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TRAI - consultation Q 1- 57
https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20CP-Q%201-57-Nov%2012%202009.pdf
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20CP-Q%201-57-Nov%2012%202009.pdf'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20CP-Q%201-57-Nov%2012%202009.pdf</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaTelecom2009-11-23T08:53:00ZFileTRAI
https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20consultation.jpg
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20consultation.jpg'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/TRAI%20consultation.jpg</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaTelecom2009-11-23T08:51:35ZFileAugust 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/august-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Five monographs: <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/blogs/rewiring-bodies/rewiring-call-for-review" target="_blank">Re: Wiring Bodies</a> by Asha Achuthan, <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/blogs/archives-and-access/archive-and-access" target="_blank">Archive and Access</a> by Aparna Balachandran and Rochelle Pinto, <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/blogs/pleasure-and-pornography/pornography-and-law" target="_blank">Porn: Law, Video, Technology</a> by Namita Malhotra, <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/blogs/rethinking-the-last-mile-problem/last-mile-problem" target="_blank">The Last Cultural Mile</a> by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/blogs/internet-society-and-space-in-indian-cities/city-and-space" target="_blank">Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities</a> by Pratyush Shankar were officially launched at the Locating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum Workshop in Ahmedabad.</p>
<h3>Workshop organised in CEPT, Ahmedabad</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop" target="_blank">Locating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum Workshop: Call for Participation</a> [19 to 22 August 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/stirrup-and-the-ground" target="_blank">Between the Stirrup and the Ground: Relocating Digital Activism</a> (This paper by Nishant Shah and Fieke Jansen was published in Democracy & Society, a publication of the Center for Democracy and Civil Society, Volume 8, Issue 2, Summer 2011).</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>Interview</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/interview-mada">An Interview with David Baines</a> (Maureen Agena interviewed David Baines of Mada Centre for Assistive Technology in Khattar).</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Access to Knowledge</b></h2>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/govt-legalising-parallel-import-of-copyright-work" class="external-link">Govt for Legalising Parallel Import of Copyright Works; Publishers Oppose</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/ogd-draft-v2-call-for-comments" target="_blank">Call for Comments on Draft Report on Open Government Data in India (v2)</a> (Nisha Thompson has updated the Open Government Data Report prepared by CIS last year including additional case studies and the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/open-access-to-scholarly-literature" target="_blank">Open Access to Scholarly Literature in India: A Status Report: Call for Comments</a> (The report has been prepared by Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam and Madhan Muthu. It surveys the field of scholarly and scientific publication in India and provides a detailed history of the open access movement in India).</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>New Blog Post</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/bye-bye-email" target="_blank">Bye Bye email?</a> (Email might be the default method of communication for most of us, but could it be going the telegram way, writes Nishant Shah. The article was published in the Indian Express on August 21, 2011).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Public Lecture</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/mirror-in-the-enigma" target="_blank">The Mirror in the Enigma: How Germany lost World War II to a Mathematical Theorem</a> (Rohit Gupta gave a lecture at CIS on August 12, 2011).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/ip-addresses-and-identity-disclosures" target="_blank">IP Addresses and Expeditious Disclosure of Identity in India</a> (Prashant Iyengar reviews the statutory mechanism regulating the retention and disclosure of IP addresses by Internet companies in India and provides a compilation of anecdotes on how law enforcement authorities in India have used IP address information to trace individuals responsible for particular crimes).</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries<b> </b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy_wholebodyimagingcomparison" target="_blank">Whole Body Imaging and Privacy Concerns that Follow</a> (by Elonnai Hickok)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/privacy_uidfinancialinclusion" target="_blank">Financial Inclusion and the UID</a> (by Elonnai Hickok) </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/cctv-in-universities" target="_blank">CCTV in Universities</a> (by Merlin Oommen)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/key-escrow" target="_blank">Re-thinking Key Escrow</a> (by Natasha Vaz) </li>
</ul>
<h3>Event Report</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/privacy-chennai-report.pdf/view?searchterm=Privacy%20Matters%20Chennai" target="_blank">Privacy Matters, Chennai</a> – the event was organised by IDRC, Society in Action Group, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Consumer and Civic Action Group, Privacy India and CIS on August 6, 2011. </li>
</ul>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/net-gain" target="_blank">Net Gain</a> [The Telegraph, 24 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/iisc-students-boycott-uid" target="_blank">IISc students boycott UID, don’t want Big Brother to keep watch</a> [Bangalore Mirror, 23 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/right-circle" target="_blank">In the Right Circle</a> [Indian Express, 24 July 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/siege-of-android/?searchterm=%EF%82%A7The%20Siege%20of%20Android" target="_blank">The Siege of Android: How Google Lost The OS War</a> [Business.in, 17 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/unsocial-network" target="_blank">The Unsocial Network</a> [Mail Today, 14 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/hazare-clicks" target="_blank">Hazare 'clicks' with city techies</a> [India, 18 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/govt-to-monitor-facebook-twitter" target="_blank">Govt wants to monitor Facebook, Twitter</a> [Times of India, 8 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/nothing-unique-about-identity" target="_blank">Nothing unique about this identity</a> [Deccan Chronicle, 5 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/tired-of-tele-marketing-calls" target="_blank">Tired of tele-marketing calls? Act on privacy right: Experts</a> [Times of India, 7 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/knowledge-isnt-written" target="_blank">When Knowledge Isn’t Written, Does It Still Count?</a> [New York Times, 7 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/indian-super-cops-patrol-www-highway" target="_blank">Indian super-cops now patrol the www highway</a> [Hindustan Times, 6 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/better-understanding-of-privacy" target="_blank">Better Understanding of the Idea of Privacy Sought</a> [Hindu, 7 August 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/converting-indian-slacktivists" target="_blank">Converting Indian Slacktivists Takes (Offline) Time</a> [Wall Street Journal, 2 August 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li>Follow CIS on <a href="http://identi.ca/main/remote?nickname=cis" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
<li>Join the CIS group on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28535315687" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li>Visit us at <a href="http://www.cis-india.org/" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/august-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/august-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAWOpenness2012-08-13T05:13:23ZPageJuly 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Five monographs: <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/rewiring/rewiring-call-for-review" target="_blank">Re: Wiring Bodies</a> by Asha Achuthan, <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/archives/the-archive-and-the-indian-historian/?searchterm=archive%20and%20access" target="_blank">Archive and Access</a> by Aparna Balachandran and Rochelle Pinto, <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/pleasure-porno/pornography-and-law" target="_blank">Pornography and the Law</a> by Namita Malhotra, <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/last-mile/last-mile-problem" target="_blank">The Leap of Rhodes or, How India Dealt with the Last Mile Problem – An Inquiry into Technology and Governance</a> by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/Internetcities/city-and-space" target="_blank">Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities</a> by Pratyush Shankar were sent for peer review.</p>
<h3>Upcoming Event in CEPT, Ahmedabad</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop" target="_blank">Locating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum Workshop: Call for Participation</a> [Deadline for submission – 26 July 2011; Participants to be selected by 30 July 2011; Workshop from 19 to 22 August 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>The Digital Natives Newsletter</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"Links in the Chain" is a bi-monthly publication which highlights the projects, ideas and news of the "Digital Natives with a Cause?" community members. It includes opinion posts by participants from the three workshops — <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/talking-back/?searchterm=talking%20back" target="_blank">Talking Back</a> (Taipei, 15 – 18 August 2010), <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future/?searchterm=my%20bubble" target="_blank">My Bubble, My Space, My Voice</a> (Johannesburg, 6 – 9 November 2010) and <a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago-open-call/?searchterm=santiago" target="_blank">From Face to the Interface</a> (Santiago, 8 – 10 February 2011) as well as the facilitators, interviews with them, comics and cartoons highlighting current issues affecting the community, as well as current news and discussions happening at the project website, <a href="http://www.digitalnatives.in" target="_blank">www.digitalnatives.in</a>.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/2011/06/23/digital-dinosaurs" target="_blank">The Digital Dinosaurs</a> [Links in the Chain, Volume 7]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/Mid-year%20Edition%20-%20Final.pdf" target="_blank">Special Mid Year Edition</a> [Links in the Chain, Volume 8]</li>
</ol>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/accessibility-policy-international-perspective" target="_blank">Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective</a> (Revised Edition 2011) [A G3ict White Paper researched and edited by the Center for Internet and Society, Bangalore, India. Editor: Nirmita Narasimhan, Revised edition: May 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Access to Knowledge (previously IPR Reform)</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that access to knowledge and culture is essential as it promotes creativity and innovation and bridges the gaps between the developed and developing world positively. Hence, the campaigns for an international treaty on copyright exceptions for print-impaired, advocating against PUPFIP Bill, calls for the WIPO Broadcast Treaty to be restricted to broadcast, questioning the demonization of 'pirates', and supporting endeavours that explore and question the current copyright regime.</p>
<h3>Featured</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/intermediary-liability-wipo-speech" target="_blank">Don't Shoot the Messenger: Speech on Intermediary Liability at 22nd SCCR of WIPO</a> (speech by Pranesh Prakash at a side-event co-organized from 15 to 24 June 2011, by WIPO and the Internet Society on intermediary liability).</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software.</p>
