The Centre for Internet and Society
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July 2018 Newsletter
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2018-newsletter
<b>CIS July 2018 newsletter.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Highlights</h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Paul Kurien and Akriti Bopanna carried out an <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/icann-diversity-analysis">analysis of the diversity of participation</a> at the ICANN processes by taking a close look at their mailing lists. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/2018#July">CIS-A2K organized 6 events</a>: partnership discussions with Misimi Telugu monthly magazine; partnership activity in Annamayya Library, Guntur, a workshop in Tumakur University; a workshop of river activists for building Jal Bodh; a workshop of publishers and writers on unicode, open source and wikimedia projects; and a Telugu literary conference.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS had worked with the Research and Advisory Group (RAG) of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC). The work looked at the negotiation processes and strategies that various players may adopt as they drive the cyber norms agenda. In continuation <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-potential-for-the-normative-regulation-of-cyberspace-implications-for-india">CIS has brought out a report</a> which focuses more extensively on the substantive law and principles at play and looks closely at what the global state of the debate means for India.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The debate surrounding privacy has in recent times gained momentum due to the Aadhaar judgement and the growing concerns around the use of personal data by corporations and governments. In this light <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-centre-for-internet-and-society2019s-comments-and-recommendations-to-the-indian-privacy-code-2018">CIS has made comments and recommendations to the India Privacy Code, 2018</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis-submitted-a-response-to-a-notice-of-enquiry-by-the-us-government-on-international-internet-policy-priorities">drafted a response</a> to a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) issued by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on "International Internet Policy Priorities." CIS commented on the free flow of information and jurisdiction, mult-stakeholder approach to internet governance, privacy and security.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Elonnai Hickok, Shweta Mohandas and Swaraj Paul Barooah <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-ai-task-force-report-the-first-steps-towards-indias-ai-framework">compiled the AI Task Force Report</a>, India's first step towards an AI framework. The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to leverage AI for economic benefits, and provide policy recommendations on the deployment of AI for India. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Paul Kurian and Akriti Bopanna <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/icann-diversity-analysis">carried out an analysis</a> of the diversity of participation at the ICANN processes by taking a close look at their mailing lists. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Articles</h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-july-1-2018-nishant-shah-digital-native-bigger-picture">Digital Native: The bigger picture</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; July 1, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/organizing-india-blogspot-shyam-ponappa-july-6-2018-problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers">The Problems That Should Occupy Our Electioneers</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; July 6, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-july-15-2018-nishant-shah-digital-native-the-citys-watching">Digital Native: How smart cities can make criminals out of denizens</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; July 15, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/livemint-july-24-2018-swaraj-barooah-and-gurshabad-grover-anti-trafficking-bill-may-lead-to-censorship">Anti-trafficking Bill may lead to censorship</a> (Swaraj Barooah and Gurshabad Grover; Livemint; July 24, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-native-hashtag-along-with-me">Digital Native: Hashtag Along With Me</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; July 29, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-july-30-2018-sunil-abraham-lining-up-data-on-srikrishna-privacy-draft-bill">Lining up the data on the Srikrishna Privacy Draft Bill</a> (Sunil Abraham; Economic Times; July 30, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/business-standard-july-31-2018-sunil-abraham-spreading-unhappiness-equally-around">Spreading unhappiness equally around</a> (Business Standard; July 31, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2>CIS in the News</h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-national-july-2-2018-samanth-subramanian-smartphone-rumours-spark-series-of-mob-killings-in-india">Smartphone rumours spark series of mob killings in India</a> (Samanth Subramanian; The National; July 2, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-july-5-2018-government-gives-nod-to-bill-for-building-dna-databases-in-india-for-criminal-investigation-and-justice-delivery">Government Gives Nod To Bill For Building DNA Databases In India, For 'Criminal Investigation And Justice Delivery'</a> (Huffington Post; July 5, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-july-6-2018-hope-for-such-swift-crackdowns-for-everyone">'Hope for such swift crackdowns for everyone</a>' (Times of India; July 6, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-july-9-2018-69-mob-attacks-on-child-lifting-rumours-since-jan-17-only-one-before-that">Child-lifting rumours caused 69 mob attacks, 33 deaths in last 18 months</a> (Business Standard; July 9, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/death-by-social-media">Death by Social Media</a> (Pretika Khanna, Abhiram Ghadyalpatil and Shaswati Das; Livemint; July 9, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-gopal-sathe-july-12-2018-indias-latest-data-leak-is-so-basic-that-peoples-aadhaar-number-bank-account-and-fathers-name-are-just-one-google-search-away">India's Latest Data Leak: People's Aadhaar Number And Bank Account Are Just One Google Search Away</a> (Gopal Sathe; Huffington Post; July 12, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bloomberg-quint-july-16-2018-people-should-have-right-to-their-data-not-companies-says-trai">People Should Have Right To Their Data, Not Companies, Says TRAI</a> (Bloomberg Quint; July 16, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-gopal-sathe-july-16-2018-after-securing-net-neutrality-in-india-trai-goes-to-bat-for-data-privacy">After Securing Net Neutrality In India, TRAI Goes To Bat For Data Privacy</a> (Gopal Sathe; Huffington Post; July 16, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-july-18-2018-surabhi-agarwal-and-gulveen-aulakh-trai-recommendations-on-data-privacy-raises-eyebrows">TRAI recommendations on data privacy raises eyebrows </a>(Surabhi Agarwal and Gulveen Aulakh; Economic Times; July 18, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-megha-mandavia-july-19-2018-srikrishna-panel-upset-at-timing-of-trai-suggestions">Srikrishna panel upset at timing of Trai suggestion</a>s (Megha Mandavia; Economic Times; July 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deccan-herald-july-20-2018-rajitha-menon-firms-find-wealth-in-your-data">Firms find wealth in your data</a> (Rajitha Menon; Deccan Herald; July 20, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-venkat-ananth-july-24-2018-whatsapp-races-against-time-to-fix-fake-news-mess-ahead-of-2019-general-elections">WhatsApp races against time to fix fake news mess ahead of 2019 general elections</a> (Venkat Ananth; Economic Times; July 24, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/factor-daily-sunny-sen-and-jayadevan-pk-july-25-2018-the-crown-of-thorns-that-awaits-facebook-india-md-hire">The crown of thorns that awaits Facebook’s India MD hire</a> (Sunny Sen and Jayadevan PK; Factory Daily; July 25, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-july-26-2018-mihir-dalal-and-anirban-sen-byte-by-byte-protecting-her-privacy">Bit by byte protecting her privacy</a> (Mihir Dalal and Anirban Sen; Livemint; July 26, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-july-27-2018-komal-gupta-govt-asks-cbi-to-probe-cambridge-analytica-in-data-breach-case">Govt asks CBI to probe Cambridge Analytica in data breach case</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; July 27, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-july-28-2018-mugdha-variyar-and-pratik-bhakta-data-localisation-may-pinch-startups-payments-firms">Data localisation may pinch startups, payments firms</a> (Mugdha Variyar and Pratik Bhakta; Economic Times; July 28, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<h3>Wikipedia</h3>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cb5cbfc95cbfcaaca1cbfcaf-ca4cb0cacca4cbf-ce8ce6ce7cee-cb0cbec82c9acbf-1">ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ತರಬೇತಿ ೨೦೧೮ @ ರಾಂಚಿ</a> (Vikas Hegde; July 4, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/how-to-write-differently-for-different-telugu-digital-platforms-awareness-session-to-indu-gnana-vedika">How to write differently for different Telugu digital platforms - awareness session to Indu Gnana Vedika</a> (Pavan Santosh; July 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/c35c3ec1fc4dc38c3ec2ac4d-c38c3ec39c3fc24c4dc2f-c35c47c26c3fc15-c28c41c02c1ac3f-c35c3fc15c40c38c4bc30c4dc38c41c15c41">వాట్సాప్ సాహిత్య వేదిక నుంచి వికీసోర్సుకు</a> (Pavan Santosh; July 31, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div><b>Events Organized</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/partnership-activity-in-annamayya-library-guntur">Partnership activity in Annamayya Library</a> (Guntur; July 10, 2014).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/partnership-discussions-with-misimi-telugu-monthly-magazine">Partnership discussions with Misimi Telugu Monthly Magazine</a> (July 24, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/tumakur%20university-workshop">Tumakur University Workshop</a> (Tumkur; July 25, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/workshop-of-river-activists-for-building-jal-bodh-knowledge-resource-on-water">Workshop of River activists for building Jal Bodh - Knowledge resource on Water</a> (Pune; July 25, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/workshop-of-publishers-and-writers-on-unicode-open-source-and-wikimedia-projects">Workshop of Publishers and Writers on Unicode, Open Source and Wikimedia Projects</a> (Pune; July 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p><b>Submissions</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis-submitted-a-response-to-a-notice-of-enquiry-by-the-us-government-on-international-internet-policy-priorities">Response to a Notice of Enquiry by the US Government on International Internet Policy Priorities</a> (Swagam Dasgupta; July 18, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-centre-for-internet-and-society2019s-comments-and-recommendations-to-the-indian-privacy-code-2018">The Centre for Internet and Society’s Comments and Recommendations to the: Indian Privacy Code, 2018</a> (Shweta Mohandas, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Shruti Trikanand; July 20, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-ai-task-force-report-the-first-steps-towards-indias-ai-framework">The AI Task Force Report - The first steps towards India’s AI framework</a> (Elonnai Hickok, Shweta Mohandas and Swaraj Paul Barooah; June 27, 2018). The blog post was edited by Swagam Dasgupta.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<div><b>Participation in Events</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ietf-102-montreal">IETF 102 Montreal</a> (Organized by Internet Engineering Task Force; Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Montreal in Canada; July 14 - 20, 2018). Gurshabad Grover presented a review of the human rights considerations in the drafts of the Software Update for IoT Devices (SUIT) Working Group in the meeting of the HRPC research group. </li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ethical-data-design-practices-in-the-ai-artificial-intelligence-age">Ethical Data Design Practices in the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Age</a> (Organized by Startup Grind, Bangalore at NUMA Bangalore; July 28, 2018). Shweta Mohandas was a panelist.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>Cyberspace and Cyber Security</h3>
<p><b>Analysis</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-potential-for-the-normative-regulation-of-cyberspace-implications-for-india">The Potential for the Normative Regulation of Cyberspace: Implications for India</a> (Arindrajit Basu; July 30, 2018). The report was edited by Elonnai Hickok, Sunil Abraham and Udbhav Tiwari with research assistance from Tejas Bharadwaj.</li>
</ul>
<div><b>Blog Entry</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis-contributes-to-the-research-and-advisory-group-of-the-global-commission-on-the-stability-of-cyberspace-gcsc">CIS contributes to the Research and Advisory Group of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace</a> (GCSC) (Arindrajit Basu; July 5, 2018). </li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><b>Participation in Event</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ieee-sa-indita-conference-2018">IEEE-SA InDITA Conference 2018</a> (Organized by IEEE Standards Association; IIIT-Bangalore; July 10 - 11, 2018). Gurshabad Grover gave a brief presentation on how we could apply or reject 'Trust Through Technology' principles in the design of public biometric authentication. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Free Speech & Expression</h3>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/icann-diversity-analysis">ICANN Diversity Analysis</a> (Paul Kurian and Akriti Bopanna; July 16, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/didp-31-diversity-of-employees-at-icann">DIDP #31 Diversity of employees at ICANN</a> (Akash Sriram; July 19, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div><b><br />Participation in Event</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/26th-amic-annual-conference-2013-india-2018">26th AMIC Annual Conference – India 2018</a> (Organized by Manipal Academy of Higher Education; Fortune Inn Valley View, Manipal, Karnataka; June 7 - 9, 2018). Swaraj Paul Barooah was a speaker. <span>An article announcing the event by Kevin Mendonsa was published in the </span><a class="external-link" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/mahe-to-host-26th-annual-conference-of-amic/articleshow/64468351.cms">Times of India</a><span> on June 5, 2018.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h2><span style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></span></h2>
<p><span style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p><b><span style="text-align: justify; ">Newspaper Column</span></b></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/organizing-india-blogspot-shyam-ponappa-july-6-2018-problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers">The Problems That Should Occupy Our Electioneers</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; July 5, 2018 and Organizing India Blogspot; July 6, 2018).</span></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><span style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></span></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</i>.</div>
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<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2018-newsletter'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/july-2018-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaTelecomResearchers at WorkInternet GovernanceAccess to Knowledge2018-08-11T02:50:52ZPageAfter Securing Net Neutrality In India, TRAI Goes To Bat For Data Privacy
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-gopal-sathe-july-16-2018-after-securing-net-neutrality-in-india-trai-goes-to-bat-for-data-privacy
<b>This will be a stop-gap measure before the creation of a privacy bill.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Gopal Sathe was published in <a class="external-link" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2018/07/16/after-securing-net-neutrality-in-india-trai-goes-to-bat-for-data-privacy_a_23483166/">Huffington Post</a> on July 16, 2018. Pranesh Prakash was quoted.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Last week, the Department of Telecom gave the nod to net neutrality regulations, ensuring that there would be no discrimination of data at a time when the US is moving in the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/11/17439456/net-neutrality-dead-ajit-pai-fcc-internet" target="_blank">opposite direction</a>. The net neutrality norms were based on the recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) - which the BBC in November described as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42162979" target="_blank">the world's strongest</a> - but the regulator isn't celebrating right now - it's moved on to another equally important topic - privacy and data protection.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On Monday, TRAI announced its <a href="https://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/RecommendationDataPrivacy16072018_0.pdf" target="_blank">recommendations</a> on privacy, security, and ownership of data in the telecom sector, and the 77 page document serves as the first major public guidelines on privacy and data protection in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">TRAI has outlined a consent based framework, where users have to clearly choose what data is being used, which bears some similarities to Europes GDPR. TRAI noted that while the right to privacy should not be treated solely as a property right, it must be noted that the controllers of personal data are mere custodians without any primary right over the same. In other words, your data should belong to you, and not to Google, or Facebook, or any other company which holds your data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"The Right to Choice, Notice, Consent, Data Portability, and Right to be Forgotten should be conferred upon the telecommunication consumers," TRAI recommended</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In section 2.3, it also notes that meta-data is personal information and as such should be given the same protections. This is an important point given that even metadata can be used to track and identify people accurately. It also noted that there needs to be a right to be forgotten, and once you stop using a service it should not store your data beyond what's mandated by the law, according to section 2.46. Section 2.49 also allows users the right to withdraw consent, which means that even if people have given consent to gathering your data, users will be able to stop tracking on demand.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the same time, TRAI also noted the stop-gap nature of its recommendations, and said, "till such time a general data protection law is notified by the government, the existing Rules/ License conditions applicable to the Telecom Service Providers for protection of users should be made applicable to all the entities in the digital eco-system."</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Good, with some caveats</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Early reactions to the recommendations are largely positive. On Twitter, lawyer Apar Gupta, who is one of the founding members of the Internet Freedom Foundation shared some <a href="https://twitter.com/apargupta84/status/1018856500775841793" target="_blank">quick thoughts</a> about the recommendations. Describing this as a substantive document he called it "partly positive since it calls for interim safeguards", but added that the "form of some seems problematic."