by CIS and Has Geek; November 17, 2017).

Participation in Event

Multinational Cyber Security Forum at University of Haifa (Organized by Center for Cyber, Law and Policy and University of Haifa in collaboration with the Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative; November 5 - 7, 2017). Sunil Abraham participated in the meeting held in Israel.
Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) (Organized by GCSC; November 21, 2017; New Delhi). Pranesh Prakash participated in the event.

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Telecom
-----------------------------------

CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:

Article

Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler's Views On Auctions (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; November 1, 2017).

Submission

Comments on TRAI Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing (Anubha Sinha; November 26, 2017).

Articles

Digital native: Rebellion by Google Doc (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 4, 2017)
Digital native: Let there be life (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 19, 2017).

-----------------------------------

About CIS
-----------------------------------
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

► Request for Collaboration

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2017-newsletter

Submission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018"

pranesh — 2018-01-25T14:46:48Z

Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy.

Preliminary

We welcome the TRAI consultation on the National Telecom Policy 2018.

We believe these should be among the objectives of the next NTP.

To enable inclusion through the provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services that are accessible to all, especially for the most marginalized.
To maximize the utility of telecom networks by increasing their capacity and throughput.
To maximize the socio-economic utility of of spectrum and rationalize the regulatory regime.
To re-energize the telecom sector, and to bring about a shift to a revenue-sharing model of revenue-generation for the exchequer.

NTP-12 does not include any policy mandate for providing accessibility for person with disabilities. The Policy should mandate implementation of systems that would enable better accessibility for persons with disabilities. This could have included formulation of a Code of good practice for manufactures and service providers, conduct surveys and gather statistics on use of telecommunication services by persons with disabilities, etc.

Resource and infrastructure sharing

Resource- and infrastructure-sharing among telecommunications companies and applications is crucial to ensure both eiciency of usage of a limited resource (whether it is cabling in underground ducts, or spectrum, or telecom towers), as well as to lower telecommunications costs (especially capital expenditure cost) and lowering barriers to entry, reducing environmental costs, and to maximize the beneits for consumers.[1]

Eforts must be taken to enable greater sharing of resources and infrastructure, without there being a negative impact on competition.[2]

As a telecom scholar points out, “[O]perators will sometimes share the cost of digging or deploying passive infrastructure, but will lay their own iber lines, which allows them to engage in full, facility-based competition. In these cases, there is no risk of coordination, as networks based on multiple iber lines ensure that access seekers can obtain full control over them. Under such conditions, co-investment agreements are more likely to lead to timelier and more intense competition on the downstream market.”[3]

For this, the separation between infrastructure and service must be maintained, with focus of competition at the service end with infrastructure being largely common. This is managed differently in different countries.[4]

Keeping all this in mind, we suggest that Strategies E(b) and F(c) be reworded to say, "By promoting both passive and active sharing of telecom infrastructure and resources among telecom service providers, while ensuring that doesn’t lead to a decrease in competition, and where appropriate making certain forms of infrastructure sharing mandatory."

Among the resources that require sharing is spectrum. In 2015, DoT guidelines allowed liberalised spectrum to be shared among operators.

Modernizing spectrum management

We are happy to note that the strategy of “ensuring adequate availability of contiguous, broader and globally harmonised spectrum” is listed under Strategy D(u). There are many opportunities for harmonisation of spectrum usage in India vis-a-vis global usage. For instance, currently in India, only 50 MHz of spectrum has been earmarked for unlicenced use outdoors in the 5 GHz band (5.825 GHz to 5.875 GHz). There is no rationale for this distinction between indoor and outdoor use, and this limits the usage of Wi-Fi outdoors. The US has delicensed 580 MHz in the 5GHz band which allows for the IEEE 802.11ac standard to be used on it, whereas India has only delicensed 300 MHz, whereas 1280 MHz is what is dictated by needs.[5] At a minimum 580 MHz (3x160 MHz) ought to be made available for unlicensed used.

