IT industry body Nasscom on Monday opposed Airtel Zero and Free Basics type platforms which it feels violate net neutrality principles by differentiating internet access for certain types of services. “We at Nasscom oppose any model where TSPs (Telecom service providers) have a say or discretion in choosing a content that is made available at…
Net neutrality is a principle that promises equality for all packets of data over the internet. The topic has spurred wide public debate and credit for this goes to Trai, which has set high standards for public consultations. In August 2014, faced with growing demands by telecom companies for separately charging users and internet companies…
We list developments around Net Neutrality which we missed from the last week of December and early January chronologically: 27 December 2015: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is aiming to solve issues with Net Neutrality* in the country by early this year (2016), reports ET. TRAI will evaluate issues part by part and…
The international community’s attempt to shape a new agenda for the Information Society by taking forward the Declaration of Principles and the Tunis Agenda adopted over a decade ago has produced a mixed bag that disappoints more than it pleases. The WSIS was a two-phase summit which was initiated in 2003 at Geneva and had its second phase in…
E-wallets, a facility introduced by banks to park money for commercial transactions, is now the new target for cyber criminals. In the recent months, at least five fresh cases involving transfer of fraudulent money to e-wallets having been registered by Mumbai police. An e-wallet user doesn’t need to furnish debit or credit card details every…
A research conducted by IDC revealed that more than two billion people are expected to make use of smartphones including tablets by the end of 2016. The report further states that India, China and Indonesia will be the prospective frontrunners to secure the first position in the mobile internet space by the end of 2021. IDC…
Zuckerberg doesn’t realize that Ganesh cherishes the freedom that India gained from its British colonizers in 1947 and doesn’t want a handout from a western company. Ganesh may be poor, but he doesn’t want anyone to dictate what sites he can visit, what movies he may watch, or what applications he can download. Zuckerberg is…
Manjuben, 45, who never went to school, recently learnt to say “laptop”. Smiling indulgently at her 19-year-old son Ashok Kateriya, who is busy surfing the Internet, surrounded by the family’s goats, cows and calves, in Nana Mota village, she says one needs “mahiti (information)”. “Times have changed. We should have information. If you go to…
In few places is the contrast between the internet’s liberating possibilities and its most troubling hazards more sharply drawn than in Pakistan. For its burgeoning online population of 30 million people, the universal promise of the medium as a link to a world without borders comes up against a raft of local restrictions imposed on…
City police commissioner Amitesh Kumar took to social media to urge youngsters for their active participation in the police bandobast ahead of the New Year celebrations on Thursday morning. Kumar sent out messages on social media, including WhatsApp, cautioning people against indulging in drunk driving. He said, “‘It is better to call for a driver…