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On the plus side, he noted that many of the protections in the recommendations "focus on a user rights model, which includes notice, choice, consent, portability, deletion and erasure." He also praised the recommendations for not taking a view on data localisation, and that the protections need to apply to private as well as state entities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, he criticized the fact that TRAI is planning to impose license conditions on all OTT providers - that is to say, all third party services. He also noted that the recommendations did not directly address state surveillance. He also pointed out that an Electronic Consent Framework as described in the recommendations may "centralise consent requests thereby may end up generating more personal data and unifying them into a single portal managed by the govt/regulators."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"We are happy with the TRAI's recommendations on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data as the regulator is calling for all digital entities to be brought under data protection framework. This would include all devices, operating systems, browsers, and applications and would be welcome stop-gap measure till rules and regulations of the telecom services providers are applicable to them," said Rajan Matthews, DG Cellular Operators Association of India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"This will ensure, in prevailing circumstances, that the privacy of users is protected and maintained. National security and privacy issues are of paramount importance. Accordingly, the regulator by making this recommendation, is ensuring that no exception is made for any service provider, while subjecting them to the rules to meet the national security and privacy norms. However, this is our preliminary view and we will need to review the other recommendations to determine their implications."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Speaking in a <a href="https://twitter.com/ETNOWlive/status/1018849319300972544" target="_blank">television interview</a>, Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director at the Centre for Internet and Society, said he's still processing the document, but "on the face of it it seems good."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"There are still certain concerns I have which haven't been addressed. The telecom licenses themselves, which are issued by the Government of India, require a whole lot of data to be collected, metadata to be collected, by telecom companies. So I'm not sure how that requirement by the Government of India squares off with what is now being recommended by TRAI."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"Let me also point out that one of the things that TRAI says, and it might be exceeding its brief a little bit, is that it says this should not only cover telecom operators, but also device manufacturers, operating systems, application creators, and other kinds of software. What TRAI seems to want to do is actually quite a bit more than what I think the DoT has, or really ought to be doing. I really don't understand whether this will find any favour in the interim before the government decides to take up the Justice Srikrishna Committee report."</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Justice Srikrishna committee report still due</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although TRAI's recommendations are an important document, and will serve as stopgap privacy rules, India is also on the verge of a data protection and privacy bill, which will be based on the recommendations of the Justice BN Srikrishna committee on the subject. The committee was formed in August and was expected to deliver its report in June, but sources say that disagreements over the Aadhaar have caused some delays.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The committee is expected to send its recommendations to the government soon, at which point things could change, but for now, TRAI's recommendations are an important development as India moves to secure the privacy of its people.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ahead of that though, you can read the full TRAI recommendations <a href="https://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/RecommendationDataPrivacy16072018_0.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-gopal-sathe-july-16-2018-after-securing-net-neutrality-in-india-trai-goes-to-bat-for-data-privacy'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/huffington-post-gopal-sathe-july-16-2018-after-securing-net-neutrality-in-india-trai-goes-to-bat-for-data-privacy</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminTelecomInternet Governance2018-07-29T05:28:20ZNews ItemThe Problems That Should Occupy Our Electioneers
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/organizing-india-blogspot-shyam-ponappa-july-6-2018-problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers
<b>The prize in the elections next year could be a winner's curse.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published originally in <a class="external-link" href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers-118070401342_1.html">Business Standard</a> on July 5, 2018 and mirrored in <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-problems-that-should-occupy-our.html">Organizing India Blogspot</a> the following day.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The preoccupation with state and Parliamentary elections that is now manifest may take away attention from the economy. Despite some encouraging developments, major structural problems such as the non-performing assets (NPAs) in banks and stalled projects await resolution. They need urgent attention beyond the din of politics.</p>
<p><b>First, the good news</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Gross fixed capital formation improved to an all-time high of Rs 111.85 billion in the last quarter of 2017-18 from Rs 102.40 billion in the previous quarter.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">There was some credit growth, with non-food credit increasing 11.1 per cent in May 2018, compared to 4.1 per cent a year ago. Credit to the services sector also increased by 21.9 per cent compared to 4.0 per cent in May 2017, and personal loans grew 18.6 per cent compared to 13.7 per cent in May 2017. However, areas such as infrastructure, basic metals and metal products, construction, gems and jewellery, and vehicles and transport actually declined.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code" target="_blank">Insolvency and </a><a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/bankruptcy" target="_blank">Bankruptcy </a>Code (IBC) is apparently being implemented more effectively than it might appear. A Brookings Institution report of a conference of financial experts, including a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in Mumbai in February states: “50 per cent of all NPAs are currently being resolved through the Code, another 25 per cent will soon be. The judiciary has been following the (very tight) timelines prescribed by the Code.”<sup>1</sup></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">This week, a public sector bankers’ committee recommended potential solutions for NPAs to the finance ministry. These include an asset management company for stressed assets run by the banks, an asset trading platform for loans, an inter-creditor agreement between banks with the lead bank authorised to implement time-bound resolution, and finally, the IBC and sell off. Sceptics may mistrust these as being too cosy. Realistically, however, we have to accept that functioning together for mutual benefit requires trust, built around good organisation with checks and balances, and validation (observed in the breach in the complicit NPAs). In Ronald Reagan’s phrase (actually a Russian proverb), “Trust, but verify”.</li>
</ul>
<p>So, is the glass half-full or half-empty? <b>The bad news</b> Here are just two examples of the looming problems.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Stalled projects: An <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/rbi" target="_blank">RBI </a>circular of February 12, 2018, was like a guillotine on a number of private power projects with inadequate cash flows because of circumstances beyond their control. The circular directed banks to begin the resolution (sell off) process for all delayed projects, including those where debt restructuring was under way. There’s a school of thought embodied in this directive that uniform criteria must be applied to all defaulters. Another approach advocated by the power ministry is that there can be problems outside the developers’ control for which they are not responsible, such as a shortage of fuel, denial of access to captive mines, financial weakness of distribution companies, or delays in government or regulatory clearances. Developers cannot control these, and therefore such projects should be excluded from the purview of the <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/rbi" target="_blank">RBI </a>Circular. A Parliamentary Committee also recommended this in March.<sup>2</sup> The Allahabad High Court, hearing a petition by the Independent Power Producers Association of India against insolvency proceedings, ordered that “no action be taken against the power sector under the revised framework, and directed the finance secretary to hold a meeting with his counterparts in the power and coal ministries, along with representatives of the <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/rbi" target="_blank">RBI </a>and the Insolvency and <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/topic/bankruptcy" target="_blank">Bankruptcy </a>Board of India in June to discuss ways to address the issues faced by stressed power plants.”<sup>3</sup></li>
</ul>
<p>While the RBI held firm at this meeting on June 21, 2018 (e.g., see: <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/why-ibc-must-be-sector-agnostic-118070100732_1.htm">https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/why-ibc-must-be-sector-agnostic-118070100732_1.htm</a>l), the finance secretary reportedly asked for written submissions by the stakeholders. A group of experts will review these to consider next steps. The Allahabad High Court may yet save us from the brink.</p>
<ul>
<li>Fettered policies: The Wi-Fi example</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We have an odd juxtaposition, with the government eager to auction 5G spectrum for revenues, while making it available to operators. The industry wants the spectrum but is overburdened with debt, which it already has difficulty servicing because of hyper-competitive price cutting. In addition, there’s a vast, underserved rural and semi-urban market, which requires even more capital investment. Finally, there are the stressed banks, which have thus far been the major source of funding. Meanwhile, our fettered approach to 5 GHz for Wi-Fi is an example of policies that need unleashing. India’s <a class="storyTags" href="https://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=national+frequency+allocation+plan" target="_blank">National Frequency Allocation Plan </a>(NFAP) has delicensed 380 MHz in the 5 GHz band. This is 200 MHz less than required by the standard, so users have less spectrum. Second, India permits only 50 MHz for outdoor use, and the remaining 330 MHz for indoor use. This severely constrains the use of this band and available devices in India, making it ineffectual for Wi-Fi hotspots in both urban and rural areas. We need an amendment in India's 5G policy to conform to international standards. There need be no indoor/outdoor restrictions and less restrictive power limitations, as in the USA. It could mean adopting policies in sync with global markets. For users, it means that any compatible device from any market can be used without customisation. This allows easier installation and maintenance because no customised set-up is required. For manufacturers, devices they make that conform to global or large-market standards can be used wherever these standards apply, which gives access to more markets. Both attributes facilitate higher volumes, which help result in lower prices, making devices more affordable. All users benefit from the full capacity of the device provided it is in a compatible system. Unfettering changes like this and for 60 GHz, as another example, will unleash Wi-Fi. This is the kind of policy change that is required to unfetter ourselves. What’s needed is an attitude of thinking constructively, instead of meanly or restrictively. Without such constructive changes, the way ahead will be hard regardless of who wins the next elections.</p>
<hr />
<p>Shyam dot Ponappa at gmail dot com</p>
<ol>
<li> https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/03/01/how-to-solve-issue-of-rising-non-performing-assets-in-indian-public-sector-banks/</li>
<li>164.100.47.193/lsscommittee/Energy/16_Energy_37.pdf</li>
<li>https://powerline.net.in/2018/06/30/seeking-a-reprieve/</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/organizing-india-blogspot-shyam-ponappa-july-6-2018-problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/organizing-india-blogspot-shyam-ponappa-july-6-2018-problems-that-should-occupy-our-electioneers</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-08-01T00:03:12ZBlog EntryJune 2018 Newsletter
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2018-newsletter
<b>CIS newsletter for the month of June 2018.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Highlights</h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Balbharati – the Maharashtra state bureau of textbook production and curriculum research – has issued a copyright policy that forces all publishers, digital educational-content creators, and coaching classes to obtain expensive licenses for developing material directly or indirectly relating to Balbharati’s content. This is an alarming development for Indian students reported Anubha Sinha <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/asia-times-june-20-anubha-sinha-maharastras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable">in an article in the Asian Times</a> on June 20, 2018.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K has <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Publishers%27_orientation_session_on_FOSS,Open_knowledge_%26_Wikimedia_Projects">started dialogue with the publishers for the last 6 months regarding FOSS, Open knowledge and content donation to Wikimedia Projects</a>. As a result Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Prakashak Sangh, an apex body of publishers at all India level invited us for a orientation session at their annual gathering in Pune.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Submitted <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-draft-digital-communications-policy">comments on the Draft Digital Communications Policy</a> which was released to the public by the Department of Telecommunications of the Ministry of Communications on 1st May 2018 for comments and views. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Submitted <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-telecom-commercial-communications-customer-preference-regulations">comments on the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations</a> which was released to the public by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 29th May 2018 for comments and views. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to leverage AI for economic benefits, and provide policy recommendations on the deployment of AI for India. Elonnai Hickok, Shweta Mohandas and Swaraj Paul Barooah <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-ai-task-force-report-the-first-steps-towards-indias-ai-framework">wrote a blog entry on the artificial intelligence task force</a>. The blog entry was edited by Swagam Dasgupta. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The world’s oldest networked infrastructure, money, is increasingly dematerialising and fusing with the world’s latest networked infrastructure, the Internet, wrote Sunil Abraham in an article published in the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-10-2018-sunil-abraham-why-npci-and-facebook-need-urgent-regulatory-attention">Economic Times</a> on June 10, 2018.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">An essay by P.P. Sneha <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/new-contexts-and-sites-of-humanities-practice-in-the-digital-paper">was published in Summer Hill, a journal published by Indian Institute of Advanced Study</a>. In the essay, edited by Dr. Bindu Menon, Sneha draws upon excerpts from a study on the field of digital humanities and related practices in India, to outline the diverse contexts of humanities practice with the advent of the digital and explore the developing discourse around digital humanities in the Indian context. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/dhai-inagural-conference-2018-puthiya-purayil-sneha-keynote">inaugural conference of the Digital Humanities Alliance of India </a>(DHAI) was held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore on June 1-2, 2018. P.P. Sneha was a keynote speaker at the event. Her talk was titled ‘New Contexts and Sites of Humanities Practice in the Digital’.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Articles</h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-10-2018-sunil-abraham-why-npci-and-facebook-need-urgent-regulatory-attention">Why NPCI and Facebook need urgent regulatory attention</a> (Sunil Abraham; Economic Times; June 10, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-june-17-2018-digital-native-cause-an-effect">Digital Native: Cause an Effect</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; June 17, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/asia-times-june-20-anubha-sinha-maharastras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable">Maharashtra's Copyright Policy Makes Education Unaffordable</a> (Anubha Sinha; Asia Times; June 20, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2>CIS in the News</h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/times-of-india-june-1-2018-allow-admins-to-add-users-to-online-group-chats-only-after-permission-sflc-in">Allow admins to add users to online group chats only after permission: SFLC.in</a> (Times of India; June 1, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-june-6-2018-akshatha-m-ec-disables-easy-access-to-electoral-data-across-states">EC disables easy access to electoral data across states</a> (Akshatha M; Economic Times; June 5, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/hindustan-times-june-8-2018-vidhi-choudhary-draft-bill-proposes-rs-1-crore-fine-3-year-jail-for-data-privacy-violation">Draft bill proposes Rs 1 crore fine, 3 year jail for data privacy violation</a> (Vidhi Choudhury; Hindustan Times; June 8, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bloomberg-quint-june-9-2018-draft-bill-seeks-to-revolutionise-data-collection-storage-in-india">Citizens’ Draft Privacy Bill Seeks To Revolutionise Data Collection, Storage In India</a> (Arpan Chaturvedi; Bloomberg Quint; June 9, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-nilesh-christopher-and-naveen-menezes-june-14-2018-police-to-counter-fake-news-on-whatsapp">Police to counter fake news on WhatsApp</a> (Nilesh Christopher and Naveen Menezes; Times of India; June 14, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/times-of-india-june-18-2018-full-belief-in-fake-texts-shows-cops-not-trusted">'Full belief in fake texts shows cops not trusted'</a> (Times of India; June 18, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deccan-herald-june-19-2018-anushka-finds-support-her-anti-litter-tirade">Anushka finds support for her anti-litter tirade</a> (Nina C. George; Deccan Herald; June 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-june-19-2018-jindal-varsitys-international-affairs-students-shine-in-job-market">Jindal varsity's international affairs students shine in job market</a> (Economic Times; June 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-legal-live-june-21-2018-data-privacy">Data Privacy: Footprints on the Web</a> (Sujit Bhar; IndiaLegal; June 21, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://https//cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/death-by-whatsapp">Death By WhatsApp</a> (News18.com, June 25, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/your-story-june-29-2018-tech-transformation-agriculture-redefined-digital-innovation-startups">Tech transformation: how agriculture is being redefined through digital innovation and startups</a> (Your Story; June 29, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Access to Knowledge (A2K) is a campaign to promote the fundamental principles of justice, freedom, and economic development. It deals with issues like copyrights, patents and trademarks, which are an important part of the digital landscape. Our A2K program comprises 2 projects: Pervasive Technologies done under a grant from International Development Research Centre examining interplay between cost-effective pervasive technologies and intellectual property and encouraging development of such technologies for social good, and Wikipedia under a grant from Wikimedia Foundation to enable the growth of Indic language communities and cultivate new editors in different Indian languages.</p>