Additionally, delicensing the 60 GHz band would bring us in line with global regimes,[6] where at least 19 countries have delicensed the 60 Ghz band for both access as well as backhaul purposes.[7]

The 60GHz band is ideal for delicensing since it there is virtually no interference since due to oxygen absorption and narrow antenna beam width the transmission distances

are short. We also need to liberalize the 70 and 80 GHz bands to enabling lower cost access for these frequencies to extend ibre connectivity where necessary by using other means, including through aerial systems.

While under Strategy D(v), TRAI proposes the “earmarking [of] unlicensed frequency bands periodically for operation of low power devices for public use”, it should instead be “earmarking unused, underused, and unlicensed frequency bands periodically for public use, with licence-exemption and light-licensing where possible, with safeguards to prevent interference”.

Even bands that have been allocated under the NFAP and licensed may lie unused or underused as well. According to a study by IIT-Hyderabad, unused TV spectrum in India amounts to between 85%-95% of the total TV spectrum. A large swath of 115 MHz — from 470 to 585 MHz — lies unused, and is available for alternative uses. Waiting for an ecosystem to develop around the 470- 698 MHz band,[8] is harming the government’s vision of Digital India and an urgent course correction is needed. As we have argued in the past, “[w]hereas Digital India needs low-cost wireless broadband, especially for long-distance links in rural India, because of the high cost and diiculty of building and maintaining ibre or wired networks in diicult terrain, and/or in sparsely populated areas. Therefore, access to TVWS needs to be bundled with BharatNet, and other shared backbone networks like ERNET.

Policies should permit diferent network design scenarios including transmission power and purpose. Point-to-point links are needed over long distances in place of ibre or microwave, and broad coverage is needed for contiguous areas like industrial developments, campuses, commercial complexes, or rural communities … TVWS does need tight radio ilters (unlike Wi-Fi) to minimise interference, the underlying consideration that drives spectrum management. There's also need for varying power speciications depending on the network design and purpose as described above, and policies for unlicensed sharing using geolocation databases, as deined by the US FCC."[9]

Further, following the lead of the FCC in the USA, and Ofcom in the UK, we in India should exempt low-power usage across all spectrum bands. The approach followed by Ofcom (which allows for powers between -90 dBm/MHz to -41 dBm/MHz (and on a sloping gradient from 10.6 GHz onwards), may be recommended. To reflect this, a strategy statement to “explore greater exemptions from licensing requirements where possible, including for low-power spectrum usage”, would be helpful.

The NTP should also lead the way in encouraging the government and the regulator to look to new ways of managing licence-exempt use of spectrum, as has been done, for example, in the UK.[10]

This allows for a movement away from power-oriented regulations to regulation on the basis of interference. For instance, shared spectrum databases may allow for coordinated usage of higher power but without interference. Further, this allows for bands to be categorized not by usage, but by transmit powers and duty cycles.

Accessibility

One of the lacunae in the NTP-12 is its lack of any policy mandate for providing accessibility for person with disabilities.[11] NTP-18 should not make the same mistake. The NTP should mandate implementation of systems that would enable better accessibility for persons with disabilities. This should include formulation of a code of good practice for manufactures and service providers, conducting surveys and gathering statistics on use of telecommunication services by persons with disabilities, etc.

Revenue maximization

We believe that Strategy D(r) (“reviewing the objectives of spectrum management to maximise socio-economic gains”) should explicitly mention that revenue maximization should not itself be a goal, since that may harm the socio-economic gains to be had from optimal usage of spectrum. We believe that it should be made explict that “ensuring revenue maximization for the exchequer will not be the main aim of spectrum management policy”.