<h3>Documentary</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/people-are-knowledge" target="_blank">People are Knowledge – Experimenting with Oral Citations on Wikipedia</a> (co-produced by CIS in association with the Wikimedia Foundation, on Oral Citations in India and South Africa)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Featured</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/opening-government-best-practice-guide" target="_blank">Opening Government: A Guide to Best Practice in Transparency, Accountability and Civic Engagement across the Public Sector</a> (published by Transparency & Accountability Initiative, CIS contributed the section on Open Government Data).</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>New Blog Post</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/2011/07/12/rti-and-third-party-info" target="_blank">RTI and Third Party Information: What Constitutes the Private and Public?</a> [by Noopur Raval]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Events Organised</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/socio-financial-online-networks/?searchterm=Radhika%20Gajalla" target="_blank">Socio-financial Online Networks: Globalizing Micro-Credit through Micro-transactional Networked Platforms – A Public Lecture by Radhika Gajalla</a> [at CIS, Bangalore on 8 July 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/internet-surveillance-policy-lecture" target="_blank">Internet Surveillance Policy: “…the second time as farce?” – A Public Lecture by Caspar Bowden</a> [at TERI, Bangalore on 27 June 2011]</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Featured</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/19/privacy-media-law" target="_blank">Privacy & Media Law</a> (by Sonal Makhija). The research examines the existing media norms governed by Press Council of India, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the Code of Ethics drafted by the News Broadcasting Standard Authority, the constitutional protection guaranteed to an individual’s right to privacy upheld by the courts, and the reasons the State employs to justify the invasion of privacy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Comments<b> </b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/privacy-bill-2010/?searchterm=%EF%82%A7Right%20to%20Privacy%20Bill%202010%20%E2%80%94%20A%20Few%20Comments" target="_blank">Right to Privacy Bill 2010 — A Few Comments</a> (by Elonnai Hickok). CIS has given specific recommendations and specific comments on the Right to Privacy Bill, 2010, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Rajeev Chandrashekhar.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Event Report</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/21/privacy-guwahati-report" target="_blank">Privacy Matters, Guwahati</a> – the event was organised by IDRC, Society in Action Group, IDEA Chirang, an NGO initiative working with grassroots initiatives in Assam, Privacy India and CIS on 23 June 2011. </li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/15/scam-baiting" target="_blank">My Experiment with Scam Baiting</a> (by Sahana Sarkar)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/18/when-data-is-privacy" target="_blank">When Data Means Privacy, What Traces Are You Leaving Behind?</a> (by Noopur Raval)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/23/video-surveillance-privacy" target="_blank">Video Surveillance and Its Impact on the Right to Privacy</a> (by Elonnai Hickok)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/23/consumer-privacy-e-commerce" target="_blank">Consumer Privacy in e-Commerce</a> (by Sahana Sarkar)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/07/24/dna-overview" target="_blank">An Overview of DNA Labs in India</a> (by Shilpa Narani)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/uid-nothing-to-hide-fear/weblogentry_view" target="_blank">UID: Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear?</a> (by Shilpa Narani)</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/failure-to-harness-power-of-net" target="_blank">Indian SMEs still fail to harness the power of Net</a> [Sunday Guardian, 19 June 2011]</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/sorry-wrong-number" target="_blank">Sorry Wrong Number</a> [Telegraph, 3 July 2011]</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/aadhaar-truth" target="_blank">Aadhaar’s moment of truth</a> [Deccan Herald, 5 July 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/walls-have-ears" target="_blank">The Walls Have Ears</a> [Outlook, issue, 11 July 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/transparent-government-india" target="_blank">Transparent Government, via Webcams in India</a> [New York Times, 17 July 2011]; news also published in other languages in <a href="http://www.wprost.pl/ar/253803/Truman-show-w-indyjskim-rzadzie/" target="_blank">wprost</a> (Polish), <a href="http://www.ictnews.vn/Home/thoi-su/An-Do-lap-camera-de-chong-tham-nhung/2011/07/2MSVC7185287/View.htm" target="_blank">ictnews</a> (Vietnamese) and <a href="http://www.arretsurimages.net/vite.php?id=11710" target="_blank">@rret sur images</a>(French)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/nyt-lauds-oommen-chandy" target="_blank">NYT lauds Oommen Chandy’s 24/7 office webcast</a> [Deccan Chronicle, 19 July 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/uid-worlds-largest-database" target="_blank">UID: The World’s Largest Biometric Database</a> [International School on Digital Transformation, 21 July 2011]. Sunil Abraham made a <a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/uid-largest-database" target="_blank">presentation</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/facebook-my-lousy-boyfriend" target="_blank">Facebook, my boyfriend is lousy</a> [Bangalore Mirror, 24 July 2011]</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/portugal-well-for-transparency" target="_blank">Portal augurs well for transparency</a> [The Hindu, 25 July 2011] </li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Follow CIS on <a href="http://identi.ca/main/remote?nickname=cis" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Join the CIS group on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28535315687" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Visit us at <a href="http://www.cis-india.org/" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAWOpenness2012-07-30T07:00:26ZPageThe Challenges of Direct Democracy
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/challenges-of-direct-democracy
<b>India must weigh the pros and cons of various approaches to direct democracy and develop one of its own.</b>
<p>Direct democracy is alluring. The dangers to our society and economy from reckless governance as well as confrontational activists, however, are the undermining of institutions, and the unintended consequences.</p>
<p>Our governments have a carry-over of feudal and colonial attitudes and do not communicate unless they must. Change is accepted only under duress, and is not initiated through leadership. Mismanagement is tolerated, resulting in various scams such as the 2G spectrum scam and associated problems.</p>
<p>The current anti-corruption drive by Anna Hazare et al and their well-intentioned cohorts uses tactics that echo a righteous, anti-authoritarian and non-collaborative pattern of “us” versus “them”, combined with an insistence on their way alone. Yet, collaboration is essential for solutions that lead to an equilibrium, recognising the legitimacy of all stakeholders – the government and civil society – as well as the criticality of credible institutions and processes.</p>
<p>We in India are not alone in being drawn to direct democracy. Switzerland’s success in citizen participation combined with its federal structure is the epitome of a workable system. But this model cannot simply be transplanted without regard to cultural contexts. Consider the sobering example of California.</p>
<h3>California's Predicament</h3>
<p>California has been in a state of financial crisis for several years. In 30 years, the Golden State’s credit rating fell from among the best of the 50 states to the worst. Despite everything from Silicon Valley to agriculture, defence, aerospace, biotechnology and Hollywood, why can this state not manage itself? Why does The Economist quote labels like “dysfunctional”, “ungovernable”, even “failed” for this El Dorado (April 20)? To understand what happened in California, we must start with its direct democracy model imported from Switzerland.</p>
<h3>The Swiss Model</h3>
<p>Since the 14th century, Switzerland has had a tradition of citizens participating in assemblies. Coordination among different sets of delegates, e.g. for building roads and bridges across different valleys, had to be approved by respective assemblies. On this canvas, Switzerland grafted America’s Constitution in 1848. It worked and still works because of its design, and Switzerland’s collaborative approach. Constitutional amendments require a referendum as well as a majority of votes by the cantons (states) in the legislature.</p>
<p>Thus, over half the cantons can overrule the popular majority in a referendum, because of the rule taken from America of two votes per state, even if they represent a minority of voters. After being approved in a referendum, the amendments go back to the legislature for redrafting. This enforces George Washington’s principle of “cool” debate outlined at the time of drafting the US Constitution, and embodied in Senate deliberations for dispassionate lawmaking. Initiatives for new laws by direct democracy go through the same process, but the legislature has the option to draft a counter-proposal. This process of engagement and negotiation is designed to avoid extreme outcomes and promote dispassionate solutions. As with America’s Constitution, this prevents two kinds of abuse: James Madison’s1 concerns regarding minority factions and their “swing vote” capturing outcomes (as in India, where minority factions become king makers), or a tyranny by the majority.</p>
<h3>The California Variant</h3>
<p>About 100 years ago, the Progressives in California brought in direct democracy from Switzerland. As in India today, the purpose then was to attack corruption, specifically, “The Octopus” of the Southern Pacific Railroad with its tentacles everywhere. California’s direct democracy was designed to achieve the opposite of the Swiss model. Switzerland emphasises compromise and consensus; California encourages confrontation, and the winners impose their will. Starting new initiatives (“propositions”) is easy; calling referendums on existing laws is difficult. In effect, California’s propositions are irreversible, because a retraction or reversal needs a two-thirds majority, which is virtually impossible because of minority factions and special interests.</p>
<p>For over half a century, there were no major problems. Then, in 1978, the anti-tax proponents initiated a property tax cap, Proposition 13. It limited state revenues (placing a ceiling on all property taxes at one per cent of the 1975 value, which could grow at no more than two per cent annually unless sold, thereby establishing a new value). There are contradictory views on the benefits of Proposition 13, with the defenders blaming opportunistic individuals, not the system, for problems. It is the old divide between tax-and-spend liberals versus cut taxes-and-services conservatives. The outcome, however, is that California went from being a liberal showcase with excellent infrastructure and services to a bankrupt state, cutting back on both.</p>
<h3>What India Can Learn</h3>
<p>India’s polity (at central, state, and local levels), at least now, must start creating systems that harness participation through all means available, so that the voice of popular assemblies is heard within the framework of our representative democracy, and acted upon.</p>
<p>The government needs to move away from the paradigm of “The Administration” against “The People”. Instead, the government must lead a process of collaborative stakeholder engagement for equitable resolution, like the one based on a lifeboat concept of shared interests and survival. As individuals, we need to move away from blaming routines (the government/everyone else is at fault, and I am a victim) to accepting the responsibility and discipline of institution building and processes.</p>
<p>What India Requires</p>
<ul><li>Discarding feudal/colonial notions of the durbar in political parties, among politicians and in government.</li><li>Channeling righteous public anger into the constitutional process with competence and discipline. Currently, there seems to be no effective way of demonstrating dissatisfaction except by taking to the streets.</li></ul>
<div>We need institutionalised incentives and penalties to steer towards these effective means, and to abandon arbitrary and angry ways.</div>
<div><br />Technology allows this on an unprecedented scale, with perhaps 100 million Internet users in India already. To harness and channel this capacity, systems need to be developed on the lines of the Obama campaign2, vastly extended with the expertise and support staff to inform citizens and channel their participation constructively within an institutional framework. These systems will need to cover everything, from issue-based analysis and presentation to spelling out responsible choices with the foreseeable consequences, and collating individual inputs and preferences. If executed with vision, imagination and commitment, this could reduce the instances of people taking to the streets.</div>
<div><br />This article by Shyam Ponappa was published in the Business Standard on July 7, 2011. Read the original <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.com/2011/07/challenges-of-direct-democracy.html">here</a></div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/challenges-of-direct-democracy'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/challenges-of-direct-democracy</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2012-01-30T12:51:10ZBlog EntryJune 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Six monographs Rewiring Bodies, Archive and Access, Pornography and the Law, The Leap of Rhodes or, How India Dealt with the Last Mile Problem - An Inquiry into Technology and Governance, Transparency and Politics and Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities are published online and will be launched later this year.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/Internetcities/cept-centre-for-role-of-internet">CEPT to Set up Centre to Research Role of Internet in Social Development</a> [Published in the Indian Express on June 18, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Upcoming Event in CEPT, Ahmedabad</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop">Locating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum Workshop: Call for Participation</a> [Deadline for submission – 15 July 2011; Workshop from 19 to 22 August 2011]</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>The Digital Natives Newsletter</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/digital-dinosaurs/weblogentry_view">The Digital Dinosaurs</a> [Volume 5]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b> Pathways</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">HE Cell's initiative on social justice, in collaboration with CIS, has initiated the Pathways Project for Learning in Higher Education. It is supported by the Ford Foundation. Under this project, nine under-graduate colleges in different parts of India will be identified to provide special skills in livelihood, knowledge and technology to underprivileged students in those colleges.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/grants/pathways-project/pathways-proposal-info/weblogentry_view">Pathways for Learning in Higher Education</a> </li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/2011/06/21/communications-and-video-accessibility">Policy Spotlight: 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act</a> [Written by Deepti Bharthur; contains an e-mail interview with Jenifer Simpson, Senior Director for Government Affairs and head of the Telecommunications & Technology Policy Initiative at the American Association of People with Disabilities ]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/2011/06/13/ict-sri-lanka">ICT Accessibility in Sri Lanka</a> [Written by Nirmita Narasimhan]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Intellectual Property</b></h2>