<h3>Wikipedia</h3>
<p><b>Event Organized</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Publishers%27_orientation_session_on_FOSS,Open_knowledge_%26_Wikimedia_Projects">Marathi Publishers' orientation session on FOSS,Open knowledge & Wikimedia Projects</a> (Co-organized by Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Prakashak Sangh and CIS-A2K; Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Tilak Road, Pune; June 17, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society has defined internet governance as the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles of shared principles, norms, rules, decision making procedures and programs that shape the evolution and use of the internet. CIS is engaged in two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/niti-aayog-discussion-paper-an-aspirational-step-towards-india2019s-ai-policy">NITI Aayog Discussion Paper: An aspirational step towards India’s AI policy</a> (Sunil Abraham, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha, Swaraj Barooah, Shweta Mohandas, Pranav M Bidare, Swagam Dasgupta, Vishnu Ramachandran and Senthil Kumar; June 13, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/ai-task-force-report.pdf">The AI Task Force Report - The first steps towards India’s AI framework</a> (Authored by Elonnai Hickok, Shweta Mohandas and Swaraj Paul Barooah and Edited by Swagam Dasgupta; June 27, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Submissions</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-draft-national-policy-on-official-statistics">Comments on the Draft National Policy on Official Statistics</a> (Gurshabad Grover and Sandeep Kumar; June 7, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-draft-digital-communications-policy">Comments on the Draft Digital Communications Policy</a> (Anubha Sinha, Gurshabad Grover and Swaraj Barooah; June 14, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div><b>Participation in Event</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/is-privacy-obsolete">Is Privacy Obsolete?</a> (Organized by TERI; Bangalore; June 22, 2018). Pranesh Prakash was a panelist.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>Free Speech & Expression</h3>
<p>Blog Entry</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/network-disruptions-report-by-global-network-initiative">Network Disruptions Report by Global Network Initiative</a> (Akriti Bopanna; June 12, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></span></h2>
<p><span style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p><b><span style="text-align: justify; ">Submission</span></b></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-telecom-commercial-communications-customer-preference-regulations">Comments on the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations</a> (Sandeep Kumar, Torsha Sarkar, Swaraj Barooah, and Gurshabad Grover; June 22, 2018).<br /><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Event<br /></b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/dhai-inagural-conference-2018-puthiya-purayil-sneha-keynote">Digital Humanities Alliance of India - Inagural Conference 2018</a> (Co-organized by IIM and IIT, Indore with support from CIS; IIM, Indore; June 1 - 2, 2018). P.P. Sneha was a speaker and gave the keynote address.</li>
</ul>
<div></div>
<div><b>Essay</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/new-contexts-and-sites-of-humanities-practice-in-the-digital-paper">New Contexts and Sites of Humanities Practice in the Digital</a> (Paper) (P.P. Sneha; June 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></span></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</i>.</div>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2018-newsletter'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-2018-newsletter</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaTelecomResearchers at WorkInternet GovernanceAccess to Knowledge2018-08-11T02:52:10ZPageComments on the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-telecom-commercial-communications-customer-preference-regulations
<b>This submission presents comments by the Centre for Internet & Society, India (“CIS”) on the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations which was released to the public by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 29th May 2018 for comments and views. </b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Preliminary</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This submission presents comments by the Centre for Internet & Society (“CIS”), India on ‘The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018’ which were <a class="external-link" href="https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/DraftUCCRegulation29052018.pdf">released</a> on 29th May 2018 for comments and counter-comments.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS appreciates the intent and efforts of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to curb the problem of Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), or spam. Spam messages are constant irritants for telecom subscribers. Acknowledging the same, TRAI has <a class="external-link" href="https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PRNo5829052018.pdf">proposed</a> regulations which aim to empower subscribers in effectively dealing with UCC. CIS is grateful for the opportunity to put forth its views and comments on the regulations. This submission was made on 18th June 2018. This text has been slightly edited for readability.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>The first part of the submission highlights some general issues with the regulations. While TRAI has offered a technological solution to the menace of UCC, the policy documents have no accompanying technical details. TRAI has not made a compelling case for why Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) should be used for storing data instead of a distributed database. There is no clarity on the technical aspects of the proposed DLTs: the participating nodes in the network, how these nodes arrive at a consensus, whether they are independent of each other, are questions that remain unanswered. The draft regulations also mention curbing Robocalls, but technical challenges associated with the same have not been discussed. Spam which is non-commercial in nature remains out of the scope of the current regulations.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The second part of this submission puts forth specific comments related to various sections of the draft and suggests improvements therein. <span>While CIS appreciates the extension of the deadline from 11th June to 18th June, we would like to highlight that the Draft was released on 29th May, and despite the extension, the time to submit comments remains less than a month. Considering the fact that the draft regulations hold significance for the entire telecom industry and nearly 1.5 billion subscribers, TRAI should have granted at least a month’s time for the stakeholder’s sound scrutiny.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">General Comments</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The draft greatly emphasizes the fact that data regarding Consent, Complaints, Headers, Preferences, Content Template Register and Entities are stored on distributed ledgers. The intent is to keep data cryptographically secure with no centralized point of control. However, the regulations do not go into the technical details of the working of these distributed ledgers leading to several potential pitfalls.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As per the draft, every access provider has to establish distributed ledgers for Complaints, Consent, Content, Preference, Header, Entities and so on. There are specific entities mentioned which will act as nodes in the network, and these nodes are preselected.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Whenever a sender seeks to send commercial communications across a list of subscribers, the list is ‘scrubbed’ against the DL-Consent and DL-Preference, to check whether the subscriber has given consent and registered their preference. The sender can only send the commercial communication to the numbers which are present in the scrubbed list.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The objective of these regulations is to protect consumers’ rights but the consumer, i.e., the subscriber, is not a node in the distributed ledger. Since the primary benefits of decentralization are gained when the trust is devolved to the individual subscribers, and the individual users are not specified as participating nodes in the ledger, the justification behind a distributed ledger is unclear.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Additionally, the proposed regime requires the subscriber to place her trust in the access provider to register the complaint, thus offers no tangible benefit over the current regulation. While there are penalties for non-compliant Access Providers (APs), there are no business incentives for APs to expend the extra amount of resources required in for effective implementation of this technology, to act in the users’ interest. This builds a system where APs interests clash with subscribers, but they are nonetheless required to be the guardian of the subscribers’ concerns.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Further, the nodes are entities constituted by the access providers (APs), and there is no mechanism to ensure that they behave independently of each other. In such case, it is wholly possible that all nodes on a distributed ledger are run by the same entity, thus defeating the purpose of establishing consensus. The proposed regulations do not address this scenario.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One solution would be to add subscribers as nodes to the DLT network. But this would be impractical as the technical challenges associated therein, including generating public-private key pairs of each user, the computational complexity of the network, are immense. If this is indeed the intention of TRAI, this has not been spelled out clearly in the draft regulations. Additionally, in such a scenario, there would be no requirement for mandating every AP to maintain their own DLT for customer preference and consent artifacts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Considering the points mentioned above, we request TRAI to publish the technical specifications of DLTs, which addresses the following issues:</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><ol>
<li>Who can participate in the network other than the entities mentioned in the regulations? Are these participating entities independent of each other? If not, then how will the conflict of interest be resolved?</li>
<li>What is the consensus algorithm used in the DLTs?</li>
<li>Will the code to implement DLTs be open-source?</li>
</ol></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our recommendations are three-fold in this regard:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If distributed ledger is used, then, mechanisms should be devised to ensure the integrity of the consensus. For this, participating nodes in the network must be independent of each other. Aforementioned points regarding consensus protocol should be taken into consideration as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In place of DLTs, we recommend the use of a distributed database with signature-based authentication and encryption of the data to be stored. The immutability and non-repudiation of data can be achieved in this way. Distributed ledgers such as DL-consent, DL-preference, DL-complaints are instances where authentication of data and subscriber can be done using simplers means such as OTP verification, etc. So, such ledgers need not necessarily utilize DLTs.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The regulations should mandate the open-source publication of the implementation of the DLTs. This will enable interoperability, add transparency to the functioning of the regulations, and enable security audits to ensure accountability of the APs.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Broadening the scope of the Regulations to non-commercial communication</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The proposed regulations attempt to specifically curb unsolicited commercial communications as defined in Regulation 2(bt). But, there are other forms of communication which are unsolicited and non-commercial, including political messages and market surveys.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We recommend that the scope of the regulations should be broadened to include both commercial and non-commercial communications. And both of these should be grouped under the category of Institutional Communications. Wherever needed, changes should be made to the regulations dealing with UCC to suit the specific requirements of dealing with unsolicited non-commercial communications as well. At the same time, the regulations should ensure that individual communications are not brought within their ambit.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Technical challenges in combating Robocalls</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Robocalls are defined in Regulation 2(ba) and in Schedule IV, provision 3, it has been clubbed with other kinds of spam. However, there are some specific technical challenges in regulating robocalls. Right now, ‘block listing’ is a prevalent model where one can identify a number and then block it so that it cannot be used further. But with robocalls, spoofing of other numbers is easily achievable which makes the blocking of the real identity of caller difficult. The proposed regulations do not adequately address this challenge.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, with working groups of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), has been <a class="external-link" href="https://www.wired.com/story/robocall-getting-worse-but-help-is-here">working</a> on a different approach to solve this problem. They are working on standards for all mobile and VoIP calling services which would enable them to do cryptographic digital call signing, “so calls can be validated as originating from a legitimate source, and not a spoofed robocall system. The protocols, known as ‘STIR’ and ‘SHAKEN,’ are in industry testing right now through ATIS's Robocalling Testbed, which has been used by companies like Sprint, AT&T, Google, Comcast, and Verizon so far”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">TRAI should take into account these developments and propose a specific regime accordingly. One possible way forward, for now, could be the banning of robocalls unless there is explicit opt-in by subscribers.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Registration of content-template</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The draft envisages a distributed ledger system for registration of content template which would have both a fixed part and a variable part. The content template needs to be registered by the content template registrar, which would be an authorized entity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Problematically, the content template is defined to include the fixed part as well as the variable part. Further, Schedule I, provision 4(3)(e) mandates that content template registration functions should be utilized to extract fixed and the variable portion from actual messages offered for delivery or already delivered. The variable portion of the message contains information specific to a customer, as defined in regulation 2(q)(ii). In addition to privacy concerns with accessing the variable part, there is no functional reason for variable portions to be extracted from the actual message, as only the fixed portion needs to be verified.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The hash of the fixed portion of the message can be used to identify whether a user has received UCC or not. We, therefore, recommend that the variable portion of the message shall not be made accessible to entities because it is not required for the identification of a message as UCC.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">‘Safe and Secure Manner’</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Throughout the draft, reference is made to the data collected being stored and/or exchanged in a ‘safe and secure manner’, without any clarification as to what this term implies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We recommend that the term be defined as ‘measures in accordance with reasonable security practices and procedures’ as given in section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2008 read with section 8 of the Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Bulk Registration</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<div>In the Consultation paper <a class="external-link" href="http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/UCC_CP_14092017.pdf">published</a> by TRAI, bulk registration was envisaged as a way to curb UCC wherein one member of the family can register on behalf of the family. Australia has already <a class="external-link" href="https://www.donotcall.gov.au/consumers/bulk-applications-register-remove-check">implemented</a> this mechanism.</div>
<p>In India, evidence suggests that major victims of spam are the elderly and people with <a class="external-link" href="https://www.news18.com/news/tech/5-common-types-of-scam-calls-in-india-and-how-to-deal-them-1366587.html">limited</a> financial capacities. In such cases, consent and preference registration on behalf of these people by one person may help in the successful control of UCC.</p>
<p>Some telecom service providers <a class="external-link" href="http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Reliance_Jio_Infocomm_Ltd_14112017.pdf">argued</a> against this by emphasizing the individual choice of a subscriber. However, in cases where there is authorization given by the customer, the primary user can <a class="external-link" href="http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Bharti_Airtel_Ltd_10_11_2017.pdf">register</a> consent on his/her behalf. Similarly, since corporate connections are by definition owned and paid for by corporates, bulk registration in those situations can be also be done.</p>