Auctions, which ind mention in TRAI’s recommendations, ne — to favour a model of revenue sharing[12] — and at the least they need to be structured in such a manner as to avoid the “winner’s curse”.[13] Revenue-sharing, which was followed after NTP-99, allows for a more sustainable form of revenue generation for the government, while having transparent allocation systems or auctions designed in a manner not oriented towards maximizing the generation of auction proceeds for the government.[14] Just as increasing the USO fund by itself cannot be a goal — ensuring universal service is the goal — similarly, the generation of tax revenue by itself cannot be a goal.

Patents pools, local manufacturing, and cost of devices

Under “Strategies to become net positive in international trade of telecommunication systems and services”, the consultation paper proposes inancial incentives for development of SEPs, as well as “incentivising local manufacturing of network equipment and devices” as strategies. One concrete strategy to incentivise local manufacturing of telecommunications equipment and devices is to create government-controlled patent pools,[15] which can be used to ensure that patent-holders are paid a royalty on SEPs while also lowering the transaction costs and legal uncertainty for local device manufacturers, and ultimately lowering the price of devices for customers.[16]

Private patent pools do not suiciently take care of the legal risks created to manufacturers. If government intervention is not done, then Indian manufacturers will end up embroiled in legal battles as we have seen with Micromax, and others. CIS has provided a very detailed submission on TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing.[17]

Internet connection and data centres

While under “Strategies to establish India as a global hub for data communication systems and services”, the problem of Internet interconnection is brought up, but the strategies don’t mention what needs to be done. One of the problems facing India currently is a low level of peering interconnection agreements and a high cost of transit interconnection agreements. This results in a higher cost of Internet for everyone. This needn’t be so. The NTP could establish that there should be no licensing required for running an interconnection point. Currently, there is a lack of clarity on the matter, with contrary suggestions having been provided by Trai in the past. Further, the NTP and that existing interconnection exchanges like NIXI should not discriminate between licensed telecom operators and unlicensed content providers, since it is crucial that the latter also be present at interconnection exchanges, and interconnection exchanges will not lourish unless the hurdles put in place, which favour incumbents, are reduced.

It is worrying that TRAI has suggested establishing a “licensing and regulatory framework for cloud service providers” (Strategy H(a)). While cloud service providers are subject to the regulations provided in the IT Act, and other legislations in India, they currently are not subject to any licensing requirements. No rationale has been provided by TRAI for this suggestion, and it would kill innovation in the sector, and would inhibit the emergence of India as a global hub for data communications systems and services. Similarly, while an overarching data protection and security legislation needs to be in place, the suggestion of a “licensing and regulatory framework for IoT/ M2M service providers” (Strategy G(a)) is worrying, and there is no suitable rationale for having licensing in this space, which will only serve to curb innovation without any corresponding or suitable benefit accruing to the public.

Given that telecommunications isn’t an end in itself, but is a means to an end, one of the missions of the NTP could be:

To enable inclusion through the provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services that is accessible for all, especially for the most marginalized, including those who are disabled, those who live in remote areas, those who are illiterate, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women, and transgender communities.

Once again, we are grateful to TRAI for having provided this opportunity to comment.

[]. GSMA, “Mobile Infrastructure Sharing,” 2008, https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wpcontent/uploads/2012/09/Mobile-Infrastructure-sharing.pdf.

[]. José Carlos Laguna de Paz, “How Cooperation Between Telecom Firms Can Improve Efficiency,” The Regulatory Review, June 25, 2015, https://www.theregreview.org/2015/06/25/laguna-telecoms-cooperation/.

[]. Ibid.

[]. Jan Markendahl, Amirhossein Ghanbari, and Bengt G. Mölleryd, “Network Cooperation between Mobile Operators : Why and How Competitors Cooperate?,” in DIVA, 2013, http://urn.kb.se/resolve? urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-134358.

[]. Parag Kar, “Response to TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks” (Qualcomm, August 10, 2016), http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/201609011022542916621Qualcomm_india_pvt_ltd.pdf.