<p>CIS believes that access to knowledge and culture is essential as it promotes creativity and innovation and bridges the gaps between the developed and developing world positively. Hence, the campaigns for an international treaty on copyright exceptions for print-impaired, advocating against PUPFIP Bill, calls for the WIPO Broadcast Treaty to be restricted to broadcast, questioning the demonization of 'pirates', and supporting endeavours that explore and question the current copyright regime.</p>
<h3>Statement</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/sccr-22ndsession-cis-statement">Statement of CIS, India, on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 22nd SCCR</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/lid-on-royalty-outflows">Putting a Lid on Royalty Outflows — How the RBI can Help Reduce your IP Costs</a> [Written by Sanjana Govil]</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software.</p>
<h3>Submission</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/2011/06/08/draft-ndsap-comments">Comments on the draft National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy</a> [submitted to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure]</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>New Articles</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/the-present-and-future-dangers-of-indias-draconian-new-internet-regulations/weblogentry_view">The Present — and Future — Dangers of India's Draconian New Internet Regulations</a> [By Anja Kovacs in the Caravan on June 1, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/big-brother-watching-you/weblogentry_view">Big Brother is Watching You</a> [By Sunil Abraham in Deccan Herald on June 1, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/2011/06/08/digital-is-political">The Digital is Political</a> [By Nishant Shah in Down to Earth, Issue of June 15, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/want-to-be-watched/weblogentry_view">Do You Want to be Watched?</a> [By Sunil Abraham in Pragati on June 8, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/2011/06/09/snooping-to-data-abuse">Snooping Can Lead to Data Abuse</a> [By Sunil Abraham in Mail Today on June 9, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/2011/06/22/privacy-and-security">Privacy and Security Can Co-exist</a> [By Sunil Abraham in Mail Today on June 21, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Column in Indian Express</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant Shah, Director-Research will be writing a series of columns on Internet and Society issues:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/2011/06/08/password-in-hindi">Say 'Password' in Hindi</a> [By Nishant Shah in the Indian Express, May 15, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Upcoming Event</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/socio-financial-online-networks">Socio-financial Online Networks: Globalizing Micro-Credit through Micro-transactional Networked Platforms – A Public Lecture by Radhika Gajalla</a> [at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, July 8, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/06/14/copyright-enforcement">Copyright Enforcement and Privacy in India</a> [Written by Prashant Iyengar]</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Articles<b> </b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/06/04/street-view-of-private-and-public">A Street View of Private and the Public</a> [By Prashant Iyengar in Tehelka on June 4, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/blind-man-view-of-elephunt%20/?searchterm=The%20new%20Right%20to%20Privacy%20Bill%202011%20%E2%80%94%20A%20Blind%20Man%27s%20View%20of%20the%20Elephunt">The new Right to Privacy Bill 2011 — A Blind Man's View of the Elephunt</a> [By Prashant Iyengar in Privacy India website on June 8, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/2011/06/03/bloggers-rights-and-privacy">Bloggers' Rights Subordinated to Rights of Expression: Cyber Law Expert</a></li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h3>Event organised in Guwahati</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-guwahati-conference.pdf/view">Privacy matters</a> [Donbosco Institute, Kharguli, Guwahati, June 23, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Upcoming Events</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/internet-surveillance-policy-lecture">Internet Surveillance Policy: “…the second time as farce?” – A Public Lecture by Caspar Bowden</a> [TERI, Bangalore, June 27, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/privacy-matters-hyderabad">Privacy Matters - A Public Conference in Hyderabad</a> [Osmania University Center for International Program, Hyderabad, July 9, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">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. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:</p>
<h3>Articles by Shyam Ponappa</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/telecom/blog/2011/06/08/ntp-2011-objective">NTP 2011 Objective: Broadband</a> [published in the Business Standard on June 2, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Miscellaneous</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/notices/technology-transparency-accountability">Technology, Transparency and Accountability: A Bar-Camp in Delhi</a> [June 5, 2011, Delhi]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/notices/communication-policy-advocacy-technology-and-online-freedom-of-expression-a-toolkit-for-media-development">Communication Policy Advocacy, Technology, and Online Freedom of Expression: A Toolkit for Media Development</a> [June 20 – July 1, 2011, Budapest, Hungary]</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/cyber-space-hackers-paradise">Your cyber space is a hackers paradise</a> [Mail Today, June 6, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/centaur-reveals-personal-info">Centaur website reveals guests' personal info</a> [Times of India, June 20, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/seamier-side-of-texting">Mumbai Takes Note of Sexting, the Seamier Side of Texting</a> [Times of India, June 19, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/state-just-did-to-you">Look what the state just did to you</a> [Mid Day, June 12, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/india-e-tolerance">Tough neighbourhood tests India's e-tolerance</a> [Times of India, June 12, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/looser-web-rules">India Weighing Looser Web Rules</a> [Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/public-data-on-web">Public data on the Web leaves much to be desired</a> [Hindu, May 28, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/aadhar-coming-to-bengaluru">What documents will you need, to get UID?</a> [CitizenMatters.in, May 28, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/mobile-education-villages">Mobile education comes to villages</a> [Mail Today, May 27, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/google-stalks-street">Google now stalks your street</a> [Hindu, May 27, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/women-love-facebook">Women in love with Facebook</a> [Deccan Herald, May 27, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/google-unveils-controversial-street-view">Google Unveils Controversial Street View Mapping in B’lore</a> [Economic Times, Mumbai, May 27, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/e-g-8-report-internet-rights">NGOs say eG8 report must stress internet rights</a> [TELECOMPAPER, May 26, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india">Twitter</a></li>
<li>Follow CIS on <a href="http://identi.ca/main/remote?nickname=cis">identi.ca</a></li>
<li>Join the CIS group on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28535315687">Facebook</a></li>
<li>Visit us at <a href="http://www.cis-india.org/">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAWOpenness2012-07-30T07:14:57ZPageNTP 2011 Objective: Broadband
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/ntp-2011-objective
<b>The Indian government has to choose between accessible, affordable services and short-term revenue, writes Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on June 2, 2011.</b>
<p>Apart from the scams, confused ideas are roiling India’s telecom sector. One instance is the finance ministry urging spectrum auctions to collect Rs 30,000 crore to help bridge the fiscal deficit. Another is the Ashok Chawla committee recommending spectrum auctions for transparency, making transparency the criterion for managing spectrum. The committee apparently does not mention the disastrous US auction, and attributes the UK fiasco to extraneous reasons; presumably, they knew the facts. Such issues need logical and systematic remedies. Otherwise, the success of the telecom sector will degenerate into yet another failure.</p>
<ul>
<li>Objectives: the transaction should be structured in the public interest;</li>
<li>A life-cycle analysis of costs and benefits, and not just windfall revenues (since short-term cash drives the finance ministry’s concerns, it is important for the ministry and the government to step back and consider alternatives, such as the sale of BSNL’s vast real estate. If the goal is ubiquitous and affordable broadband, this would be much less damaging to the public interest than spectrum auctions); and</li>
<li>End-to-end solutions are required from an integrated systems perspective.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The New Telecom Policy ’11</h2>
<p>For the New Telecom Policy 2011 (NTP ’11), the first requirement is to define convergent goals. We could take a leaf from countries with excellent broadband that built high-quality next generation networks. While the US and UK have strong initiatives, Japan, Sweden, South Korea and Finland have highly rated broadband. Australia and Singapore are now building next-generation networks. Both are common-access, open-to-all service providers.</p>
<h3>Spectrum Management</h3>
<p>In India we must begin with unravelling the mess of spectrum management. There are two separate skeins. Legacy issues of irregularities and scams form one stream, to be dealt with by the process of law. On the other hand, policies for next-generation networks need a process of stakeholder workouts to deliver services. Broadly, there are two ways of approaching spectrum management. One is to allocate specified bands for exclusive use, as was customary until now. An alternative is to create a common spectrum pool for use by all service providers. In other words, any provider can dynamically access spectrum for carrying voice, image and/or data. This method of dynamic spectrum access is now feasible, and the US is starting off with TV white space. The Federal Communications Commission has appointed nine companies including Spectrum Bridge and Google as database administrators; a tenth, Microsoft, is under consideration. India could start out on this if the government chooses the objective of accessible and affordable services.</p>
<h2>Network vs Revenue</h2>
<p>The choice is between building/configuring a high-quality, least-cost network and high short-term government collections. Over a longer period, a restrained approach emphasising networks and services is likely to be superior to aggressive government fees, as we found with NTP ’99 — revenue sharing resulted in explosive growth together with higher collections than the amount foregone from licence fees (see data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General2).</p>
<p>How can the government evaluate this trade-off? The diagram below outlines alternative approaches to spectrum allocation and the likely outcomes. The outcomes should be evaluated as public interest costs and benefits.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/costs.jpg/image_preview" alt="Costs" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Costs" /></p>
<p>The first step is to choose between exclusive spectrum use and common access. Exclusive use entails allocation through auctions; methods like first come, first served (FCFS); or “beauty contests”, for example, the evaluation of stipulated criteria such as technology, financial capacity and so on. Auctions are transparent. Common access, too, is completely transparent, provided the usage and payment systems have integrity.</p>
<p>If there are few operators (three or four), each can be allocated 20 MHz or more for exclusive use. In such circumstances, the relative merits are not obvious. However, in an emerging economy like India – without a ubiquitous network and with too little spectrum distributed among many operators – the logical choice for efficient spectrum management is common access.</p>
<p>Auctions often lead to service deprivation because of high costs (the “winner’s curse”). However, there are exceptions, where bidding is kept reasonable, as in Finland, or France because of its timing, after the fiasco of the European auctions. The other alternatives, FCFS or beauty contests, can result in low or high costs depending on government policies. High fees ratchet up costs with windfall gains to government in the short term, but users are deprived of these funds for networks and services. For example, in India, while the government collected nearly Rs 1,03,000 crore for 3G and broadband wireless access auctions, new facilities and services have been slow. Instead, this spectrum is largely used to support 2G users.</p>
<p>Low fees would have improved the odds of high-quality and low-cost facilities, affordable pricing, and better coverage. The government, however, would have lost its short-term windfall gains.</p>
<p>Once the government sets the objective of affordable, high-quality services, the next steps will be:</p>
<ul>
<li>Spectrum allocation and management</li>
</ul>
<p>The decision criteria are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Technology: The rationale for optimal channel width is that with lower capital cost there is greater throughput with a 20 MHz band than with several smaller bands.</li>
<li>Economics: The capital cost of shared facilities through common access is far lower than if each operator invested in separate access networks.</li>
<li> Practical results: High-quality broadband in countries like Japan, Sweden and South Korea was built without spectrum auctions.</li>
<li>Carbon footprint and resources: Both are minimised with shared facilities, such as towers and equipment.</li>
</ol>
<p>These reasons make common spectrum the logical choice, as against auctions for exclusive allocations.</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Common network</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/TreeCommon_Spectrum__NetworkJun_7_2011.jpg/image_preview" alt="Tree " class="image-inline image-inline" title="Tree " /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A common network is, therefore, a logical and environmentally sound choice. The question is how best to own and operate it.</p>