<p>We recommend that given the situation in India, the provision for bulk registration be incorporated in the regulations for specific scenarios, as mentioned above. An authorization template giving the nominee power to register on behalf of a class can be incorporated to this effect. Also, an opt-out option must be incorporated in case an individual choice differs from the choice registered in the bulk-registration.</p>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Specific Comments</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Inferred Consent [Regulation 2(k)(II)(A)]</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Comments<br /></strong>Regulation 2(k)(ii)(a) of the Draft defines consent as “voluntary permission given by the customer to the sender to receive commercial communication”. However, the draft also includes, “inferred consent”, which is defined as consent that can be “reasonably inferred from the customer’s conduct or the business and the relationship between the individual and the sender”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">When consent is derived from the customer’s conduct, rather than being given explicitly, it defeats its ‘voluntary nature’. The provision of consent being ‘reasonably inferred’ from the customer’s conduct is also vague, and there is no indication given in the draft as to what kind of conduct would lead to a reasonable inference of implied consent. The definition can also be interpreted to mean that customer’s conduct will be subject to monitoring, which raises privacy concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Recommendations <br /></strong>Consent shall not be derived from the customer’s conduct unless the person provides it explicitly. We recommend amendment to the definition of ‘inferred consent’ accordingly.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Three years history to be stored in DL-Complaints [Regulations 24(3) and 24(4)]</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Comments</strong></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Regulation 24(3) and (4) states that the DL-Ledger for Complaints (DL-Complaints) shall record ‘three years history’ of both the complainant and the sender, with details of complaints made, date, time and status of the resolution of the complaint. It is not clear from the regulation whether the mentioned set of data is exhaustive or not.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Recommendations <br /></strong>We recognize that the legislative intent behind drafting Regulation 24(3) and (4) was to curb frivolous or false complaints, which has already been a concern of TRAI. Storing both the complainant and the sender’s history, in such cases, may aid in resolving these.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">We recommend that the language of the regulations may be amended to “three years history which only includes details of all complaint(s) made by him, with date(s) and time(s) . . .”, thereby giving a limiting qualification to the broad scope of the term.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">The responsibility of the APs to ensure that the devices support the requisite permissions [Regulation 34]</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Comments<br /></strong>Regulation 34 mandates that the APs are to ensure that the devices “registered in the network” shall support the requisite permissions of the Apps under this regulations.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In terms of jurisdiction, regulation of the functioning of electronic devices (which can be phones, tablets or smart watches) is outside the scope of the proposed regulations, and probably out of TRAI's regulatory competence.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Even if TRAI can impose the regulation on end devices, this regulation puts the burden on the APs to ensure that devices support the pertinent app permissions. Considering that TRAI itself has been weighing legal recourse against device manufacturers on similar grounds, it is unclear why TRAI assumes that APs have any legal or technical method to ensure control of a device which has neither been manufactured by them nor is it under their physical or remote control.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In modern smartphones, the end-user has full control over most app installations and permissions. This practice is consistent with a consumer's autonomy over the device and its functioning. Considering the fact that TRAI has not implemented basic security features in the 'Do Not Disturb' app, TRAI is putting at risk the privacy of millions of device owners by legally mandating permissions for an app with the second proviso. The proviso further gives TRAI the power to order APs to derecognize devices from their network. This regulation is draconic and inimical to the rights of consumers, who are at risk of losing network access and connectivity because of their device choice, which is a completely different business and market.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Recommendations <br /></strong>Reporting unsolicited messages or calls is a consumer right, and the regulations are in furtherance of the same goals. TRAI should enable consumer rights by giving subscribers the option to report spam and has no reason to force users to report spam possibly through legal overreach and privacy invasion. Accordingly, we recommend the removal of Regulation 34.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Additional Suggestions</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Consumer and subscriber</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The usage of the terms ‘customer’ and ‘subscriber’ in Regulation 3(1) implies that the terms have two different meanings. This interpretation, however, clashes with the actual definition given in Regulation 2(u) and 2(bk), whereby a customer is a subscriber. This is an inconsistent interpretation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Either the definition of a ‘customer’ must be clarified or differentiated from that of a ‘subscriber’ in regulation 2, or regulation 3 must be amended to indicate what its actual object of regulation is - the customer or the subscriber.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Drafting misnumbering</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There are a few instances of misnumbering of regulations and reference regulations which are non-existent.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Regulations 25(5)(b) and (c) make a reference to regulation 25(3)(a), which does not exist in the given draft. A bare reading of regulation 25, however, indicate that the intention was to refer to regulation 25(5)(a), and as such, this misnumbering should be rectified.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Regulation 34 makes a reference to regulation 7(2), which again, does not exist. In such case, either regulation 34 or regulation 7(2) must be amended to keep a consistent interpretation.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Ambiguous terms</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">‘Allocation and assignment principles and policies’ - Provision 4(1)(a) of Schedule I of the regulations indicate that header assignment should be done on the basis of ‘allocation and assignment principles and policies’, without any clarification to the meaning of this term. We recommend an amendment to this provision accordingly.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-telecom-commercial-communications-customer-preference-regulations'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-telecom-commercial-communications-customer-preference-regulations</a>
</p>
No publisherSandeep Kumar, Torsha Sarkar, Swaraj Barooah, Gurshabad GroverTelecomInternet Governance2018-06-23T00:44:47ZBlog EntryBIF Workshop on V Band-New Use Cases under 802.11ad &.11ay
https://cis-india.org/telecom/news/bif-workshop-on-v-band-new-use-cases-under-802-11ad.11ay
<b>The workshop organized by Broadband India was held on May 31, 2018 at Taj Mansingh (Long Champ) in New Delhi. Shyam Ponappa attended the workshop.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In view of the need to extend broadband connectivity everywhere and take it to unserved and underserved areas, V band (60Ghz) has a very crucial role to play . In view of the need for more clarity on the subject of V Band allocation in India and in view of the fact that new use cases are emerging since the TRAI Recommendations were made in 2015, Broadband India organized a half day workshop.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop focused on engaging the technology companies that are building different use cases (including Fixed wireless access, Mobile backhaul, Short Range Devices-SRD ) and the telecom partners/operators who will be the main deployers of this technology.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The primary objective of the workshop was to bring into perspective the TRAI Recommendations of 2015 and discuss new use cases of the “V Band – New Use Cases Under 802.11ad and 802.11ay” standards.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/news/bif-workshop-on-v-band-new-use-cases-under-802-11ad.11ay'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/news/bif-workshop-on-v-band-new-use-cases-under-802-11ad.11ay</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminTelecom2018-06-01T00:13:52ZNews ItemIndia's Draft Telecom Policy Needs to Bridge the Gap Between Intent and Execution
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/the-wire-anubha-sinha-may-6-2018-india-draft-telecom-policy
<b>Earlier this week, India’s department of telecommunications (DoT) released a draft new telecom policy, titled ‘Draft National Digital Communications Policy 2018’.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article originally published in the Wire on May 6, 2018 can be <a class="external-link" href="https://thewire.in/tech/india-draft-telecom-policy">read here</a>. Access the Draft National Digital Communications Policy 2018 <a class="external-link" href="http://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DraftNDCP2018_1.pdf?download=1">here</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The three pillars of the draft policy are ‘Connect India’, ‘Propel India’ and ‘Secure India’, which primarily seek to improve broadband connectivity, accelerate development of next-generation technologies and services and institute measures for data sovereignty, security and safety, respectively.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Several strategies have been devised under each pillar – few carry on from previous national telecom policies, and some are new proposals.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The document is high on aspirations, a lot of which it seeks to fulfil by 2022. It also proposes several favourable institutional and regulatory changes and simplifies obtaining of permissions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, it remains quite open-ended in terms of how the details could evolve. For example, while it endeavours to develop a fair, flexible, simple and transparent method for spectrum assignments and allocations, by pricing spectrum at an ‘optimal price’ and linking spectrum usage charges (SUC) to reflect costs of regulation and administration of spectrum, it cannot be said if these measures will fully rejuvenate a debt-ridden telecom sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ideally, the policy should have explicitly mentioned that revenue maximisation is not a goal for the government anymore, to reassure the industry that licence fees and SUC will not be astronomically priced – especially as it is in no mood to change the model of spectrum allocation from auction to revenue sharing (circa NTP-99). A clear commitment would have helped inspire more confidence in this strained sector. Regardless, these changes will also need approval from the finance ministry, where <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/t9n7F2S4tU7TDAnFQFfNHJ/Telcos-want-licence-fee-spectrum-usage-charges-to-be-treate.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">stiff resistance is expected</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Expanding both wireless and wired broadband is a clear priority of the government. It sets out four initiatives, encouraging public-private partnerships to serve both rural and urban centres (BharatNet, GramNet, NagarNet, JanWiFi), and several additional measures to accelerate laying of optical fibre, mobile towers and increase sharing of infrastructure.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although the previous telecom policies (NTP-99, NTP-2012 and recommendations in ‘Fixing Broadband Quickly’ (TRAI, 2015)) determined the similar gaps and objectives, little has translated into concrete results so far. In 2017, ITU and UNESCO <a href="https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/opb/pol/S-POL-BROADBAND.18-2017-PDF-E.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reported</a> that India was the largest unconnected market, with 49.5% (approx. 660 million) of our population still unconnected. The report further noted that the penetration of mobile broadband was much higher than fixed-line broadband connections – and urban centres were better served than rural areas. One hopes that the new strategies and objectives will be better realised this time around.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The policy also seeks to boost domestic innovation in the field of standards in communications technologies. This is reflected in its aims to strengthen domestic IP portfolios by providing financial incentives for the development of standard-essential patents (SEPs) and promote them at standard setting organisations. It mandates access to critical, mostly foreign-owned SEPs on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (FRAND basis). This is an approach to patent licensing that has been endorsed by courts and the Competition Commission of India in the context of mobile phone technologies, as well as in other jurisdictions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, it remains to be seen how this mandate will be implemented in TRAI’s forthcoming recommendations on promoting telecom equipment manufacturing in India. This is a real opportunity for the telecom regulator to help the low-cost smartphone manufacturing industry in India to overcome their disadvantage in terms of having to pay exorbitant royalties to foreign-SEP holders and getting sued for infringement in the process. Another strategy that should have found place was the creation of government-controlled patent pools for SEPs, which could have solved the issue of uncertainty for local manufacturers and ensured payments to SEP holders to a great extent.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Additionally, the policy proposes a few consumer-oriented changes such as establishing a ‘Telecom Ombudsman’ and a centralised web-based complaint redressal system. In the third pillar of ‘Secure India’, although the document does not reveal the DoT’s approach to net-neutrality nor data protection and privacy, it does say that the government will be amenable to changing the terms of license to fulfill their core principles.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Curiously, in order to ‘facilitate security and safety of citizens’ it proposes to set up ‘lawful interception agencies with state of the art lawful intercept and analysis systems for implementation of law and order and national security’. This measure did not exist in <a href="https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Recommendation_NTP_2018_02022018.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">TRAI’s version of the draft policy</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On next-generation tech in the field of IoT and cloud, it retained TRAI’s suggestion of setting up ‘light-touch’ licensing frameworks. This may prove to be a <a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018#ftn12" rel="noopener" target="_blank">barrier to innovation</a> in the field.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the policy is broad and forward-looking, the true intent and meaning of the listed steps will only be understood when complementary legislative and granular policy actions to support these strategies are crystallised. That will make all the difference.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/the-wire-anubha-sinha-may-6-2018-india-draft-telecom-policy'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/the-wire-anubha-sinha-may-6-2018-india-draft-telecom-policy</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaTelecom2018-05-07T16:13:31ZBlog EntryThe Huawei pointer
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-may-3-2018-huawei-pointer
<b>Taking a cue from Huawei. Huawei has an awe-inspiring record of drive, perseverance, fortuitous circumstances, good strategy, execution, and success.</b>
<p>The article was published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-huawei-pointer-118050201310_1.html">Business Standard</a> on May 3, 2018 and in <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2018/05/the-huawei-pointer.html">Organizing India Blogspot</a> also on May 3, 2018</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A Chinese communications company founded in 1987 in Shenzhen by a former army engineer, Ren Zhengfei, Huawei<a class="storyTags" href="http://www.business-standard.com/topic/huawei" target="_blank"> </a>is now a legend. By 2012, it overtook industry leader Ericsson in global revenues. In 2017, its revenues were over $90 billion, two-thirds from outside China. It also has a significant and growing presence in India. How did they do it?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Part of Huawei’s mystique stems from its outstanding founder and its driven work culture. This may be unique and difficult to replicate, but it is a byword for hard-charging Chinese high-tech. A meme that epitomises the culture is “9-9-6” — that is, for 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, 6 days a week. Can factors driving its success to be adopted at the policy level and in enterprises in a democracy?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">My previous column addressed the hollowing out of our manufacturing and other abilities. My suggestion is to replace obstructive policies with others that facilitate building infrastructure and local capacity, especially in growth areas. The example of Huawei<a class="storyTags" href="http://www.business-standard.com/topic/huawei" target="_blank"> </a>provides a pointer. Perhaps some of what we learn can be applied at the governmental and the corporate levels.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Reports suggest these key factors in its success:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Strong leadership with a sense of purpose: A customer-first attitude. There’s an anecdote of the founder being willing to meet any customer, but ignoring a potential investor by delegating to a colleague a meeting with a Morgan Stanley team, led by Chief Economist Stephen Roach.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Broad employee ownership: In 2014, 84,000 employees out of 150,000 owned stock along with the founder, who owned only 1.4 per cent.2 They share an understanding that while an IPO would enrich some, the majority would lose their motivation. The essential requirements are hard work and dedication.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Government support: Huawei grew revenues by building market share in China to become a national champion, then got support from the China Development Bank. Initially for $10 billion, it is now $30 billion.3 Building networks in Africa and Latin America, and low prices helped win deals in Europe. Mr Ren himself has said that without policy support, Huawei would not exist.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Its unique culture and organisation: From inception, the founder was passionate about management, and about adapting methods and organisation. For instance, Huawei devised a top management model of a rotating CEO among three top executives, each of whom leads for six months, modelled on a flight of geese that change their order in arrowhead formation.4 Mr Ren is the mentor and coach. In March 2018 there was a change to a rotating Chairman position.</li>
</ul>
<p>(The founder’s daughter, Meng Wanzhou (aka Sabrina Meng) is the Chief Financial Officer, and holds one of four vice-chair positions. His son Ren Ping works for a subsidiary providing reservations and trade show support.)</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another instance is Huawei’s Integrated Financial Services transformation program, which Ms Meng led since 2007. It was an eight-year partnership program between Huawei and IBM to develop data systems and resource allocation rules, operations, process optimisation, and internal controls.</p>
<ul>
<li>Huawei reportedly invests 10 per cent of annual revenues on Research & Development.</li>
<li>Huawei also emphasises “the power of thinking”. Executives are urged to read beyond their domains, and books are everywhere.</li>
</ul>