[]. See ITU-R Report “ITU-R M.2227 (11/2011)” and ITU-R Recommendation “ITU-R M.2003-1 (01/2015)” on “Multiple Gigabit Wireless Systems in frequencies around 60 GHz”.

[]. Broadband India Forum, “V Band - 60 GHz: The Key to Affordable Broadband in India” (Broadband India Forum, 2016), http://www.broadbandindiaforum.com/img/White%20Paper%20on%20V-BAND%20Revised%20Final.pdf.

[]. Varun Aggarwal, “DoT Says No to Releasing TV White Space Spectrum, Clarifies It Is for Experiments,” The Hindu Business Line, June 16, 2016, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/dot-says-no-to-releasing-tvwhite-space-spectrum-clarifies-it-is-for-experiments/article8737575.ece

[]. Shyam Ponappa, “The Buzz around TV White Space,” Business Standard, November 4, 2015, http://www.businessstandard.com/article/opinion/shyam-ponappa-the-buzz-around-tv-white-space-115110401618_1.html.

[]. “Better Managing Licence-Exempt Usage,” Ofcom, October 7, 2016, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-anddata/technology/radio-spectrum/exempt.

[]. Snehashish Ghosh, “National Telecom Policy 2012 — Issues and Concerns,” The Centre for Internet and Society, June 30, 2012, https://cis-india.org/telecom/national-telecom-policy-2012.

[]. David E. M. Sappington and Dennis L. Weisman, “Revenue Sharing in Incentive Regulation Plans,” Information Economics and Policy 8, no. 3 (September 1, 1996): 229–48, https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6245(96)00010-8.

[]. Shyam Ponappa, “Richard Thaler’s Views on Auctions,” Business Standard, November 1, 2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/richard-thaler-s-views-on-auctions-117110101558_1.html.

[]. Shyam Ponappa, “Breakthroughs Needed for Digital India,” Business Standard, April 6, 2016, http://www.businessstandard.com/article/opinion/shyam-ponappa-breakthroughs-needed-for-digital-india-116040601241_1.html.

[]. Sunil Abraham, “Letter for Establishment of Patent Pool for Low-Cost Access Devices through Compulsory Licenses,” The Centre for Internet and Society, accessed January 19, 2018, https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/letter-forestablishment-of-patent-pool-for-low-cost-access-devices

[]. Nehaa Chaudhari, “Pervasive Technologies: Patent Pools,” The Centre for Internet and Society, accessed January 19, 2018, https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-pools

[]. Anubha Sinha, “Comments on TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing” (Centre for Internet and Society, November 13, 2017), http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/CentreInternetSocietyIndia_CP_PLTEM.pdf.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018

January 2018 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2018-03-01T01:35:56Z

January 2018 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
The paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané. CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. The report by by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India. About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was published in Deccan Herald on January 20, 2018. CIS made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy. Under a research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India. The 2G judgment of December 2017 provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018.

Highlights

The paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané.
CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. The report by by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India.
About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was published in Deccan Herald on January 20, 2018.
CIS made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy.
Under a research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India.
The 2G judgment of December 2017 provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018.

The following articles were written by CIS members:

Digital native: Memory card is full (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 3, 2018).
The 2G Judgment of December 2017: What Was It About? (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 3, 2018).
Fixing Aadhaar: Security developers' task is to trim chances of data breach (Sunil Abraham; Business Standard; January 10, 2018).
Another Step towards Privacy Law (Elonnai Hickok; Governance Now; January 15, 2018).

Data Protection: We can innovate, leapfrog (Sunil Abraham; Deccan Herald; January 20, 2018).