<p> </p>
<pre>Notes</pre>
<ol>
<li>E.g. see: "Winner’s Curse", Chris Anderson, Wired, May ’02:<a class="external-link" href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/change.html">http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/change.html</a></li>
<li>Trai’s estimate of foregone revenues by March ’07: under Rs 20,000 crore: “Indicators for Telecom Growth”, Trai, ’05: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/StudyPapers/2/ir30june.pdf">http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/StudyPapers/2/ir30june.pdf</a><br /><i>Revenue share collections by March ’07: Rs 40,000 crore; by March ’10: Rs 80,000 crore: "Performance Audit Report on the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology"</i>, <a class="external-link" href="http://saiindia.gov.in/cag/union-audit/report-no-19-performance-audit-issue-licences-and-allocation-2g-spectrum-department-tele">http://saiindia.gov.in/cag/union-audit/report-no-19-performance-audit-issue-licences-and-allocation-2g-spectrum-department-tele</a><br /><br />Read the original <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.com/2011/06/ntp-2011-objective-broadband.html">here</a></li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/ntp-2011-objective'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/ntp-2011-objective</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2012-07-26T10:09:17ZBlog EntryMay 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage.</b>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entry by Samuel Tettner</h3>
<p>Samuel Tettner is a Digital Natives Coordinator in CIS. He has written the following blog entry:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/what-scares-a-digital-native-blogathon-1">What Scare a Digital Native Blogathon?</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/universal-service">Universal Service — An Instrument for Accessibility</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software. Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/open-government-data-study">Open Government Data Study</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Comments</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/ict-in-school-education">Comments on Draft National Policy on ICT in School Education</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Interview</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/an-interview-with-prof-arunachalam">Q&A on open access with Subbiah Arunachalam of the Centre for Internet and Society (Bangalore)</a> [Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, May 5, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Column in Indian Express</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant Shah, Director-Research will be writing a series of columns on Internet and Society issues. His first column on transparency, technology and NGOs in India came out on Sunday:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/power-to-people">Power to the People</a> [Indian Express, May 15, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/killing-the-internet-oped">Killing the Internet Softly with Its Rules</a> [By Pranesh Prakash in Indian Express, May 9, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries">Rebuttal of DIT's Misleading Statements on New Internet Rules</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cdt-internet-neutrality">CDT Provides Answers to Questions on Internet Neutrality</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/limits-to-privacy">Limits to Privacy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Conference Report</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy_privacybydesign">Privacy By Design — Conference Report</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Workshop</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/ijlt-cis-lecture-series">Second IJLT-CIS Lecture Series, National Law School</a> [National Law School of India University, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore, May 21-22, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Upcoming Conferences</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/uid-panel-discussion">Panel Discussion on UID – Its Feasibility, Utility and Legality</a> [May 26, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=427&qid=46981" target="_blank">Privacy Matters - A Public Conference in Hyderabad</a></span> [The English and Foreign Languages University (TBC), Hyderabad, June 18, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">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. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:</p>
<h3>Column</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/telecom/blog/spectrum-reforms">Spectrum reforms - Good & Bad news</a> [published in the Business Standard on May 5, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Miscellaneous</b></h2>
<p>Public Lecture</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/lecture-by-hans">The Task of the Translator after Google</a> [CIS, April 30, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/avec-i-e-g-8">Sunil Abraham, CIS : "Avec l’e-G8, Nicolas Sarkozy veut promouvoir de nouvelles restrictions à la liberté d’expression"</a> [LE MAG IT, May 24, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/simple-as-a-tweet">As Simple as a Tweet</a> [Deccan Chronicle, May 24, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/network-of-chains">A Network of Chains</a> [Outlook, Issue of May 30, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/rti-query-filed">Bangalore-based NGO files RTI query asking list of websites blocked by Indian govt</a> [Daily News & Analysis, May 18, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/it-act-internet-use">IT Act if enforced will leave internet use in India no freer than in China</a> [Daily News & Analysis, May 15, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/privacy-public-property">Your Privacy is Public Property</a></span> [Mail Today, May 15, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/point-by-point-rebuttal">Point By Point Rebuttal Of Indian Government’s Statement On Internet Control Rules</a></span> [Medianama, May 13, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/new-rules-for-due-diligence">New rules to ensure due diligence: IT dept</a></span> [Times of India, May 11, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/a-fight-against-draconian-IT-rules">Indian civil liberties groups are now geared to fight the draconian IT Rules</a></span> [Weekend Leader.com, Vol 2 Issue 18, 6 - 12 May, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/objectionable-content-can-be-removed">New Internet rule: 'Objectionable' content can be removed without notifying users</a></span> [dailybhaskar.com, May 11, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/online-speech">India Chills Online Speech</a></span> [digitalcommunities, May 3, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/consumers-international-world-congress-day-3-roundup">Consumers International World Congress - Day 3 roundup</a></span> [Consumer's International Blog, May 5, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/censorship-in-new-web-rules">Digerati See Censorship in New Web Rules</a></span> [Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/free-expression">Free expression</a></span> [Watertown Daily Times, May 2, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/india-curbs-bloggers-internet">India curbs on Bloggers and Internet</a></span> [TruthDrive, April 29, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/geek-city">Bright lights, geek city</a></span> [Hindu, April 28, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/india-cracks-down">India Cracks Down on Internet Free Speech</a></span> [April 28, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/cyber-cafes-porn-free">India's cyber cafes going porn-free</a></span> [msnbc.com, April 28, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/ipad-2-across-asia">Thousands queue for iPad 2 across Asia</a></span> [AFP, April 28, 2011] [News hosted by Google]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/internet-rules-arbitary-interpretation">New internet rules open to arbitrary interpretation</a></span> [Times of India, April 27, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/internet-free-speech">India Puts Tight Leash on Internet Free Speech</a></span> [New York Times, April 27, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/india-can-restrict-objectionable-web-content">India Can Restrict 'Objectionable' Web Content under New Rules</a></span> [TMCnet Legal, April 27, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/iraq-tour-of-india">Iraqi Minister meets Secretary, Indian Ministry of Panchayat Raj</a></span> [Karnataka News Network, April 27, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/world-is-your-oyster">The world is your oyster, by invitation only</a></span> [Livemint, April 26, 2011] </li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/no-pornography-in-cyber-cafes">No access to pornography in cyber cafes, declare new rules</a></span> [Times of India, April 26, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/tapping-telephone-calls">India Proposes Restrictions on Tapping Telephone Calls</a></span> [PC World, TechWorld and CIO, April 26, 2011] </li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=456&qid=46981" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li>Follow CIS on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=457&qid=46981" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
<li>Join the CIS group on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=458&qid=46981" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li>Visit us at <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=459&qid=46981" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceOpenness2012-07-30T10:23:01ZPageSpectrum reforms - Good & Bad news
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/spectrum-reforms
<b>A good initiative is under way, but needs changes to work out complex issues, writes Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on May 5, 2011.</b>
<p>There’s some good news, and yes, some bad news… The good news is that momentous developments are under way in spectrum and telecom policy:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology held consultations with service providers, then posted the transcript on the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) website.</li>
<li>The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) disclosed data on all commercial spectrum allocations – frequencies allotted by geography and service provider or operator – on its website.</li>
</ul>
<p>Terrific first steps in a constructive approach. There’s more: the ministry’s report of 100 days states: "We will hold consultations with key stakeholders to evolve a clear and transparent regime covering licensing, spectrum allocation, tariffs or pricing, linkage with roll out performance, flexibility within licenses, spectrum sharing, spectrum trading, MVNOs, unlicensed bands, M&A, etc, in a technology agnostic environment after due consideration of Trai recommendations in this regard. Interest of the 'aam aadmi' would be the prime consideration." That’s comprehensive alright, which is good, though the 'aam aadmi' bit is either confused or manipulative. Elected governments should act in the public interest, no more, no less. While the private sector is exhorted not to play games, the government at all levels – politicians, administrators and agencies – must also focus on results, and avoid populism.</p>
<h3>Display & Presentation</h3>
<p>The presentation of information could be more effective for the patterns and structure to be easily accessible. The WPC display is of voluminous raw data. There is no overview, with the ability to drill down to details, nor to aggregate details by operator or frequency. The full set runs into 32 pages of tables (Figure 1).</p>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/SpectrumAvailableAllottedBWA2.32.jpg/image_preview" alt="spectrum alloted" class="image-inline image-inline" title="spectrum alloted" /></p>
<p>Compare this with a display in colour from the US’ National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Figure 2). Similar information from the WPC runs into many pages.</p>
<p align="left">Figure 2: Fragment of Allocation Chart (USA)</p>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/sa2.jpg/image_preview" alt="spectrum allocation" class="image-inline image-inline" title="spectrum allocation" /></p>
<p align="left">Source: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf">http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf</a></p>
<p>However, the US display contains not as much detail, and has no interactive capabilities (these are possible extensions). For an interactive graphical interface, consider the “market map” by Moneycontrol.com for stocks (Figure 3, left).</p>
<p>One can drill down in any sector by clicking on the rectangle. For example, “Telecommunication”, which opens a map with the listed companies, each colour-coded to reflect more detail (green for gains, red for losses).</p>
<p>Clicking on a company shows its daily price and volume chart (Figure 3, right). In a variant (at Smartmoney.com), it opens a menu with access to details like news, financials and so on. Similar spectrum displays could show, for example, information by operator for network rollout and subscribers by frequency.</p>
<p align="left">Figure 3: Market Map of Stocks (Sectors) Companies</p>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/MarketMapofStocks.jpg/image_preview" alt="market map" class="image-inline image-inline" title="market map" /></p>
<p align="left">Source: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.moneycontrol.com/mcplus/marketmap/nse/marketmap.php">http://www.moneycontrol.com/mcplus/marketmap/nse/marketmap.php</a></p>
<p align="left">An alternate display format is the “Topics most commented on” on The Economist's website.<br />When the cursor hovers on a topic, related comments are displayed. Clicking on a topic realigns the clusters based on content around that topic, as for India in Figure 4.</p>
<p align="left">Figure 4:</p>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/visualisation.jpg/image_preview" alt="visualisation" class="image-inline image-inline" title="visualisation" /></p>
<p align="left">Source: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.economist.com/conversation-cloud?days=30">http://www.economist.com/conversation-cloud?days=30</a></p>
<p align="left">This would work well for aggregating comments on related issues in the consultation transcripts.</p>