<p>These factors enable Huawei to solve problems for clients in diverse situations. Examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>In its early days, networks were at risk from rats gnawing through circuitry in desert and rural areas in China. Multinational vendors did not consider this their problem and left it to their customers. Huawei, by contrast, treated it as their own problem, and developed sturdier equipment and materials such as chew-proof wires. This experience later helped gain large accounts in the Middle East where customers faced similar problems.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Other extreme environmental conditions have been addressed, such as base stations installed at high altitudes (at 6,500 metres on Mt Everest), or in the Arctic. These experiences helped a dedicated and committed workforce gain more clients. For instance, when expanding their 3G market in Europe, Huawei found that clients expected “base stations to be more compact, easier to install, greener, and more energy efficient, while offering wider coverage”. To cater to these needs, Huawei developed distributed base stations that could handle both large and small private networks, making them cheaper to deploy, which became popular with European carriers.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The employee-ownership arrangement and associated dedication enable planning for the long term, as with the Chinese government. Huawei plans for 10 years, whereas competitors have to contend with quarterly financial considerations.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Carriers buying Huawei network equipment get significant discounts in smartphones. Focusing on new technology not controlled by the giants of 3G such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Nokia, enabled Huawei to develop 4G, which is much faster and ideally suited for updating-apps, to the point that it competes with Samsung and Apple. Undercutting competitors has enabled it to sell to carriers, and its depth of products and technology has enabled it to meet customer needs, displacing competitors.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Huawei’s R&D Centre in Bangalore established in 1999 is its largest outside China, and it has offshore Global Network Operating Centres in Gurgaon and Bangalore, besides Romania and Nigeria. These GNOCs run networks not only in India but across the globe for a number of operators, offering managed network services integrating a range of equipment at low cost. With its market strength, depth of products, and access to funds, Huawei is likely to control network services in India and much of the world from now on through the 5G evolution cycle.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The only way for competition other than in-house NOCs in India is if the Government of India develops end-to-end supportive policies, transcends election cycles, and sponsors a consortium comprising a major transnational anchor, a system integrator, and local design and production wherever technological opportunities arise.</p>
<p><span><strong>References</strong></span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<div>1. David De Cremer and Tian Tao: <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/06/huaweis-culture-is-the-key-to-its-success">https://hbr.org/2015/06/huaweis-culture-is-the-key-to-its-success</a></div>
<div>2. Rebecca Blumenstein: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-of-huaweis-success-1414963782">https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-of-huaweis-success-1414963782</a></div>
<div>3. Scott Sendrowski: <a href="http://fortune.com/huawei-china-smartphone/?iid=sr-link1">http://fortune.com/huawei-china-smartphone/?iid=sr-link1</a></div>
<div>4. Belasco, James A. Stayer, Ralph C. (1993). <i>Flight of the Buffalo.</i> New York, NY: Warner Books.</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-may-3-2018-huawei-pointer'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-may-3-2018-huawei-pointer</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-05-06T13:04:40ZBlog EntryNPAs & Bad Banks
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-march-1-2018-shyam-ponappa-npas-and-bad-banks
<b>Correcting misinformed impressions about NPAs, and the Swedish model for setting up a Bad Bank.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was originally published in the Business Standard on February 28, 2018 and re-posted in <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2018/03/npas-bad-banks.html">Organizing India Blogspot</a> on March 1, 2018.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Two features about non-performing assets (NPAs) deserve exploration. First, prevailing impressions about banks and NPAs, such as:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Large borrowers are primarily responsible for non-performing loans;</li>
<li>Small borrowers rarely default;</li>
<li>Privatisation will prevent NPAs and frauds; and</li>
<li>A bad bank for problem loans will help or it won’t.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Second, solutions for NPAs have been limited to providing some government funding, with hopes of muddling through.First, take the contention that large borrowers account for most bad loans<a class="storyTags" href="http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=bad+loans" target="_blank">.</a> Of total NPAs of Rs 10,149.16 billion, the published Big 12 comprise 25 per cent (Rs 2,537.29 billion).1 Another 100 wilful defaulters of over Rs 2.5 million against whom suits were filed constitute 7.3 per cent (Rs 740.2 billion).2 While these constitute a third of NPAs, smaller accounts make up the other two-thirds.Among housing loans, NPAs are highest among small loans not exceeding Rs 200,000 (10.4 per cent, or Rs 1,361.26 billion of Rs 13,089 billion), more than double the rate for larger loans over the last five years.3 The lowest NPAs are in the over-Rs 2.5-million category at 0.9 per cent, decreasing with loan size.Housing loans contribute 13.4 per cent to total NPAs, i.e.:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>About half the top 12 defaulters (25 per cent), and</li>
<li>Double the 100 wilful defaulters (7.3 per cent).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Therefore, the need is for a systemic fix across all levels, not only big defaults.Second, the context for NPAs is the economy. As last year’s Economic Survey (2016-17) pointed out:- A number of NPAs resulted from overleveraging after a high-growth period. Corporates used debt to invest heavily in long-gestation projects in infrastructure, such as power, mines and metals, and spectrum and coal auctions, encouraged by the government. From 2004-05 to 2007-08, the investment-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio rose from 27 per cent to 38 per cent, while bank credit doubled. Then, costs rose along with difficulties in acquiring land and environmental clearances, and oil prices. Import prices rose 2.4 times between 2010 and 2014. The rupee dropped sharply against the dollar, increasing foreign borrowing costs. Domestic borrowing costs also increased with interest rates (Chart 1) as growth fell.<br /><br />Chart 1: Real Interest Rate: Lending Rate Minus GDP Deflator</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2Wf1fiSlew/WpdesrRMa5I/AAAAAAAAD8w/XuGL12yzrE06KIgePJZSHn9TKyIqmZBvQCLcBGAs/s320/Real%2BInterest%2BRates-2009-2018-Trading%2BEconomics-2018-02-25.jpg" /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2Wf1fiSlew/WpdesrRMa5I/AAAAAAAAD8w/XuGL12yzrE06KIgePJZSHn9TKyIqmZBvQCLcBGAs/s1600/Real%2BInterest%2BRates-2009-2018-Trading%2BEconomics-2018-02-25.jpg"></a><a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/india/real-interest-rate-percent-wb-data.html">https://tradingeconomics.com/india/real-interest-rate-percent-wb-data.html</a> <br /><br />- By 2013, nearly a third of Indian companies had interest cover less than 1 (EC1), i.e., annual earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) less than interest. By 2015, nearly 40 per cent were at this level. From 2012 through mid-2015, EC1 companies’ earnings were around Rs 250 billion per quarter. By end-2015, earnings had dropped to Rs 20,000 per quarter, and by September 2016, to Rs 15,000 per quarter. Cash flow was insufficient to service debt from 2014. The result was a sharp increase in NPAs<a class="storyTags" href="http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=npas" target="_blank"> </a>(Chart 2), which could increase to 11.1 per cent by September 2018.<br /><br />Chart 2: NPAs</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l-hmwyRcD-8/WpdcC2KytXI/AAAAAAAAD8c/kCQQqKIT-EgjRABYlsAJQH9p9rF_mME1gCLcBGAs/s320/NPAs-1998-Mar%2B2017-Trading%2BEconimics-2018-02-25.jpg" /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l-hmwyRcD-8/WpdcC2KytXI/AAAAAAAAD8c/kCQQqKIT-EgjRABYlsAJQH9p9rF_mME1gCLcBGAs/s1600/NPAs-1998-Mar%2B2017-Trading%2BEconimics-2018-02-25.jpg"></a><a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/india/bank-nonperfoming-loans-to-total-gross-loans-percent-wb-data.html">https://tradingeconomics.com/india/bank-nonperfoming-loans-to-total-gross-loans-percent-wb-data.html</a><br />What’s difficult to understand is why and how systemic controls against inappropriate evergreening and fraud, such as integrating SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, with in-house systems, and avoiding underreporting of NPAs, have not been enforced until now. Systems have to be properly designed and implemented.However, while we dither over a bank for bad loans, NPAs need resolution. The most salutary model of banking reform, privatisation and recovery is from Sweden.<br /><br />Sweden’s transformation after its banking crisis of 1991-1992 is remarkable. Their prior experience parallels ours in some ways, although our attributes are very different, i.e., small versus large, advanced/developing, highly skilled small population/underskilled large population, and so on. For years, Sweden was an underperforming economy with low real wage growth, high inflation and public debt. Then a period of rapid growth and credit expansion led to a real estate bubble and collapse, like ours.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Housing prices fell by 25 per cent and commercial real estate by 42 per cent between 1990 and 1995. NPAs went from 5 per cent to nearly 50 per cent among banks (all private), and bankruptcies soared. In this crisis, the entire political leadership decided to unite to resolve their problems. Then, despite fighting behind the scenes, they worked together to take quick action.4 The Swedish centre-right government and the Social Democratic opposition decided on (a) state ownership of troubled banks (b) while guaranteeing all depositors and creditors except bank shareholders.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This united approach restored confidence. A ‘bad bank’ was set up and NPAs evaluated and assigned to ‘good’ or ‘bad’ banks by an independent body disposing of bad assets. Sweden’s banking system recovered to support a sound economy with growth.In our case, undertakings untainted by greed or moral turpitude with cash flow problems deserve efforts at rehabilitation. Examples are where there’s a likelihood of improving cash flows, as in some of the power projects that have run aground for reasons such as lower demand, or exceptional input cost increases. An objective evaluation process by an expert group to triage the NPAs is needed, categorising the untainted and impaired, and where there is scope for revival. Also, rehabilitation measures need to be formulated. The rub is that India is ill-equipped by culture and customary practices to do this. Yet, we would benefit greatly if we could draw on Sweden’s experience in taking corrective action. Private asset reconstruction companies have not been effective. It is unlikely that partial measures will fare better.The primary requirement is political unity across all parties.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Without this, none of the rest can follow. Then, setting up an independent professional entity unencumbered with political considerations to do what is needed. This becomes evident in comparing the US crisis of 2008 (all private banks) with the Swedish experience. After Lehman Brothers collapsed, the Democrats agreed to the Treasury Secretary’s ad hoc $700-billion bailout package, then denounced it just before a vote. The Republicans rejected their own plan, leading to turmoil in the markets. The bill finally passed a week later, and although successful in cleaning impaired assets at a much lower than expected cost, led to a slow recovery and was hugely unpopular. Similarly, the Japanese approach has been slow and not a clear success. Can India’s political parties replicate Sweden’s example? Will they?</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br /><em>Shyam (no space) Ponappa at gmail dot com</em><br /><br /><br /><em>1: <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/steel-firms-dominate-list-of-rbi-s-12-defaulters-117061601393_1.html" target="_blank">http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/steel-firms-dominate-list-of-rbi-s-12-defaulters-117061601393_1.html </a></em><br /><em><br /></em><em>2: <a href="https://suit.cibil.com/">https://suit.cibil.com/</a></em><br /><em><br /></em><em>3:<a href="https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=17314">https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=17314</a></em><br /><em><br /></em><em>4:<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_pivot/2012/10/sweden_when_its_banks_failed_the_scandinavian_country_made_a_miraculous.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_pivot/2012/10/sweden_when_its_banks_failed_the_scandinavian_country_made_a_miraculous.html</a> </em><br /><em><br /></em><em>and </em><br /><br /><em><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-banks-analysis/swedish-banks-safe-bet-or-risky-business-idUSKBN1500ZX">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-banks-analysis/swedish-banks-safe-bet-or-risky-business-idUSKBN1500ZX</a></em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-march-1-2018-shyam-ponappa-npas-and-bad-banks'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-march-1-2018-shyam-ponappa-npas-and-bad-banks</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-03-25T03:53:25ZBlog EntryMatching Realities and Aspirations
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-february-1-2018-matching-realities-and-aspirations
<b>Leaving aside fixing the 'mountains' such as land acquisition, NPAs etc, here are some thoughts on systemic focus and action.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/matching-realities-and-aspirations-118013101812_1.html">Business Standard</a> on January 31, 2018 and in <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2018/02/">Organizing India Blogspot</a> on February 1, 2018.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There’s an upbeat sense from the annual Economic Survey, and indicators such as soaring stocks and official statements.Yet, the ground realities don’t match because of gritty facts such as not being able to pay electronic tolls on a national highway near Delhi though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) controls local administration1, Korean steel giant Posco abandoning a huge investment last year after struggling for over a decade, two public sector divestments, Bharat Aluminium Company and Hindustan Zinc, mired in difficulties2, or the hobbling state of services such as electricity and telecommunications despite short-term consumer benefits from lower prices, and so on. Another aspect is that so many college graduates, including engineers, law students and MBAs, compete for low-end government jobs such as peons in state governments. Clearly, something beyond talkfests and episodic discussions is needed. Leaving aside fixing the “mountains” — the land acquisition act, non-performing assets (NPAs), high component taxes — here are some thoughts on systemic focus and action.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Fix infrastructure</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong> </strong>With rare exceptions, our governments do not appear to recognise a clear priority to fix infrastructural deficiencies. After national security and maintaining law and order, correcting critical deficiencies of infrastructure in all its forms needs to be an all-out priority. This is a basic requirement for citizens to function effectively and live well. Without infrastructure one cannot function anywhere near full capacity, because of having to spend time, energy and resources dealing with problems of living and hygiene arising from the non-availability of adequate water and sanitation, inefficient travel and logistics for employment, education or health care, communications, dysfunctional equipment because of power shortages, and so on.Instead, some misconceptions in policies and practices appear to be broadly accepted as driving factors not only in the government, but also to some extent in the public perception. One is that all foreign direct investment (FDI) is a panacea for our ills and aspirations. The second is the idea that for services such as water, electricity and communications, the public interest is best served by the lowest consumer prices for those who get such services, regardless of sustainability. Issues such as access to services for half the population living outside urban areas, high and consistent quality, sustainability, and minimising environmental impact appear to be less important criteria.<br /><br /><strong>The Panacea of FDI?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong> </strong>There’s no question about the need for foreign investment, but uncontrolled FDI, particularly at our stage of development, is inadvisable. One wonders where these forms of the erstwhile East India Company and/or winner-take-all might lead. And does it matter, as long as consumers enjoy good living, defined as access to material comforts at low prices? To see why it does matter, consider these parodied scenarios, with apologies to Jonathan Swift’s satirical A Modest Proposal3.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>A Modest Proposal for 100% FDI — A Parody</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong></strong>Imagine how well all consumers could do, this time without leaving the other half out, if we invite the likes of (indicative list, in alphabetic order) Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft (with guarantees of compensation if there are sudden policy reversals, which we are prone to) to use all unsold and unused spectrum to provide connectivity and digital services pronto. They could put in so much investment to get to year five on day one a couple of years or so out, even Reliance Jio might pale.Don’t want Americans? Why not invite the Chinese and Huawei? We might get even better deals in digital services from the world leader in 4G and beyond.Not to mention the attendant benefits from associated companies to keep consumers happy with smartphones, air conditioners, refrigerators, air purifiers, TV sets, cars, two-wheelers, and so on. There will also be power plants, aircraft, and trains, fixing all three sectors with one swipe. Some impediments would have to be removed of course, such as allowing power plants to come up, electricity lines to be laid out, spectrum to be used, land acquired, changes in labour laws, and so on. As for employment, there could be plenty of local assembly, manufacturing and distribution from all of the above, provided we willingly submit to some regimentation in our lives.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Alternative: Fix The Basics & Do It Ourselves</strong><br />We have to fix the basics to help ourselves and make FDI succeed in our interests. We need priorities in objectives, as everything cannot have the highest priority. Even more difficult is getting experts and practitioners to work out detailed process plans, evaluating alternatives with realistic simulations, and so on. It takes time, energy, understanding and competence, and patience, to get beyond seat-of-pants discussions. Apply all these from a systems perspective, map the distilled ideas to action plans for each set of interrelated processes, and the upshot could be those process plans. We may get end-to-end strategies leading to convergent results to improve our infrastructure, which will enable agricultural and manufacturing production, services, and trade, with resulting jobs, while limiting negative environmental impact.Goals such as increasing jobs and farm income are desirable. To get on a higher long-term growth trajectory beyond a cyclical recovery, in addition to skilling, there need to be initiatives and investments that fit with the circumstances. An excellent example is the Automotive Mission Plan 2006-2016, now in its second 10-year cycle, which resulted in India becoming a preferred automobile assembly location with 32 million jobs in FY16. Similar approaches could be worked out for connectivity, electricity, and the rest, that address the needs/opportunities/markets, the products/services, how delivery will be organised, what the resources are and where they will be sourced from, how they will be organised and when, i.e., the detailed strategy, process plans and flow charts.Also, effective corporate practices such as facilitation for catalysing group decisions could be used if they are not already, to help administrators, experts, and practitioners arrive at sound, practical decisions.4 Another area is simulation and modelling of alternatives and scenarios. A third is overall strategy.<br /><br />These steps will help improve our ability to achieve our aspirations.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam (no space) Ponappa at gmail dot com<em>1. ‘India’s road to digital highway’, Nivedita Mookerji, Business Standard: </em><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/india-s-road-to-digital-highway-118012401544_1.html">http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/india-s-road-to-digital-highway-118012401544_1.html</a><br /><em>2. ‘India as a ‘business partner’, Kanika Datta, Business Standard: </em><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/india-as-a-business-partner-118012401599_1.html">http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/india-as-a-business-partner-118012401599_1.html</a><br /><em>3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal;<a href="https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/modest.html">https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/modest.html</a>4.<a href="https://www.centreforfacilitation.co.uk/files/public/What%20is%20process%20facilitation.pdf">https://www.centreforfacilitation.co.uk/files/public/What%20is%20process%20facilitation.pdf</a></em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-february-1-2018-matching-realities-and-aspirations'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-february-1-2018-matching-realities-and-aspirations</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-03-09T03:03:58ZBlog EntryJanuary 2018 Newsletter