CIS in the News:

From net neutrality to IBC & Aadhaar, how Vidhi is framing key government legislation (Surabhi Agarwal and Samanwaya Rautray; Economic Times; January 4, 2018).
UIDAI denies any breach of Aadhaar database (Komal Gupta; Livemint; January 7, 2018).
Token security or tokenized security? (Manasa Venkataraman and Ajay Patri; Livemint; January 9, 2018).
UIDAI introduces new two-layer security system to improve Aadhaar privacy (Economic Times; January 11, 2018).
Hammered government offers Virtual ID firewall to protect your Aadhaar (New Indian Express; January 11, 2018).
Virtual Aadhaar ID: too little, too late? (Yuthika Bhargava; Hindu; January 11, 2018).
India To Introduce Virtual ID For Aadhaar To Strengthen Privacy (Bloomberg Quint; January 11, 2018).
UIDAI's Virtual ID, limited KYC does little to protect Aadhaar data already collected, say critics (Business Today; January 12, 2018).
Aadhaar Body Talked About Virtual ID 7 Years Ago, Put It Off: UIDAI Chief (Sukriti Dwivedi; NDTV; January 13, 2018).
Bengaluru gives data safety tips to panel (Deccan Herald; January 14, 2018).
Is your personal information under lock and key? (Sravanthi Challapalli; Hindu Businessline; January 16, 2018).
Aadhaar-privacy debate: How the 12-digit number went from personal identifier to all pervasive transaction tool (First Post; January 18, 2018).
Paytm Payments Bank woos corporates with digital incentives (Komal Gupta and Remya Nair; Livemint; January 24, 2018).
Aadhaar's new security measures are good, it is still work in progress (Alnoor Peermohamed; Business Standard; January 25, 2018).

►Wikipedia

Blog Entries

Government of Odisha adopting Creative Commons License to Promote Transparency and Access to Knowledge (Sailesh Patnaik; January 17, 2018).
Experience and Learning outcome from Wikipedia Education Program (Lakshmi Karlekar; January 30, 2018).

Events Organized

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dept. of Mass Communication, Solapur University (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dept of Mass Communication, Solapur University; Solapur; January 2, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dayanand College, Solapur (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dayanand College, Solapur; Solapur; January 3, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Willingdon College, Sangli (Organized by CIS-A2K and Willingdon College; Sangli; January 5, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Govt.Science & Arts College, Aurangabad (Organized by CIS-A2K and Govt.Science & Arts College; Aurangabad; January 9, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Vidyapeeth (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University; Aurangabad; January 10, 2018).
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Shivaji University, Kolhapur (Organized by CIS-A2K and Shivaji University; Kolhapur; January 15, 2018).
Wikidata Workshop (Organized by CIS-A2K and Andhra Loyola College; Vijaywada; January 20 - 21, 2018).
Train the Trainer 2018 (Organized by CIS-A2K; Mysore; January 26 - 28, 2018).

►Pervasive Technologies

Research Paper

Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products (Jorge L. Contreras, Rohini Lakshané and Paxton M. Lewis; JIPEL NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, Vol. 7 - No.1 on January 16, 2018).

Submission

Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders (Anubha Sinha; January 1, 2018). The submission was made in December 2017 but it was published on the website in January 2018.

►Openness

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Internet Governance
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►Privacy

Blog Entry

Artificial Intelligence and the Healthcare Industry in India (Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari (Ecosystem mapping by Shweta Mohandas, Sidharth Ray and Elonnai Hickok. Designed by Saumyaa Naidu under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; January 26, 2018).

Events Organized

Roundtable on A.I. and Manufacturing and Services (TERI, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018).

null Bangalore Meet: Special Session on Digital Identity and Privacy (CIS, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018). Sunil Abraham gave a talk.

►Free Speech and Expression

Blog Entries

Internet Governance Forum Report 2017 (Shweta Mohandas; January 11, 2018).

Mobile net ban during peaceful protest leaves farmers confused (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).

‘Hurt sentiments’ cost Udaipur internet access for four days (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).

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Article

Submission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018" (Pranesh Prakash; January 25, 2018).

Blog Entry

Life of a Tuple: National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Reform of Citizen Identification Infrastructure in Assam (Sumandro Chattapadhyay; January 22, 2018). All posts related to the study can be found here.

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