<p class="discreet">Imagine what such a graphical interface to a relational database could do for effectiveness and transparency in spectrum policy. It could be extended to telecom and broadband next, and, eventually, to all of government.</p>
<h3>The Bad News: Process Limitations</h3>
<p>Judging from news reports, process inadequacies might render the ministry’s grand intentions unachievable. The following examples show why.</p>
<p>- Spectrum sharing is an obvious solution for high demand with limited supply. The DoT has reportedly considered it for years, but discussions so far have been superficial and on "excess spectrum". Also, the statements of intent on sharing or trading are confusing. "Spectrum trading" implies exclusive rights to spectrum, unless otherwise specified. "Spectrum sharing" means aggregating spectrum for redeployment, with Dynamic Spectrum Allocation. This is analogous to “common carrier access” and “big pipes” for railways, roads, oil pipelines, or airways. Therefore, from a policy perspective, spectrum sharing and spectrum trading are mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>Spectrum and airways or flight paths coexist in the atmosphere. Imagine if airways were auctioned to each airline for its exclusive use, instead of being available to all airlines for similar aircraft through Air Traffic Control. That’s what we have with spectrum auctions in communications. The logic for spectrum auctions is based on old technology with no allowances for improvements in managing interference in the last 60-70 years. Also, allocating spectrum in this way means that aggregate capacity is constrained for two reasons. One is that each operator uses only part of allotted capacity. A study in Singapore in 2008 found that only two bands had a utilisation rate of 50 per cent; the overall utilisation rate for 80-5,850 MHz was about five per cent (Figure 5).</p>
<p align="left">Figure 5: Average Occupancy of Frequency Bands in Singapore</p>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/SingaporeSpectrumStudyJul152008.jpg/image_preview" alt="singapore spectrum" class="image-inline image-inline" title="singapore spectrum" /></p>
<p align="left">Source:<a class="external-link" href="http://www.pwtc.eee.ntu.edu.sg/News/Documents/Spectrum%20survey%20in%20Singapore_%20Occupancy%20measurements%20and%20analyses.pdf">http://goo.gl/qVyBv</a></p>
<p>Second, a large band provides much greater capacity than the sum of smaller bands.</p>
<p>Our spectrum predicament arises primarily from inappropriate allocation policies. Therefore, forward-looking policies need the incorporation of a technical understanding of spectrum occupancy, of the effects of spectrum aggregation versus fragmentation, and of technologies like multiple antenna effects (multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO), which enable more effective spectrum use and improve functional attributes of higher frequencies. A backward-looking audit of historical data will not serve these purposes.</p>
<ul>
<li>Another damaging effect is the move to extract spectrum from Defence to auction to the private sector. The rationale apparently is the high revenues the government can collect. This cannot be in the public interest, especially since the alternate optical fibre network to have been built by BSNL is still not ready. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Decisions on issues like the desirable number of operators per circle need an objective rationale. No data have been offered contrary to the UK Ofcom’s findings of maximum welfare at three to four operators.</li>
</ul>
<p>An inherent limitation of the consultation-and-pronouncement approach (as opposed to a collaborative-stakeholder-workout) is that external expertise in technology and process consultation, sorely needed in India, has to be brought in only by the government. This must be done before formulating new policies, because the issues are too complex to resolve without objective expertise.</p>
<ul>
<li>Read the original blog post <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.com/2011/05/spectrum-reforms-good-bad-news.html">here</a></li>
<li>For article published by Business Standard, click <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/shyam-ponappa-spectrum-reforms-goodbad-news/434477/">here</a> </li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/spectrum-reforms'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/spectrum-reforms</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2012-07-26T10:02:48ZBlog EntryApril 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/april-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India.</p>
<h3>Workshops organised in Bangalore</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=334&qid=39041" target="_blank">Shadow Search Project (SSP)</a> [CIS, April 18, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=335&qid=39041" target="_blank">Facebook Resistance</a></span> [CIS, April 2, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>Columns on Digital Natives</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. The following were published in the month of April:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=336&qid=39041" target="_blank">Who the Hack?</a></span> [Indian Express, April 24, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=337&qid=39041" target="_blank">One for the avatar</a></span> [Indian Express, April 3, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Digital Natives Newsletter</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Links in the Chain is a bi-monthly publication which highlights the projects, ideas and news of the Digital Natives with a Cause? The first issue of volume IV is here:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=338&qid=39041" target="_blank">links in the chain volume 4 Best Practices</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entry by Samuel Tettner</h3>
<p>Samuel Tettner is a Digital Natives Coordinator in CIS. He has written the following blog entry:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=339&qid=39041" target="_blank">Cyber Fears: What scares Digital Natives and those around them</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>Workshop organised in Hyderabad</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=340&qid=39041" target="_blank">Web Sites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies: Conference Report</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software. Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Submission</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=341&qid=39041" target="_blank">Comments on Draft National Policy on ICT in School Education</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=342&qid=39041" target="_blank">Towards Open and Equitable Access to Research and Knowledge for Development</a></span> [PLoS, March 29, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Featured</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=343&qid=39041" target="_blank">DIT's Response to RTI on Website Blocking</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=344&qid=39041" target="_blank">What are the legal provisions for blocking websites in India?</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=345&qid=39041" target="_blank">We are anonymous, we are legion</a></span> [published in the Hindu, April 18, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=346&qid=39041" target="_blank">You Have the Right to Remain Silent</a></span> [published in the Sunday Guardian, April 17, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Study Tour</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=347&qid=39041" target="_blank">Iraq Delegation to Visit India for Study of E-Governance in Indian Cities ― Meetings in Bangalore and Delhi</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=348&qid=39041" target="_blank">The DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and Privacy</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=349&qid=39041" target="_blank">Privacy and the Information Technology Act — Do we have the Safeguards for Electronic Privacy?</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Interview</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=350&qid=39041" target="_blank">An Interview with Activist Shubha Chacko: Privacy and Sex workers</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Workshops organized in Ahmedabad and Bangalore</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=351&qid=39041" target="_blank">'Privacy Matters', Ahmedabad: Conference Report</a></span> [Ahmedabad Management Association, Ahmedabad, March 26, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=352&qid=39041" target="_blank">Privacy, By Design</a></span> [CIS, April 16, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=353&qid=39041" target="_blank">Is Data Protection Enough?</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=354&qid=39041" target="_blank">Surveillance Technologies</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=355&qid=39041" target="_blank">Encryption Standards and Practices</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=356&qid=39041" target="_blank">News Broadcasting Standards Authority censures TV9 over privacy violations!</a></span></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">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. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:</p>
<h3>Column</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=357&qid=39041" target="_blank">Learning from Fukushima</a></span> [published in the Business Standard on April 7, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=358&qid=39041" target="_blank">The Gary Chapman International School on Digital Transformation</a></span>[International School on Digital Transformation, July 17-22, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=359&qid=39041" target="_blank">Iraqi delegation in Bangalore to study e-governance projects</a></span> [Economic Times, April 20, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=360&qid=39041" target="_blank">Dark waders</a></span> [Time Out Bengaluru, Vol. 3, Issue 20, April 15 - 28, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=361&qid=39041" target="_blank">Beyond Clicktivism</a></span> [Outlook, April 18, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=362&qid=39041" target="_blank">Gone in a flash</a></span> [Times of India, April 16, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=363&qid=39041" target="_blank">How Web 2.0 responded to Hazare</a></span> [Hindu, April 11, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=364&qid=39041" target="_blank">EU Commissioner Hedegaard to deliver keynote address at consumer world congress</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=365&qid=39041" target="_blank">Net cracker</a></span> [Time Out Bengaluru Vol. 3 Issue 19, April 1 - 14, 2011]</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=366&qid=39041" target="_blank">On the Path to Global Open Access: A Few More Miles to Go</a></span> [PLoS, March 2011, Volume 8, Issue 3]</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=367&qid=39041" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li>Follow CIS on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=368&qid=39041" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
<li>Join the CIS group on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=369&qid=39041" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li>Visit us at <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=370&qid=39041" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/april-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/april-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchOpenness2012-07-30T10:45:01ZPageLearning from Fukushima
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/fukushima
<b>Take remedial steps and demystify the unreasoning dread of nuclear power, says Shyam Ponappa in his latest column published by the Business Standard on April 7, 2011.</b>
<p>Official statistics report over 22,000 deaths related to fires, 27,000 by drowning and 144,000 in traffic accidents annually in India<strong>[<a href="#1">1</a>]</strong>. By contrast, the number of deaths resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear accident is about 10,000 in total, estimates Frank von Hippel, a nuclear physicist at Princeton, who is co-chairman of the International Panel on Fissile Materials (other estimates: World Health Organisation 4,000; International Agency for Research on Cancer 16,000; Belarus 93,000 plus 270,000 cancer patients; and Ukraine 500,000). Against this, he estimates the number of deaths owing to pollution from coal plants in the US alone at 10,000 each year <strong>[<a href="#2">2</a>]</strong>.</p>
<p>In this context, what are we to make of a top Indian scientist’s demand for stopping nuclear power production in India pending a transparent safety audit of all nuclear plants? Why not stop all traffic because of traffic accidents, to paraphrase another leading scientist? Should we shut down all our cities and towns until the sewerage systems work? A conscious effort should be made to demystify nuclear power.</p>
<p>To consider this rationally, let’s begin with some reported facts. The Fukushima accident happened after the earthquake, after the plant shut down. The plant was designed to withstand waves of six metres, but was struck by an eight-metre high tsunami, according to the US’ National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (other estimates range between 6.71 and 14 metres).</p>
<p>The reactor core takes several days to cool after being shut down and requires external cooling. The cooling system lost power from the grid because of the earthquake. The backup diesel generators worked for an hour, then stopped (there are conflicting reports on the reasons). The backup batteries then powered the pumps until they ran out. There are also conflicting reports of alternate diesel generators that were either of insufficient capacity or could not be connected for reasons that are unclear (flooded connectors, incompatible plugs and so on). The tsunami devastated the surroundings even as it hampered assistance from elsewhere. The failure appears to have been in the supply of power and water, that is , ancillary services.</p>
<p>Japan has 55 nuclear power reactors and it experiences frequent earthquakes. Though there have been instances of plants being shut down after earthquakes (2007: electrical transformer fire at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, and some leaks of slightly radioactive water reported; 2004: one unit at the same plant was shut down), there has been no failure of nuclear plants because of earthquakes. So, no new facts relating to earthquakes or tsunamis seem to have surfaced to cause India to shut down its nuclear plants arbitrarily.</p>