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/Qjanuary-2018-newsletter
<b>January 2018 Newsletter</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Highlights</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The paper titled <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-working-requirements-and-complex-products">"Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" </a>has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents</a>. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-and-the-healthcare-industry-in-india" style="text-align: left; ">The report</a><span style="text-align: left; "> by </span><span>by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari <span>seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/deccan-herald-january-20-2018-sunil-abraham-data-protection-we-can-innovate-leapfrog">published in Deccan Herald</a> on January 20, 2018.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018">made a submission to TRAI Consultation</a> on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>Under a <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure">research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS</a> has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>The <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017">2G judgment of December 2017</a> provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018. </span></span></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The following articles were written by CIS members:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-3-2017-digital-native-memory-card-is-full">Digital native: Memory card is full</a><span> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 3, 2018).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017">The 2G Judgment of December 2017: What Was It About?</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 3, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/business-standard-sunil-abraham-january-10-fixing-aadhaar">Fixing Aadhaar: Security developers' task is to trim chances of data breach</a> (Sunil Abraham; Business Standard; January 10, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/governance-now-elonnai-hickok-another-step-towards-privacy-law-data-protection">Another Step towards Privacy Law</a> (Elonnai Hickok; Governance Now; January 15, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/deccan-herald-january-20-2018-sunil-abraham-data-protection-we-can-innovate-leapfrog">Data Protection: We can innovate, leapfrog</a> (Sunil Abraham; Deccan Herald; January 20, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><span><br />CIS in the News:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-surabhi-agarwal-and-samanwaya-rautray-from-net-neutrality-to-ibc-and-aadhaar-how-vidhi-is-framing-key-government-legislation">From net neutrality to IBC & Aadhaar, how Vidhi is framing key government legislation</a> (Surabhi Agarwal and Samanwaya Rautray; Economic Times; January 4, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-komal-gupta-january-7-2018-uidai-denies-any-breach-of-aadhaar-database">UIDAI denies any breach of Aadhaar database</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; January 7, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-january-9-2018-manasa-venkataraman-ajay-patri-token-security-or-tokenized-security">Token security or tokenized security?</a> (Manasa Venkataraman and Ajay Patri; Livemint; January 9, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-january-11-2018-uidai-introduces-new-two-layer-security-system-to-improve-aadhaar-privacy">UIDAI introduces new two-layer security system to improve Aadhaar privacy</a> (Economic Times; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/indian-express-january-11-2018-">Hammered government offers Virtual ID firewall to protect your Aadhaar </a>(New Indian Express; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindu-yuthika-bhargava-january-11-2018-virtual-aadhaar-id-too-little-too-late">Virtual Aadhaar ID: too little, too late?</a> (Yuthika Bhargava; Hindu; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bloomberg-quint-january-11-2018-india-to-introduce-virtual-id-for-aadhaar-to-strengthen-privacy">India To Introduce Virtual ID For Aadhaar To Strengthen Privacy</a> (Bloomberg Quint; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/uidais-virtual-id-limited-kyc-does-little-to-protect-aadhaar-data-already-collected-say-critics">UIDAI's Virtual ID, limited KYC does little to protect Aadhaar data already collected, say critics</a> (Business Today; January 12, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ndtv-sukriti-dwivedi-january-13-2018-aadhaar-body-talked-about-virtual-id-7-years-ago-put-it-off-uidai-chief">Aadhaar Body Talked About Virtual ID 7 Years Ago, Put It Off: UIDAI Chief</a> (Sukriti Dwivedi; NDTV; January 13, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deccan-herald-january-14-2018-pranshu-rathee-bengaluru-gives-data-safety-tips-to-panel">Bengaluru gives data safety tips to panel </a>(Deccan Herald; January 14, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindu-businessline-january-16-2018-sravanthi-challapalli-is-your-personal-information-under-lock-and-key">Is your personal information under lock and key?</a> (Sravanthi Challapalli; Hindu Businessline; January 16, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/first-post-january-18-2018-aadhaar-privacy-debate-how-the-12-digit-number-went-from-personal-identifier-to-all-pervasive-transaction-tool">Aadhaar-privacy debate: How the 12-digit number went from personal identifier to all pervasive transaction tool</a> (First Post; January 18, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-komal-gupta-remya-nair-january-24-2018-paytm-payments-bank-woos-corporates-with-digital-incentives">Paytm Payments Bank woos corporates with digital incentives</a> (Komal Gupta and Remya Nair; Livemint; January 24, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-january-25-2018-alnoor-peermohamed-aadhaars-new-security-measures-are-good-it-is-still-work-in-progress">Aadhaar's new security measures are good, it is still work in progress</a> (Alnoor Peermohamed; Business Standard; January 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/government-of-odisha-adopting-creative-commons-license-to-promote-transparency-and-access-to-knowledge">Government of Odisha adopting Creative Commons License to Promote Transparency and Access to Knowledge</a> (Sailesh Patnaik; January 17, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/experience-and-learning-outcome-from-wikipedia-education-program">Experience and Learning outcome from Wikipedia Education Program</a> (Lakshmi Karlekar; January 30, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Events Organized</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dept._of_Mass_Communication,_Solapur_University">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dept. of Mass Communication, Solapur University</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dept of Mass Communication, Solapur University; Solapur; January 2, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dayanand_College,_Solapur">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dayanand College, Solapur</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dayanand College, Solapur; Solapur; January 3, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Willingdon_College,_Sangli">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Willingdon College, Sangli</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Willingdon College; Sangli; January 5, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Govt.Science_%26_Arts_College,_Aurangabad">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Govt.Science & Arts College, Aurangabad</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Govt.Science & Arts College; Aurangabad; January 9, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dr.Babasaheb_Ambedkar_Marathwada_Vidyapeeth">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Vidyapeeth</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University; Aurangabad; January 10, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Shivaji_University,_Kolhapur">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Shivaji University, Kolhapur </a>(Organized by CIS-A2K and Shivaji University; Kolhapur; January 15, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%A1%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%BE:%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%9C%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%9F%E0%B1%81/%E0%B0%86%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%A7%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0_%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%8A%E0%B0%AF%E0%B1%8B%E0%B0%B2_%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%B3%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2/2018/%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%A1%E0%B1%87%E0%B0%9F%E0%B0%BE_%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2_-_%E0%B0%9C%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BF">Wikidata Workshop</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Andhra Loyola College; Vijaywada; January 20 - 21, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/train-the-trainer-2018">Train the Trainer 2018</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K; Mysore; January 26 - 28, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-align: justify; ">►</span><span style="text-align: justify; ">Pervasive Technologies</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Research Paper</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-working-requirements-and-complex-products">Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products</a> (Jorge L. Contreras, Rohini Lakshané and Paxton M. Lewis; JIPEL NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, Vol. 7 - No.1 on January 16, 2018). </li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Submission</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; January 1, 2018). <i>The submission was made in December 2017 but it was published on the website in January 2018</i>.</li>
</ul>
<p>►Openness</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Privacy</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-and-the-healthcare-industry-in-india">Artificial Intelligence and the Healthcare Industry in India</a> (Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari (Ecosystem mapping by Shweta Mohandas, Sidharth Ray and Elonnai Hickok. Designed by Saumyaa Naidu under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; January 26, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div><strong>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Events Organized</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-ai-and-manufacturing-and-services">Roundtable on A.I. and Manufacturing and Service</a>s (TERI, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/null-bangalore-meet-january-19">null Bangalore Meet: Special Session on Digital Identity and Privacy</a> (CIS, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018). Sunil Abraham gave a talk.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Free Speech and Expression</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-governance-forum-report-2017">Internet Governance Forum Report 2017</a> (Shweta Mohandas; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/mobile-net-ban-during-peaceful-protest-leaves-farmers-confused">Mobile net ban during peaceful protest leaves farmers confused</a> (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/2018hurt-sentiments2019-cost-udaipur-internet-access-for-four-days">‘Hurt sentiments’ cost Udaipur internet access for four days</a> (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).</li>
</ul>
</strong></div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /></strong><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018">Submission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018"</a> (Pranesh Prakash; January 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /><span>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
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No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-03-01T01:35:56ZPageSubmission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018"
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018
<b>Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) made a submission to TRAI Consultation on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. </b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Preliminary</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We welcome the TRAI consultation on the National Telecom Policy 2018.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We believe these should be among the objectives of the next NTP.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify; ">
<ul>
<li>To enable inclusion through the provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services that are accessible to all, especially for the most marginalized.</li>
<li>To maximize the utility of telecom networks by increasing their capacity and throughput.</li>
<li>To maximize the socio-economic utility of of spectrum and rationalize the regulatory regime.</li>
<li>To re-energize the telecom sector, and to bring about a shift to a revenue-sharing model of revenue-generation for the exchequer.</li>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">NTP-12 does not include any policy mandate for providing accessibility for person with disabilities. The Policy should mandate implementation of systems that would enable better a<span>ccessibility for persons with disabilities. This could have included formulation of a Code of good practice for manufactures and service providers, conduct surveys and gather statistics on </span><span>use of telecommunication services by persons with disabilities, etc. </span></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Resource and infrastructure sharing</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Resource- and infrastructure-sharing among telecommunications companies and applications is crucial to ensure both eiciency of usage of a limited resource (whether it is cabling in <span>underground ducts, or spectrum, or telecom towers), as well as to lower telecommunications costs (especially capital expenditure cost) and lowering barriers to entry, reducing </span>environmental costs, and to maximize the beneits for consumers.<a href="#ftn1">[1]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Eforts must be taken to enable greater sharing of resources and infrastructure, without there being a negative impact on competition.<a href="#ftn2">[2]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As a telecom scholar points out, “[O]perators will sometimes share the cost of digging or deploying passive infrastructure, but will lay their own iber lines, which allows <span>them to engage in full, facility-based competition. In these cases, there is no risk of coordination, as networks based on multiple iber lines ensure that access seekers can obtain </span><span>full control over them. Under such conditions, co-investment agreements are more likely to lead to timelier and more intense competition on the downstream market.”</span><a href="#ftn3">[3]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For this, the separation between infrastructure and service must be maintained, with focus of competition at the service end with infrastructure being largely common. This is managed differently in <span>different countries.</span><a href="#ftn4">[4]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Keeping all this in mind, we suggest that Strategies E(b) and F(c) be reworded to say, "By promoting both passive and active sharing of telecom infrastructure and <span>resources among telecom service providers, while ensuring that doesn’t lead to a decrease in competition, and where appropriate making certain forms of infrastructure sharing </span><span>mandatory."</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Among the resources that require sharing is spectrum. In 2015, DoT guidelines allowed liberalised spectrum to be shared among operators.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Modernizing spectrum management</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We are happy to note that the strategy of “ensuring adequate availability of contiguous, broader and globally harmonised spectrum” is listed under Strategy D(u). There are many <span>opportunities for harmonisation of spectrum usage in India vis-a-vis global usage. For instance, currently in India, only 50 MHz of spectrum has been earmarked for unlicenced use </span><span>outdoors in the 5 GHz band (5.825 GHz to 5.875 GHz). There is no rationale for this distinction between indoor and outdoor use, and this limits the usage of Wi-Fi outdoors. The US has </span><span>delicensed 580 MHz in the 5GHz band which allows for the IEEE 802.11ac standard to be used on it, whereas India has only delicensed 300 MHz, whereas 1280 MHz is what is dictated by </span><span>needs.</span><a href="#ftn5">[5]</a> <span>At a minimum 580 MHz (3x160 MHz) ought to be made available for unlicensed used. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Additionally, delicensing the 60 GHz band would bring us in line with global regimes,<a href="#ftn6">[6]</a> <span>where at least </span> 19 countries have delicensed the 60 Ghz band for both access as well as backhaul purposes.<a href="#ftn7">[7]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 60GHz band is ideal for delicensing since it there is virtually no interference since due to oxygen absorption and narrow antenna beam width the transmission distances</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">are short. We also need to liberalize the 70 and 80 GHz bands to enabling lower cost access for these frequencies to extend ibre connectivity where necessary by using other means, including <span>through aerial systems.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While under Strategy D(v), TRAI proposes the “earmarking [of] unlicensed frequency bands periodically for operation of low power devices for public use”, it should instead be <span>“earmarking unused, underused, and unlicensed frequency bands periodically for public use, with licence-exemption and light-licensing where possible, with safeguards to prevent </span><span>interference”. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Even bands that have been allocated under the NFAP and licensed may lie unused or underused as well. According to a study by IIT-Hyderabad, unused TV spectrum in <span>India amounts to between 85%-95% of the total TV spectrum. A large swath of 115 MHz — from 470 to 585 MHz — lies unused, and is available for alternative uses. Waiting for an </span><span>ecosystem to develop around the 470- 698 MHz band,<a href="#ftn8">[8]</a> </span><span>is harming the government’s vision of Digital India and an urgent course correction is needed. As we have argued in the past, </span><span>“[w]hereas Digital India needs low-cost wireless broadband, especially for long-distance links in rural India, because of the high cost and diiculty of building and maintaining ibre or wired </span><span>networks in diicult terrain, and/or in sparsely populated areas. Therefore, access to TVWS needs to be bundled with BharatNet, and other shared backbone networks like ERNET.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Policies should permit diferent network design scenarios including transmission power and purpose. Point-to-point links are needed over long distances in place of ibre or microwave, <span>and broad coverage is needed for contiguous areas like industrial developments, campuses, commercial complexes, or rural communities … TVWS does need tight radio ilters (unlike </span><span>Wi-Fi) to minimise interference, the underlying consideration that drives spectrum management. There's also need for varying power speciications depending on the network </span><span>design and purpose as described above, and policies for unlicensed sharing using geolocation databases, as deined by the US FCC."<a href="#ftn9">[9]</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Further, following the lead of the FCC in the USA, and Ofcom in the UK, we in India should exempt low-power usage across all spectrum bands. The approach followed by Ofcom (which <span>allows for powers between -90 dBm/MHz to -41 dBm/MHz (and on a sloping gradient from 10.6 GHz onwards), may be recommended. To reflect this, a strategy statement to “explore greater </span><span>exemptions from licensing requirements where possible, including for low-power spectrum usage”, would be helpful.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The NTP should also lead the way in encouraging the government and the regulator to look to new ways of managing licence-exempt use of spectrum, as has been done, for example, in the <span>UK.<a href="#ftn10">[10]</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This allows for a movement away from power-oriented regulations to regulation on the basis of interference. For instance, shared spectrum databases may allow for coordinated usage <span>of higher power but without interference. Further, this allows for bands to be categorized not by usage, but by transmit powers and duty cycles.</span></p>