<p>An increase in energy use in India is inescapable, given the correlation between growth and energy consumption. On balance, we need all the energy we can get staying within reasonable risks and costs. Objectively, what can we expect from our government and related agencies such as the Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Agency?</p>
<h3>Remedial Action</h3>
<p>One could be to expect action to reduce risks based on experience.</p>
<ul><li>After the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, a 3.2-km wall was constructed at Kalpakkam, which was in the path of the tsunami, fortified with sandbags, rocks and embankments. (The plant is situated at over 9 metres above the sea, with the reactor floors at a height of nearly 10.7 metres.)</li><li>The backup generators are located some distance away from the plant, out of the reach of tsunamis.</li><li>Mangroves and casuarinas along the coast helped diffuse the impact of the waves in 2004. News reports indicate the Department of Atomic Energy plans to augment these after its recent review of coastal nuclear plants.</li><li>News reports also mention that portable generators will be acquired for backup and tsunami alarms will be installed at coastal sites.</li></ul>
<p>Other remedial measures based on experience may have been incorporated at Indian plants, or if not, could be incorporated now. For instance, referring to Fukushima, Dr von Hippel describes a filtered vent system designed to reduce radioactivity before releasing pressure from the containment building in the event of a meltdown (see diagram). Though it was ignored in the US, Sweden adopted it and so did France and Germany. Presumably, a benefit of Areva’s partnership with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India for constructing India’s new reactors will be the inclusion of filtered vents, if appropriate and not already in our design.</p>
<h3>Costs, Benefits and Risks</h3>
<p>Another issue is educating people on the risks, costs and benefits of different fuels. Life-cycle emissions capture one aspect of these costs (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/content/general_pdf/040711_01.pdf">see figure for Europe</a>).</p>
<p>A similar study is available for the US: “Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Systems and Applications for Climate Change Policy Analysis” by Paul J Meier, University of Wisconsin-Madison, August 2002 (<a class="external-link" href="http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/pdf/fdm1181.pdf">http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/pdf/fdm1181.pdf</a>) Besides, there are costs such as population displacement and environmental effects associated with hydroelectric plants, land requirements and the environmental impact of manufacturing for solar generation, noise levels for wind farms, or pollution and the higher risk of accidents associated with coal <strong>[<a href="#3">3</a>]</strong>.</p>
<h3>Open Information and Communication</h3>
<p>A third issue is easy access to accurate and relevant information. After the tsunami in 2004, the information sharing with the public was exemplary, with open and transparent briefings at Kalpakkam. This approach needs to be instituted as a standard operating procedure for governance by all departments and agencies, displaying integrity in systems, thereby instilling confidence in the public.</p>
<p>Prompt and accurate information about safety features including design and remedial measures could be compiled for ready access on websites, with pointers during press briefings. Regular and effective communication of systems and procedures, and measures to mitigate risks, could reduce our unreasoning dread of nuclear energy. Such steps would help assess risks reasonably and provide a good framework for governance and crisis management.</p>
<h3>Notes</h3>
<p> <br /><a name="1">[1]."Table 38.1 Incidence of Accidental Deaths", http://mospi.nic.in/...38%20ACCIDENT%20STATISTICS/Table-38.1.xls [2008: latest available data].</a></p>
<p><a name="2">[2].“It Could Happen Here”, Frank N von Hippel, New York Times, March 23, 2011: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24Von-Hippel.html.</a></p>
<p><a name="3">[3].“Nuclear power is safest way to make electricity, according to study”, David Brown, Washington Post, April 2, 2011: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nuclear-power-is-safest-way-to-make-electricity-according-to-2007-tudy/2011/03/22/AFQUbyQC_story.html.</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/fukushima'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/fukushima</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaTelecom2011-08-30T12:47:25ZBlog EntryMarch 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march%20-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage.</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Monographs finalised from these projects are online for peer review.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">New Blog Entry by Zainab Bawa in Transparency and Politics</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/transparency/transparency-politics-it-in-india" target="_blank">A History of Transparency, Politics and Information Technologies in India</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>Column on Digital Natives</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. The following was published recently:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/watson-knows" target="_blank">Watson knows the Question</a> [Indian Express, March 6, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Blog Entries by Maesey Angelina</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Maesey Angelina works as a programme officer at Hivos, Jakarta on gender, women and development while exploring research initiatives on Digital Natives in Indonesia. She spent one month in CIS, working on her dissertation, exploring the Blank Noise project under the Digital Natives with a Cause framework. She writes a series of blog entries. The new ones are:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/reflecting-from-the-beyond" target="_blank">Reflecting from the Beyond</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/activism-unraveling-the-term" target="_blank">Activism: Unraveling the Term</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/the-many-faces-within" target="_blank">The Many Faces Within</a> </li>
</ul>
<h3>Blog Entries by Samuel Tettner</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Samuel Tettner is a Digital Natives Coordinator in CIS. He has written the following blog entries:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/i-believe-that-______-should-be-a-right-in-the-digital-age" target="_blank">I Believe that .......... should be a Right in the Digital Age</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/science-technology-and-society-conference-in-indore-march-12-13" target="_blank">Science, Technology and Society International Conference – Some Afterthoughts</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/accessible-mobile-handsets" target="_blank">Accessible Mobile Handsets in India: An Overview</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities" target="_blank">Note on the Authorities under the Working Draft of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2011 (9th February 2011)</a> </li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Intellectual Property</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that access to knowledge and culture is essential as it promotes creativity and innovation and bridges the gaps between the developed and developing world positively. Hence, the campaigns for an international treaty on copyright exceptions for print-impaired, advocating against PUPFIP Bill, calls for the WIPO Broadcast Treaty to be restricted to broadcast, questioning the demonization of 'pirates', and supporting endeavours that explore and question the current copyright regime. Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/plagiarism-in-indian-academia" target="_blank">Pirates, Plagiarisers, Publishers</a> [ Written by Prashant Iyengar and originally published in the Economic & Political Weekly, February 26, 2011, Vol XLVI No 9]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Submission</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/wipo-broadcast-treaty-comments-march-2011" target="_blank">Comments to the Ministry on WIPO Broadcast Treaty</a> (March 2011)</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<h3>Workshops organised</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/design-public" target="_blank">Design!publiC</a> [Taj Vivanta, New Delhi, March 18, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/open-access" target="_blank">Open Access to Scientific Information Indian International Centre</a> [New Delhi, March 16, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” CIS involvement in the field of Internet governance has taken the following shape:</p>
<h3>Submissions</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/electronic-delivery-of-services-comments" target="_blank">The Draft Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011 – Comments by CIS</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/policy-for-governments-presence-in-social-media-recommendations" target="_blank">Policy for Government's Presence in Social Media - Recommendations</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/rtis-on-website-blocking" target="_blank">RTI Applications on Blocking of Websites</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. <i>It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon</i>. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Submission</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/privacy_govdatabase" target="_blank">Privacy and Governmental Database</a> </li>
</ul>
<p>Workshops organized</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/privacy-matters-ahmedabad" target="_blank">Privacy Matters - A Public Conference in Ahmedabad</a> [Ahmedabad, March 26, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/ian" target="_blank">Public Talk by Dr. Ian Brown on Privacy, Trust and Biometrics</a> [Centre for Contemporary Studies, IISc, Bangalore, March 21, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/electronication" target="_blank">Electronication: Ragas and the Future</a> [Jaaga, Bangalore, March 6, 2011]</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/fostering-freedom-of-expression" target="_blank">Role of the Internet in Fostering Freedom of Expression and Strengthening Activism in India - A Workshop in Delhi</a> [Constitution Club, New Delhi, March 4, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/global-freedom-expression" target="_blank">Global Challenges to Freedom of Expression</a> [Constitution Club, New Delhi, March 4, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">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. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:</p>
<h3>Featured Research</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/telecom/blog/untapped-potential" target="_blank">India's untapped potential: Are a billion people losing out because of spectrum?</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Column</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/telecom/blog/big-bang-budgets" target="_blank">Big-Bang Budgets?</a> [published in the Business Standard on March 3, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Forthcoming Events</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is organising some conferences/workshops in the month of March/April:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/w3c-conference-hyderabad" target="_blank">Web Sites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies: A New Imperative for State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a>[Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/shadow-search-in-cis" target="_blank">Shadow Search Project (SSP) in CIS</a> [CIS, Bangalore]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/facebook-resistance" target="_blank">Facebook Resistance Workshop</a> [CIS, Bangalore]</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/networking-better-governance" target="_blank">Networking its way to better governance</a> (Hindu, March 28, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/failed-uk-nir-project" target="_blank">‘Learn from failed UK NIR project’</a> (Deccan Chronicle, March 22, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/design-public-livemint-coverage" target="_blank">Design!publiC - News from Livemint</a> (Livemint, March 18, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/muzzling-internet" target="_blank">Muzzling the Internet</a> (Outlook, March 17, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/battle-internet" target="_blank">Battle for the Internet</a> (Down to Earth, Issue: March 15, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/cause-and-effect" target="_blank">Cause and effect Facebook-style</a> (Hindustan Times, March 13, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/catch-all" target="_blank">Catch-all approach to Net freedom draws activist ire</a> (Sunday Guardian, March 13, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/suspended-in-web" target="_blank">Lives suspended in the Web</a> (Indian Express, March 11, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/it-guidelines-gag-internet-freedom" target="_blank">Draft IT guidelines may gag internet freedom</a> (Times of India, March 11, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/govt-proposal" target="_blank">Govt proposal to muzzle bloggers sparks outcry</a> (Times of India, March 10, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/online-censorship" target="_blank">New Indian Rules May Make Online Censorship Easier</a> (Yahoo News, March 7, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/anti-social-network" target="_blank">Anti-Social Network</a> (Mail Today, February 27, 2011)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Follow CIS on <a href="http://identi.ca/main/remote?nickname=cis" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Join the CIS group on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28535315687" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Visit us at <a href="http://www.cis-india.org/" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march%20-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march%20-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchOpenness2012-07-30T10:59:46ZPageIndia's untapped potential: Are a billion people losing out because of spectrum?