<h3><span>Accessibility</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One of the lacunae in the NTP-12 is its lack of any policy mandate for providing accessibility for person with disabilities.<a href="#ftn11">[11]</a> <span>NTP-18 should not make the same mistake. The NTP should </span><span>mandate implementation of systems that would enable better accessibility for persons with disabilities. This should include formulation of a code of good practice for manufactures and </span><span>service providers, conducting surveys and gathering statistics on use of telecommunication services by persons with disabilities, etc.</span></p>
<h3><span>Revenue maximization</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We believe that Strategy D(r) (“reviewing the objectives of spectrum management to maximise socio-economic gains”) should explicitly mention that revenue maximization should not itself <span>be a goal, since that may harm the socio-economic gains to be had from optimal usage of spectrum. We believe that it should be made explict that “ensuring revenue maximization for </span><span>the exchequer will not be the main aim of spectrum management policy”.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Auctions, which ind mention in TRAI’s recommendations, ne — to favour a model of revenue sharing<a href="#ftn12">[12]</a> </span><span>— and at the least they need to be structured in such a manner as to avoid the “winner’s curse”.<a href="#ftn13">[13]</a> </span><span>Revenue-sharing, which was followed after NTP-99, allows for a more sustainable form of revenue generation for the government, while having transparent allocation systems or </span><span>auctions designed in a manner not oriented towards maximizing the generation of auction proceeds for the government.<a href="#ftn14">[14]</a> </span><span>Just as increasing the USO fund by itself cannot be a goal — ensuring universal service is the goal — similarly, the generation of tax revenue by itself </span><span>cannot be a goal.</span></p>
<h3>Patents pools, local manufacturing, and cost of devices</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Under “Strategies to become net positive in international trade of telecommunication systems and services”, the consultation paper proposes inancial incentives for development of SEPs, as <span>well as “incentivising local manufacturing of network equipment and devices” as strategies. One concrete strategy to incentivise local manufacturing of telecommunications equipment </span><span>and devices is to create government-controlled patent pools,<a href="#ftn15">[15]</a> </span><span>which can be used to ensure that patent-holders are paid a royalty on SEPs while also lowering the transaction costs and legal </span><span>uncertainty for local device manufacturers, and ultimately lowering the price of devices for customers.<a href="#ftn16">[16]</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Private patent pools do not suiciently take care of the legal risks created to manufacturers. If government intervention is not done, then Indian manufacturers will end <span>up embroiled in legal battles as we have seen with Micromax, and others. CIS has provided a very detailed submission on TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom </span><span>Equipment Manufacturing.<a href="#ftn17">[17]</a></span></p>
<h3><span>Internet connection and data centres</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While under “Strategies to establish India as a global hub for data communication systems and services”, the problem of Internet interconnection is brought up, but the strategies don’t <span>mention what needs to be done. One of the problems facing India currently is a low level of peering interconnection agreements and a high cost of transit interconnection agreements. </span><span>This results in a higher cost of Internet for everyone. This needn’t be so. The NTP could establish that there should be no licensing required for running an interconnection point. </span><span>Currently, there is a lack of clarity on the matter, with contrary suggestions having been provided by Trai in the past. Further, the NTP and that existing interconnection exchanges </span><span>like NIXI should not discriminate between licensed telecom operators and unlicensed content </span>providers, since it is crucial that the latter also be present at interconnection exchanges, and interconnection exchanges will not lourish unless the hurdles put in place, which favour <span>incumbents, are reduced.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is worrying that TRAI has suggested establishing a “licensing and regulatory framework for cloud service providers” (Strategy H(a)). While cloud service providers are subject to the <span>regulations provided in the IT Act, and other legislations in India, they currently are not subject to any licensing requirements. No rationale has been provided by TRAI for this </span><span>suggestion, and it would kill innovation in the sector, and would inhibit the emergence of India as a global hub for data communications systems and services. Similarly, while an </span><span>overarching data protection and security legislation needs to be in place, the suggestion of a “licensing and regulatory framework for IoT/ M2M service providers” (Strategy G(a)) is </span><span>worrying, and there is no suitable rationale for having licensing in this space, which will only serve to curb innovation without any corresponding or suitable benefit accruing to the public.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given that telecommunications isn’t an end in itself, but is a means to an end, one of the missions of the NTP could be:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">To enable inclusion through the provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services that is accessible for all, especially for the most marginalized, including those <span>who are disabled, those who live in remote areas, those who are illiterate, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women, and transgender communities.</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Once again, we are grateful to TRAI for having provided this opportunity to comment.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn1"></a>]. GSMA, “Mobile Infrastructure Sharing,” 2008, https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wpcontent/uploads/2012/09/Mobile-Infrastructure-sharing.pdf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn2"></a>]. José Carlos Laguna de Paz, “How Cooperation Between Telecom Firms Can Improve Efficiency,” The Regulatory Review, June 25, 2015, https://www.theregreview.org/2015/06/25/laguna-telecoms-cooperation/.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn3"></a>]. Ibid.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn4"></a>]. Jan Markendahl, Amirhossein Ghanbari, and Bengt G. Mölleryd, “Network Cooperation between Mobile Operators : Why and How Competitors Cooperate?,” in DIVA, 2013, http://urn.kb.se/resolve? urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-134358.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn5"></a>]. Parag Kar, “Response to TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks” (Qualcomm, August 10, 2016), http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/201609011022542916621Qualcomm_india_pvt_ltd.pdf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn6"></a>]. See ITU-R Report “ITU-R M.2227 (11/2011)” and ITU-R Recommendation “ITU-R M.2003-1 (01/2015)” on “Multiple Gigabit Wireless Systems in frequencies around 60 GHz”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn7"></a>]. Broadband India Forum, “V Band - 60 GHz: The Key to Affordable Broadband in India” (Broadband India Forum, 2016), http://www.broadbandindiaforum.com/img/White%20Paper%20on%20V-BAND%20Revised%20Final.pdf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn8"></a>]. Varun Aggarwal, “DoT Says No to Releasing TV White Space Spectrum, Clarifies It Is for Experiments,” The Hindu Business Line, June 16, 2016, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/dot-says-no-to-releasing-tvwhite-space-spectrum-clarifies-it-is-for-experiments/article8737575.ece</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn9"></a>]. Shyam Ponappa, “The Buzz around TV White Space,” Business Standard, November 4, 2015, http://www.businessstandard.com/article/opinion/shyam-ponappa-the-buzz-around-tv-white-space-115110401618_1.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn10"></a>]. “Better Managing Licence-Exempt Usage,” Ofcom, October 7, 2016, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-anddata/technology/radio-spectrum/exempt.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn11"></a>]. Snehashish Ghosh, “National Telecom Policy 2012 — Issues and Concerns,” The Centre for Internet and Society, June 30, 2012, https://cis-india.org/telecom/national-telecom-policy-2012.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn12"></a>]. David E. M. Sappington and Dennis L. Weisman, “Revenue Sharing in Incentive Regulation Plans,” Information Economics and Policy 8, no. 3 (September 1, 1996): 229–48, https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6245(96)00010-8.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn13"></a>]. Shyam Ponappa, “Richard Thaler’s Views on Auctions,” Business Standard, November 1, 2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/richard-thaler-s-views-on-auctions-117110101558_1.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn14"></a>]. Shyam Ponappa, “Breakthroughs Needed for Digital India,” Business Standard, April 6, 2016, http://www.businessstandard.com/article/opinion/shyam-ponappa-breakthroughs-needed-for-digital-india-116040601241_1.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn15"></a>]. Sunil Abraham, “Letter for Establishment of Patent Pool for Low-Cost Access Devices through Compulsory Licenses,” The Centre for Internet and Society, accessed January 19, 2018, https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/letter-forestablishment-of-patent-pool-for-low-cost-access-devices</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn16"></a>]. Nehaa Chaudhari, “Pervasive Technologies: Patent Pools,” The Centre for Internet and Society, accessed January 19, 2018, https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-pools</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a name="fn17"></a>]. Anubha Sinha, “Comments on TRAI’s Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing” (Centre for Internet and Society, November 13, 2017), http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/CentreInternetSocietyIndia_CP_PLTEM.pdf.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018</a>
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No publisherpraneshTelecom2018-01-25T14:46:48ZBlog EntryThe 2G Judgment of December 2017: What Was It About?
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017
<b>The judgment provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation.
</b>
<p>Originally published in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-2g-judgment-what-was-it-about-118010301289_1.html">Business Standard</a> on January 3, 2018 and also published in <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2018/01/the-2g-judgment-of-december-2017-what.html">Organizing India Blogspot</a> on January 4, 2018.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">The recent 2G judgment raises perplexing questions about the case, with pointers in the judgment to issues of concern that we need to address going forward. This preliminary analysis highlights questions that arise from select issues covered in the judgment of over a thousand pages: Can government policy itself be prosecuted as alleged wrongdoing, as the charge sheet apparently tried to do? The judgment states that the FIR alleged in item 1 that the licence fee in 2008 was Rs 16.58 billion as in 2001, and licences were issued on a first come, first served (FCFS) basis without competitive bidding.<sup>1</sup></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">These are factual statements in accord with prevailing policies, and licences could be applied for at the fee set in 2001. The charges question the appropriateness of the policies as there was no competitive bidding or auction.<sup>2</sup><span> Arguments for changing the policy to adopt auctions, or to increase fees, appear unconnected with proving wrongdoing.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Regarding the FCFS policy, the charges are twofold. One is whether or not there was in fact an established FCFS policy. Another is alleged malfeasance in policy implementation.</li>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><br /><strong>Was there an FCFS policy?</strong><br /><br />The judgment finds that the FCFS policy has been misrepresented in the claim that only one application was processed at a time.3 This is analysed and contradicted in detail. The judgment gives several contrary examples provided by the defence, such as later applicants being processed earlier when there was a problem with compliance by the earlier applicant, of successive applicants given letters of intent (LOIs) on the same day, and applicants with LOIs seeking repeated extensions before letting them lapse. The judgment states that no evidence was presented of a systematic FCFS process for the issue of LOIs and spectrum allocation/assignment in the case of 51 prior licences issued. The finding is that because there was a single applicant at a time earlier, a sequential process was followed, but that this was not a conscious policy. Also, that the evidence from the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) is that priority for spectrum allocation was from the date of application for spectrum, and not from the application for the unified access services (UAS) licence (LOI). The judgment concludes that there was no evidence to prove that there was an FCFS policy in the form as alleged in the charge sheet. The sense one has from the instances cited is that there was a loose policy with no standard operating procedure.<br /><br /><strong>Possible malfeasance & evidence</strong><br /><br />Another allegation in the charge sheet is that the FCFS policy, such as it was, was implemented in a manner that resulted in wrongful gains. From press reports at the time, one expects that this statement of possible malfeasance is the sort for which evidence might be available and presented. So, was such evidence presented?<br /><br />The FCFS process changed from the date of application for a licence in the order in which it was received to actual compliance with terms of LOI. This meant submitting all requisite information, documentation and clearances together with bank drafts and guarantees. Earlier, the FCFS criterion was the completed application (as in the instance of a later complete application being processed before an earlier incomplete application). The judgment records that consideration of the proposed change to LOI compliance was publicly known well beforehand and was even published in the press.<br /><br />The counter is that because of a large number of applicants, the criterion was established for serious applicants who complied with the conditions of LOIs, including all clearances and payments. All applicants were apparently well informed of impending developments at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The judgment notes: “Everything was leaking in DoT. There was no secrecy or sanctity… In such a situation, no blame can be cast on any of the accused alone.” However, one is left with a sense that this area has not been conclusively explored.<br /><br /><strong>Some questions remain</strong><br />A broad question: Is there a way to deliver justice while avoiding the infructuous path of dealing with the several hundred thousand pages of documents over seven years and the opportunity cost so far for all involved in just this case? If so, how do we change course going forward? The charges appear to have conflated the questioning of policy with allegations of improper implementation and culpability. Might separating the questioning of policy from establishing wrongful implementation and culpability be more constructive? Could defining narrower culpable allegations, focused on evidentiary material, obtain conclusions beyond reasonable doubt?</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The judgment provides a scathing critique of how no proper evidence was presented on the existence of an FCFS policy. What is the explanation for a weak case by the prosecution? </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The charges sought to prove that there was a conspiracy of all the 17 accused, and that the first indication of it was the letter from the DoT to the solicitor general regarding LOIs for pending applications. Could the charges have targeted other events and activities based on likely availability of evidence, and if so, what might they have found? Examples: Bringing forward the deadline for applications from October 1, 2007 to September 25, 2007, or the lack of orderly standard operating procedures adopted in changing the priority of applicants from the date/time of application to LOI compliance. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Regarding wrongful gains, there is no indication if forensic methods were used in tracking transactions and if so, what the methods and findings were.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">What explains the rough-and-tumble process that applicants had to go through in complying with LOIs related to the case?</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For the New Telecom Policy in 2018, we must hope to learn from and avoid such adverse situations. One way is to facilitate collaborative and transparent implementation.</p>
<hr />
<ol>
<li>Delhi District Court judgment: Cbi vs . (1) A. Raja (A1); on 21 December, 2017.pdf https://indiankanoon.org/doc/17920655/</li>
<li>The Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommended auctions in August 2007 for all spectrum except “2G bands”, but not for licensing. Acceptance by the DoT would have made this the policy, but this recommendation was not accepted.</li>