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential
<b>As one of the world’s fastest growing economies and with over 65% of its billion-plus population under 35, India has huge potential. But according to Shyam Ponappa of the Centre for Internet & Society, its spectrum management – the electromagnetic waves that are used from home appliances like microwaves and remote controls, to radios, cell phones, and of course, the internet – could be a huge barrier to the country’s economic and social development.</b>
<p>Until the global economic downturn that began about two years ago, the economic model for spectrum distribution in India and many developing countries was based on the free market. But Ponappa demonstrates in a <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/11864/">new report </a>for APC that spectrum is worth treating as a public utility the way we do roads, electricity and other basic infrastructure, which would allow for people in rural areas to access spectrum-dependant services like mobile phones and wifi and increase quality of services for all.</p>
<p>Currently in India, as in most other countries, spectrum is being treated as a property, where “chunks” of spectrum are sold to the mobile phone and telecommunications operators with the highest bid. Commonly there are 3 – 4 operators in a developed country; however, in India there are up to sixteen. The extreme competition has resulted in the Indian bidders paying outrageous fees that they are never able to recuperate. So while the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> makes a profit on the sale, this profit comes at a societal cost.</p>
<p>Ponappa proposes pooling spectrum and to have a set of network providers, who in turn serve operators for retail users. This effectively opens up the spectrum and could make costs ten or fifteen times cheaper than they are now.</p>
<p>“It is appropriate to push the concept of open spectrum in developed markets who underwent their development phase some 60 – 100 years ago and put in place basic infrastructure systems. But in countries like India and the Asian sub-continent, it does not make sense to do this because we are not at the same stage of economic development,” Ponappa told APCNews.</p>
<p>“When markets are well structured and organised,” he continues, “[<a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> control] can be less effective and efficient for society as a whole, compared with open competition. However developing economies don’t have the integrated systems in place that advanced economies do. India does not have an adequately developed network of copper, optical <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/293">fibre</a> or microwaves covering most of its population. And we are at a stage of development at which infrastructure is a fundamental determinant of productivity, as well as of a reasonable quality of life.”</p>
<p>Ponappa argues that in India’s case it would be advisable for governments to work with other stakeholders – corporations, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/354">state</a>-owned agencies, and civil society – on a collaborative solution. “It would be much more conducive to a sound economy to have either the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> step in and open up the commercial spectrum, or to have two to three main operators (possibly subsidised, but not necessarily) as we do with the provision of utilities,” he says. Yet, the free market mentality continues to reign, and a surfeit of operators is trying to make a profit in the telecommunications <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/325">wireless</a> sector.</p>
<h3>Everybody wants a piece of the pie</h3>
<p>In India, every operator is assigned a sliver of spectrum for their exclusive use and the rest is assigned to the government, the public sector and defence.</p>
<p>The result is high-cost infrastructure for operators (setting up networks with multiple sets of more advanced equipment because of the limited spectrum, with the capital constraints resulting in less extensive networks in rural areas) as well as for users (who have to pay for all this equipment).</p>
<p>“Too many operators make for increased capital costs for each operator, and cumulatively for all operators,” Ponappa explains.</p>
<p>And these higher costs are increasingly difficult to recover from consumer-generated revenue, as India undergoes huge price wars. Many operators may eventually go bankrupt. While no consumers ever complain about low costs –and India has some of the world’s lowest mobile rates– they will complain about poor quality and unreliable service. Consequently, consumers may not have to pay much to use mobile services, but they may not always be able to make or receive calls when they need to, and do not have access to broadband.</p>
<p>While most countries have moved on to 3G networks (which has more capacity for a given spectrum band than 2G, meaning better call quality) as many as four of India’s sixteen operators have not even developed their 2G networks. Making the switch to 3G seems like a good idea, but there are substantial costs associated with deploying these more advanced techniques to both operators (for network upgrades) and for end users (in terms of new handsets).</p>
<p>Too much competition in this case has made operators inefficient.</p>
<h3>Spectrum as a national common good</h3>
<p>If spectrum were treated as if it were a public utility, posits Ponappa, each operator would have access to a bigger chunk of spectrum, and the traffic-handling capacity of each would increase at a lower cost.</p>
<p>“With the current model the capacity of networks is suffering because networks cannot afford to expand or make technical improvements without economic losses. Other infrastructure services such as electricity and water supply are managed by utility companies, which are typically monopolies for a product-segment, or duopolies for purposes of competition. So why not treat spectrum the same way?” suggests Ponappa.</p>
<p>Ponappa suggests treating networks, and spectrum as a part of networks, as we would an oil pipeline, where everyone accesses the same one, and pays a fee for its use.</p>
<p>This would bring more people onto the network and increase revenues, since operating costs would be shared. The more revenue it can generate, the more efficient operators will be, using the same high-capacity circuits. The more revenue the main operators have, the more they could invest in up-to-date technology to extend their networks and provide a better service to clients. The better the technology, the more people could access the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/258">internet</a> and other now vital sources of information, as well as focus on broadband and infrastructure to the country’s isolated rural areas, which today have rudimentary communications infrastructure.</p>
<h3>India’s rural populations, the lost resource</h3>
<p>As a predominantly rural country, lack of basic IT infrastructure means that the largest segment of India’s population has no <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/300">access to information </a>and communications technologies.</p>
<p>Ponappa grew up on a farm in a rural area some 200 km from Bangalore where even fixed line phone networks were unreliable. “We have multiple telephone lines because we never know which one will work,” he says.</p>
<p>Given India’s massive rural population, this means that there are hundreds of millions of people that are unable to access the internet. Services like quality distance education are not even an option if basic infrastructure such as fixed telephone lines is not in place and the country itself is losing out on the incalculable potential of this untapped human resource.</p>
<p>Download the report <a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/india-untapped-potential" class="internal-link">here</a> [pdf - 280 kb]</p>
<p>See the report in the APC <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/pubs/research/open-spectrum-development-india-case-study">website</a></p>
<p><i>This article was written as part of the APC’s project work on </i><a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/10445/"><i>Spectrum for development</i></a><i>, an initiative that aims to provide an understanding of spectrum regulation by examining the situation in Africa, Asia and Latin America.</i></p>
<p>Photo by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwanja/3170290086/">kiwanja</a>. Used with permission under Creative Content licensing.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecomFeatured2012-12-14T10:31:43ZBlog EntryBig-Bang Budgets?
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/big-bang-budgets
<b>Clarity of planning and conceptualisation needs to be the hallmark of policy planning for the Budget, says Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on March 3, 2011.