<li>(Ibid) Page 524, Paragraph 753</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-01-18T14:40:50ZBlog EntryDecember 2017 Newsletter
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter
<b></b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Highlights</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shruthi Anand <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review">wrote a report</a> that seeks to map the development of Artificial Intelligence both generally and in specific sectors culminating in a stakeholder analysis and contributions to policy making.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on December 7, 2017. CIS also <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">offered its assistance on other matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India</a>, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks held a meeting with IP stakeholders on December 7, 2017, chaired by the Secretary, DIPP, to take suggestions on improving procedures and functioning of the Office. <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-submissions-to-dipp-and-cgptdm-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Anubha Sinha attended the meeting and requested the DIPP to improve compliance of uploading Form 27s by patentees and ensure proper enforcement of related provisions within the Indian Patent Act, 1970</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">A Kannada Wikipedia orientation workshop was held at the Entrepreneurship Centre, SID, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru on 26 November, 2017. The <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru">day long event was aimed at adding content to Kannada Wikimedia projects</a> on topics such as ecology, environment, wildlife and sciences of Karnataka.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons">wrote an article on the tragedy of commons</a> in the Business Standard on December 6, 2017.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Just like porn is not real life, all news is not real news. It’s time, therefore, to come of age in the 18th year of this century, wrote Nishant Shah in an article in the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-31-2017-digitial-native-the-age-of-consent">Indian Express</a> on December 31, 2017.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>CIS wrote the following articles:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-wire-amber-sinha-">New Recommendations to Regulate Online Hate Speech Could Pose More Problems Than Solutions</a> (Amber Sinha; Wire; October 14, 2017). <i>This was published in the month of December on the CIS website</i>.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/asian-age-amber-sinha-december-3-2017-">Breeding misinformation in virtual space</a> (Amber Sinha; Asian Age; December 3, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-wire-amber-sinha-december-1-2017-inclusive-co-regulatory-approach-possible-building-indias-data-protection-regime">India’s Data Protection Regime Must Be Built Through an Inclusive and Truly Co-Regulatory Approach</a><span> (Amber Sinha; Wire; December 1, 2017).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-3-2017-digital-native-memory-card-is-full">Digital native: Memory card is full</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; December 3, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/should-aadhaar-be-mandatory">Should Aadhaar be mandatory?</a> (Amber Sinha; Deccan Herald; December 9, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-31-2017-digitial-native-the-age-of-consent">Digital native: The age of consent</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; December 31, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p><span>CIS in the News:</span></p>
<ul>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/aadhaar-linking-deadline-approaches-here-are-all-the-myths-and-facts">Aadhaar linking deadline approaches: Here are all the myths and facts</a> (Business Today; December 7, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-hindu-peerzada-abrar-december-9-2017-checks-and-balances-needed-to-mass-surveillance-of-citizens-say-experts">Checks and balances needed for mass surveillance of citizens, say experts</a> (Hindu; December 9, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/masking-personal-data-to-protect-privacy-crucial-for-india-say-experts">Masking personal data to protect privacy crucial for India, say experts</a> (Deepti Govind; Livemint; December 11, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/factor-daily-sriram-sharma-december-12-2017-paranoid-about-state-surveillance-here-s-the-fd-guide-to-living-in-the-age-of-snoops">Paranoid about state surveillance? Here’s the FD Guide to living in the age of snoops</a> (Sriram Sharma; Factor Daily; December 12, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deadline-for-linking-bank-accounts-with-aadhaar-to-be-extended-to-31-march">Deadline For Linking Bank Accounts With Aadhaar To Be Extended To 31 March</a> (Komal Gupta and Ramya Nair; Livemint; December 14, 2017).</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Copyright & Patent</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Submission</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; December 12, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-submissions-to-dipp-and-cgptdm-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">CIS' Submission to DIPP and CGPDTM at meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; December 13, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p>►Openness</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Wikipedia</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/christ-university-wikipedia-education-program-internship-1">Christ University Wikipedia Education Program Internship</a> (Manasa Rao; December 11, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-orientation-program-at-rotary-club-of-salem">Wikipedia Orientation Program at Rotary Club of Salem</a> (Manasa Rao; December 11, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/nichole-saad-from-the-wikimedia-foundation-visits-christ-university">Nichole Saad from the Wikimedia Foundation visits Christ University</a> (Manasa Rao; December 17, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru">Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Workshop at IISc, Bengaluru</a> (A. Gopalakrishna; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-technical-workshop-at-savitribai-phule-pune-university">Wikimedia Technical Workshop at Savitribai Phule Pune University</a> (Manasa Rao; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers">Marathi Wikipedia workshop for Sandarbh Science magazine writers</a> (Manasa Rao; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-vishwakosh-workshop-for-science-writers-in-iucaa-pune">Marathi Wikipedia - Vishwakosh Workshop for Science writers in IUCAA, Pune</a> (Manasa Rao; December 20, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Free Speech & Expression</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/it-hurts-them-too">It Hurts Them Too</a> (Mir Farhat; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-shutdowns-a-modern-day-siege">Internet Shutdowns: A Modern-day Siege</a> (Ayswarya Murthy; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/days-to-derail-work-of-two-generations">Days to Derail Work of Two Generations?</a> (Mahesh Kumar Shiva; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/sorry-business-closed-until-internet-is-back-on">Sorry, Business Closed until Internet is Back On</a> (Nalanda Tambe; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/stock-brokers-dont-love-an-internet-shutdown">Stock Brokers Don't Love an Internet Shutdown</a> (Binita Parikh; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/was-there-an-unofficial-internet-shutdown-in-bhu-ntpc">Was there an Unofficial Internet Shutdown in BHU & NTPC?</a> (Saurabh Sharma; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/how-media-beat-the-shutdown-in-darjeeling">How Media beat the Shutdown in Darjeeling</a> (Manish Adhikary; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-and-the-police-tool-to-some-trash-to-others">Internet and the Police: Tool to Some, Trash to Others</a> (Manoj Kumar; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/business-woes-from-saharanpurs-internet-ban">Business Woes from Saharanpur's Internet Ban</a> (Mahesh Kumar Shiva; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/amid-unrest-in-the-valley-students-see-a-dark-wall">Amid Unrest in the Valley, Students See a Dark Wall</a> (Aakash Hassan; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-rising-stars-in-music-loath-losing-their-only-platform">The Rising Stars in Music Loath Losing their Only Platform</a> (Umar Shah and Mir Farhat; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-and-banking-a-trust-broken">Internet and Banking: A Trust Broken</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/online-or-offline-protest-goes-on">Online or Offline, Protest Goes On</a> (Junaid Nabi Bazaz; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/digital-banking-dreams-interrupted">Digital Banking Dreams: Interrupted</a> (Safeena Wani; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/will-darjeeling-regain-the-trust-of-tourists">Will Darjeeling Regain the Trust of Tourists?</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/silence-on-the-dera-front">Silence on the Dera Front</a> (Sat Singh; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/isps-in-kashmir-grappling-with-mounting-losses-amid-recurrent-shutdowns">ISPs in Kashmir Grappling with Mounting Losses Amid Recurrent Shutdowns</a> (Safina Wani; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/taxes-in-the-time-of-internet-shutdown">Taxes in the Time of Internet Shutdown</a> (Avijit Sarkar; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/every-town-had-its-jio-dara">Every Town had its Jio Dara</a> (Ayswarya Murthy; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/education-and-employment-opportunities-tossed-out-of-the-window">Education and Employment Opportunities Tossed out of the Window</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/darjeeling2019s-e-commerce-crumbles-after-100-days-sans-internet">Darjeeling’s e-commerce Crumbles after 100 days sans Internet</a> (Avijit Sarkar; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/e-administration-efforts-are-lame-ducks-without-internet">E-administration Efforts are Lame Ducks without Internet</a> (Amit Kumar and Sat Singh; December 20, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />►Privacy</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review">Artificial Intelligence - Literature Review</a><span> (Shruthi Anand; edited by Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari with research assistance by Sidharth Ray; December 16, 2017).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/ai-and-healthcare-in-india-looking-forward">AI and Healthcare in India: Looking Forward</a> (Shweta Mohandas; edited by Roshni Ranganathan; December 16, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div><strong>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Participation in Event</span></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/figi-symposium-2017">FIGI Symposium 2017</a> (Organized by Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), jointly with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI) and support of the Government of India; November 29 - December 1, 2017; Bangalore). Elonnai Hickok participated in the symposium and spoke in the "Security, Infrastructure, and Trust" working group on big data and privacy in DFS.</li>
</ul>
</strong></div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /></strong><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons">The tragedy of the unused commons</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; December 6, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>-----------------------------------<br /></span><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS<br /></a><span>----------------------------------- </span></p>
<div class="keyResearch">
<div id="parent-fieldname-text-8a5942eb6f4249c5b6113fdd372e636c">
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
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<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
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<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
<div>
<p>We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div><em>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</em>.</div>
</div>
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</ul>
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<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-03-17T11:12:26ZPageThe tragedy of the unused commons
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons
<b>Hope for the good sense and guts to handle it.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons-117120601490_1.html">Business Standard</a> on December 6, 2017 and in the <a class="external-link" href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2017/12/the-tragedy-of-unused-commons.html">Organizing India Blogspot</a> on the same day.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The tragedy of the commons” as you may recall, refers in economics to the overexploitation of shared resources because of unregulated access. The tragedy results from shared resources being depleted or degraded because users pursue their own interests, contrary to the common good. This leads to unsustainable depletion or degradation. The atmosphere and oceans are examples of such shared resources.<br /><br />There are also reverse situations, in which resources that are available for the benefit of society are unused, to the detriment of the common good. In such cases, there are opportunity costs from disuse that result in detriments, because the benefits of use are foregone. India’s abundant sunlight is a good example. Given its abundance, a reasonable expectation might be that extensive innovation and market organisation would be focused on harvesting this potential energy. Alas, India is a laggard in innovation relating to solar power.<br /><br />Another resource that is neither depleted nor degraded by usage but underused is radio frequency spectrum. The opportunity cost for unused spectrum is therefore even greater than for a degradable mineral resource such as coal, resulting in an extreme tragedy of unused commons.<br /><br /><strong>Some Issues Need Resolution</strong><br /><br />The situation today is that swathes of spectrum are unused because of our inability, perhaps unwillingness, to develop the appropriate regulations and organisation to benefit from them. This is true of all unused and underused radio frequency spectrum, although some of it is the most useful means for broadband connectivity<a class="storyTags" href="http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=broadband+connectivity" target="_blank"> </a>for the majority of our rural and semi-urban population. It would also give more urban users less expensive access. For both sets, judicious use would enhance productivity and improve living conditions.<br />The entire thrust of the Digital India initiative requires these enabling policies and procedures, that is, the administrative rules and regulations that would enable the use of presently unused and therefore wasted spectrum. There are, of course, many other steps required than merely putting in place the regulations. The market structures and organisation have to be created under government leadership with other stakeholders in industry and civil society that would permit sustainable use of “the commons” — namely, the spectrum, if it were a shared resource instead of being apportioned in silos.<br /><br />At present, private operators in this sector, except one, have too much debt, very low profitability, and insufficient network coverage. Services can be good in some locations, but countrywide, are spotty and not universally accessible. Yet, operators apparently want auctions, not now but at some time in the future (perhaps next year), for the essential resource that is <b><i>the</i></b> prerequisite for building the coverage that they don’t have although sorely needed, as it has been for years. While clearly impractical because of how auctions soak up capital, limiting subsequent investment in networks because of the deprivation of capital, operators reportedly want this in order to reduce competitive threats. <br /><br />Another baffling aspect of our reality is that the administration and regulator took no effective action to prevent the destruction of existing market structures in the telecom sector when there was a disruptive new entrant. With overwhelming resources from unrelated activities, unsustainable strategies and tactics could be construed as jeopardising India’s current and future productivity. Meanwhile, the administration and the regulator dithered, debating theoretical concepts of what constitutes anticompetitive or predatory activity, and the judiciary remained on the sidelines.<br /><br />Yet another aspect of puzzling inactivity is that there have been no steps to test certain promising technologies for permitting their use through appropriate policies in India, such as TV White Space or the development of MIMO — Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output — using arrays of antennas, yielding (a) greater throughput (b) over longer distances (c) to more users, thereby improving spectrum capacity for broadband. While initial tests for TV White Space, conducted after a delay of several years, have been promising (disclosure: the author was associated with some), proposals for larger follow-up trials have stalled. Without these, policymakers can’t even consider policies that would enable the development and use of TV White Space devices for extending optical fibre from gram panchayats to hundreds of thousands of village users.<br /><br />In the press, confusing articles short on facts make policy formulation even more difficult and risky in this already technically and financially complex space. One instance is an article about Maharashtra’s Village Social Transformation initiative avoiding TV White Space because this technology has problems with security clearance, in addition to Foreign Contribution Regulation Act clearance for Microsoft’s sponsorship of the pilot. The fact that the problem in India is in getting permission to use TV White Space for purposes other than for Doordarshan’s broadcasts finds no mention. The security risk in these frequencies is the same as in other frequencies, and transmission in any band can be monitored.<br /><br />Another article suggests the government is considering allocating a high-speed wireless frequency band of unused spectrum (V band or 60 GHz, which is like short-range wireless optic fibre) on a first come, first served basis “which is a gross violation of the Supreme Court order”. Somewhere down the page is a surmise that since the Broadband India Forum is advocating de-licencing of this band and foreign companies support it, this “means that it should be allocated without auction on first come, first served basis”. The Broadband India Forum in its white paper clearly recommends aligning with an international standard, the Harmonised European Standard.1<br /><sup></sup> According to this, low power equipment within specified emission limits in this band doesn’t need a licence. Wi-Fi is de-licenced spectrum that is open access and not allocated. Other de-licenced spectrum would not need to be allocated either, although in India, bands such as 60 GHz could be restricted to authorised operators.<br /><br />It needs government intervention to cut the Gordian knot and initiate discussions on pooling spectrum for networks and working out practicable, sustainable options. Here’s hoping good sense and guts will help to make a start.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shyam (no-space) Ponappa at gmail dot com</em><em><br /></em>1: "V band - 60 GHz: The Key to Affordable Broadband in India"<br />White Paper by Broadband India Forum, November 9, 2016<a href="http://www.broadbandindiaforum.com/img/White%20Paper%20on%20V-BAND%20Revised%20Final.pdf">http://www.broadbandindiaforum.com/img/White%20Paper%20on%20V-BAND%20Revised%20Final.pdf</a></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons</a>
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No publisherShyam PonappaTelecom2018-01-05T14:50:56ZBlog Entry