</b>
<p>A good holding action in the face of turbulence is a real achievement. It’s a tremendous relief, with a positive spin. That’s what the finance minister seems to have given us with this year’s Budget. So, the glass could well turn out to be half-full, if heaven plays its part, and the demons — for example, rising oil prices because of turmoil in the Arab world — are in abeyance. For now, India’s spirits are up, and we have a shot at getting on with it. And if we don’t, heaven forefend, the government could resort to something as irresponsible as another spectrum auction (2.5 GHz for 4G/LTE) to pull itself out of the morass.</p>
<p>Given this reprieve, how best can we capitalise on it? Some of us have this notion that it is a tradition that major projects or schemes are announced at the time of the Budget. Is this a good way for the government to proceed? Are there better ways, and if so, what might they be? Also, after the Budget, several opinions reflected disappointment with the lack of big moves. What sort of actions would deserve the “Big Move” label?</p>
<p>Ignoring for the time being the FM’s statements about bills for banking, insurance and pension funds that could add up to a big bang, there was in fact a Big Move, with the ground prepared well beforehand, as it should be: the proposed cash transfer of Rs 37,000 crore allocated for kerosene, LPG and fertilisers to BPL users. This move to cash transfers will be a major change that should be for the better, despite apparent misgivings from the Left. In fact, its effect should be much more than an equivalent allocation in the previous system, with its infamous leakages. The logical extension of this process would be smart-card purchases of specified products with designated limits from any retailer, with direct rebates from the government in a single transaction. No forms, no fuss, thanks to the Unique Identification Number (UID). Next could be food subsidies of over Rs 74,000 crore through smart cards.</p>
<p>In this time of drift over several years, there has been an apparent lack of visible leadership until the appointment of a new telecom minister after the destabilisation of the past few months. This was followed by the prime minister’s assertive statements in both houses of Parliament. Similarly, the UID thrust and the first step with cash transfers show that the government can indeed take well planned initiatives. Here we have a set of steps taken with clear objectives (although somewhat muddled in the telling), with plans being developed and executed with what we hope will manifest as high quality, on time and within Budget. So it’s possible, although not our usual practice. If only we could get more of this assertive leadership to good ends.</p>
<p>Imagine if we brought the same clarity of objectives and conceptualisation to, say, addressing the supply of energy to end users. True, this is a very difficult area because of the multiple challenges across several ministries/agencies (fuel production and distribution, transportation, power generation, transmission, distribution, pricing, state electricity boards), and our habitual malpractices as users. The approach, however, would presumably be the same as for the UID. We would start with clear objectives that are coherent, ie, not disjointed or contradictory, and undertake a systematic, multidisciplinary effort — no ivory tower geniuses — to plan and execute through a process of sound project management to achieve the desired results. This would be an end-to-end effort that would have little to do with the budget except for the annual announcement of financial allocations, once the activities and resource requirements are specified. Its fundamental characteristic would be that it would have to be an integrated systems approach to get results.</p>
<p>Most important are well planned, convergent, goal-directed activities. Whether for food storage, anganwadis, power, roads, railways, integrated energy and transport programs, or communications and broadband, the process flow needs to be defined thoroughly, and every aspect specified for our environment in the implementation plan. This process would improve the odds of achieving the objectives. For instance, if cold stores are not meshed with production and markets, or transport linkages are deficient, chances are that they will fail.</p>
<p>The process could begin at any time of the year, and not necessarily announced at budget time in the annual cycle. Once the initial approach is conceptualised and the initiative launched, the programme plans would be scoped and spelt out, and the budget estimation completed. At budget time, as with the cash transfers linked to the UID, there would be an allocation of funds for the activities in the next 12-month phase.</p>
<p>Now to the Railway budget: the much touted Railways desperately need rehabilitation. In view of the significant multiplier effect that the Railways have on many other sectors, the government really must reassert its leadership in the next couple of months (after the West Bengal elections?), and reclaim this crucial area of transportation. The urgent need is to reverse the atrophy over recent years, as well as to begin to build for the future, as for instance China has done, with trains that take passengers over 1,000 km in three hours.*</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/TrainBulletTraininChinaNYTFeb22011.jpg/image_preview" title="Train bullet" height="209" width="400" alt="Train bullet" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
<p>To conclude, it is time the government took one infrastructure sector or programme at a time, including education/vocational education/continuing education, and developed clear, goal-driven plans to provide the framework for the next budget session.</p>
<p>* 'China Sees Growth Engine in a Web of Fast Trains', Keith Bradsher, New York Times, February 12, 2010:</p>
<p>Read the original article in the Business Standard <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ltbgtshyam-ponappaltbgt-big-bang-budgets/427056/">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/big-bang-budgets'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/big-bang-budgets</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2012-07-26T10:10:21ZBlog EntryFebruary 2011 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Monographs finalised from these projects have been published online for public review:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/cis-raw/histories/Internetcities/city-and-space">Internet, Society & Space in Indian Cities</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Digital Natives</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS has interest in developing Digital Identities as a core research area and looks at practices, policies and scholarships in the field to explore relationships between Internet, technology and identity. The Digital Natives project is funded by Hivos, Netherlands. CIS involvement has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>Columns on Digital Natives</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. The following articles were published in the Indian Express recently:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/pull-plug">Pull the Plug</a> [published in the Indian Express on February 20, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/flash-of-change">A FLASH of Change</a> [published in the Indian Express on February 6, 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/wiki-world">Wiki changes the world</a> [published in the Indian Express on January 23, 2011]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Workshop</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The third and final workshop in the Digital Natives with a Cause? research project took place in Santiago, Chile, from 8 to 10 February 2011. Samuel Tettner wrote a report about the workshop:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought">Digital Natives with a Cause? —Workshop in Santiago — an Afterthought</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Blog Entries by Maesey Angelina</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Maesy Angelina is doing Masters on International Development, specializing in Children and Youth Studies at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University of Rotterdam. She is working on her research on the activism of digital natives under the Hivos-CIS Digital Natives Knowledge Programme. She spent a month at CIS, working on her dissertation, exploring the Blank Noise Project under the Digital Natives with a Cause? framework. She writes a series of blog entries. The new ones are:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/the-class-question">The Class Question</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/diving-into-the-digital">Diving Into the Digital</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Blog Entry by Samuel Tettner</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Samuel Tettner is a Coordinator in the Digital Natives project. He has written one blog entry:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/research/dn/computers-in-society">Computer Science & Society – The Roles Defined</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/working-draft">The Working Draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2010: Does it exceed its Mandate in Including Provisions Relating to Other Disability Legislations</a>?</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Intellectual Property</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that access to knowledge and culture is essential as it promotes creativity and innovation and bridges the gaps between the developed and developing world positively. Hence, the campaigns for an international treaty on copyright exceptions for print-impaired, advocating against PUPFIP Bill, calls for the WIPO Broadcast Treaty to be restricted to broadcast, questioning the demonization of 'pirates', and supporting endeavours that explore and question the current copyright regime. Our latest endeavour has resulted into these:</p>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/exhaustion/weblogentry_view">Exhaustion: Imports, Exports and the Doctrine of First Sale in Indian Copyright Law</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/parallel-importation-rebuttal">Thomas Abraham's Rebuttal on Parallel Importation</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/indian-law-and-parallel-exports">Indian Law and "Parallel Exports"</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/ipr/blog/parallel-importation-of-books">Why Parallel Importation of Books Should Be Allowed</a>
<ul>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software, its latest involvement have yielded these results:</p>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/digital-commons">Engaging on the Digital Commons</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/comments-ifeg-phase-1">CIS Comments on the Interoperability Framework for e-Governance</a> (Phase I)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/withdrawal-of-journal-access">Withdrawal of Journal Access is a Wake-up Call for Researchers in the Developing World</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b> Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although there may not be one centralised authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 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.” CIS involvement in the field of Internet governance has taken the following shape:</p>
<h3>Announcement</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/google-policy-fellowship">Google Policy Fellowship Program: Asia Chapter</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/intermediary-due-diligence">Comments on Intermediary Due Diligence Rules, 2011</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/cyber-cafe-rules">Comments on Cyber Café Rules, 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/security-practices-rules">Comments on Draft Reasonable Security Practices Rules, 2011</a></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Privacy</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon. The two-year project commenced on 24<sup>th</sup> March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.</p>
<h3>Blog Entries by Elonnai Hickok</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Elonnai Hickok is a Programme Associate in the Privacy in Asia project. She has published a series of Open Letters to the Finance Committee regarding the UID:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/biometrics">Biometrics</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/finance-and-security">Finance and Security</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/uid-and-transactions">UID and Transactions</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/operational-design">Operational Design</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/uid-budget">UID Budget</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Other New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/privacy-conferencebanglaore">Conference Report: 'Privacy Matters' Bangalore</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/privacy-india/privacy-uiddevaprasad">Analysing the Right to Privacy and Dignity with Respect to the UID</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">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. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:</p>
<h3>Column</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/telecom/blog/jhatka-or-halal">Spectrum auctions - 'Jhatka' or 'Halal'?</a> [published in the Business Standard on February 3, 2011]<b><br /> </b></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Forthcoming Events</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is holding some conferences/workshops in the month of March in Delhi and Bangalore:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/fostering-freedom-of-expression">Role of the Internet in Fostering Freedom of Expression and Strengthening Activism in India - A Workshop in Delhi</a> (March 4, 2011, Constitutional Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/global-freedom-expression">Global Challenges to Freedom of Expression</a> (March 4, 2011, Constitutional Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/electronication">Electronication: Ragas and the Future</a> (March 6, 2011 Jaaga, Bangalore)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/design-public">Design!publiC</a> (March 18, 2011, Taj Vivanta, New Delhi)</li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Staff Update</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Deepti Bharthur</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Deepti Bhartur is a Research Intern at CIS. She did her BA (Hons) in Journalism from Lady Sriram College, University of Delhi and completed her Masters in Communication from Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. Deepti joined the Accessibility team of CIS and is working on accessibility in telecom policy in India.</p>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/growing-cyberspace-controls">Growing cyberspace controls, Internet filtering</a> (Hindu, February 20, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/copyright-amendment">2(m) or not 2(m)</a> (Business Standard, February 19, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/twitterati-change-world">Can the twitterati change the world?</a> (The Times of India, February 12, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/mouse-a-tool-of-revolution">Can the mouse be a tool of revolution in India?</a> (DNA, February 12, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/social-network-suicide">Social Network Suicide</a> (Bangalore Mirror, February 6, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/new-kids">New Kids on the Blog</a> (Indian Express, February 6, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/procuring-books">Procuring books in Indian libraries</a> (Hri Institute for Southasian Research and Exchange, February 4, 2011) </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/what-are-you-accused">What Are You Accused of? Find Out Online</a> (Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/one-wikipedian">One among the clan of Wikipedians</a> (Hindu, January 27, 2011)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/digital-wrongs">Digital Wrongs</a> (Forbes India, January 24, 2011)</li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Follow us elsewhere</b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india">Twitter</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Follow CIS on <a href="http://identi.ca/main/remote?nickname=cis">identi.ca</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Join the CIS group on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28535315687">Facebook</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Visit us at <a href="http://www.cis-india.org/">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Looking forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to write to us for any queries or details required. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please do write to us and we will unsubscribe your mail ID from the mailing list.<i><br /> CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2011-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchOpenness2012-07-30T11:16:29ZPage