Telecom Blog
Decision Analysis for Interest Rates
The discipline of systematic evaluation through applying process-flow and decision analysis — in this example, of financial logic — can help make reasoned, practical decisions, whether for interest rates, or for resolving issues in power supply, or in telecommunications, spectrum and broadband.
Growth, India's Highest Priority
The government must focus on reviving corporate profits and, hence, growth, writes Shyam Ponappa. The column was published in the Business Standard on June 8, 2012.
National Telecom Policy 2012 — Issues and Concerns
Snehashish Ghosh throws light on some of the issues and concerns surrounding the recently passed National Telecom Policy 2012.
Unlicensed Spectrum Policy Brief for Government of India
Centre for Internet & Society and the Ford Foundation are delighted to bring you the Unlicensed Spectrum Policy brief for Government of India. The policy brief authored by Satya N Gupta, Sunil Abraham and Yelena Gyulkhandanyan contains an Executive Summary and eight chapters. The research aims to recommend unlicensed spectrum policy to the Government of India based on recent developments in wireless technology, community needs and international best practices.
Report on the 3rd IJLT-CIS Lecture Series on Telecom Laws and Regulation
Mr. Samarajiva, by his own admission, is a ‘jack of all trades’. His breadth of regulatory and teaching experience is only matched by his ability to turn a potentially complex topic like ‘Tariff Regulation’ into a beautifully weaved story punctuated with generous doses of wit and humour.
Google Policy Fellowship Programme: Call for Applications
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is inviting applications for the Google Policy Fellowship programme. Google is providing a USD 7,500 stipend to the India Fellow, who will be selected by August 15, 2012.
The Coming Telecom Monopoly
The 2G judgment and Trai spectrum pricing recommendations have led to a policy that makes sense for only one survivor.
Convergence India 2012
The 20th Convergence India conference, deemed South Asia’s largest international ICT event, took place in the country’s capital from March 21-23, 2012. Featuring a grand exhibition of innovative products and industry players from over 25 countries as well as an assembly of prominent speakers, the three day event highlighted the importance of ICT growth and equitable distribution for the socio-economic future of India.
An Interview with PK Garg
Former Wireless Advisor to the Government of India, Ministry of Communications & IT, and current ITU regulatory board member, PK Garg, discusses some of the telecom policy interventions in an interview with Yelena Gyulkhandanyan.
The 2G Supreme Court Judgment
The Business Standard published Shyam Ponappa's two-part article deconstructing the assumptions in the Supreme Court's 2G judgment, and suggesting possible ways forward. The first one was published on March 1, 2012, and the second on March 4, 2012.
An Interview with Stephen Song
Stephen Song, the founder of Village Telco, an initiative to bring practical and inexpensive communication network infrastructure to rural and remote areas, speaks about factors that catalyzed the initiative, the benefits of the network, some challenges, and the Mesh Potato.
Reversing India's Downward Trajectory
The country can regain growth momentum with rate cuts and telecom reforms, writes Shyam Ponappa in this column published in the Business Standard on 5 January 2012.
Inputs for NTP 2011
The Centre for Internet and Society wishes to commend the DoT on the draft of the New Telecom Policy and offers its suggestions to improve the draft with specific changes.
Accessibility in the New Telecom Policy 2011
Responding to the call for comments on NTP 2011, 27 organisations sent a joint letter requesting that accessibility for persons with disabilities be included specifically within the goals and objectives of the policy. The submission is available here. It deals exclusively with the issue of accessibility in telecommunications for persons with disabilities, which has been left out of NTP 2011. We outline below in some detail the rationale for including accessibility in the NTP.
Healing self-inflicted wounds
A spate of dysfunctional actions and retrograde developments has led to an unimaginable mess for India. Can the damage to growth prospects be undone? Does it need to be? If so, how? Three areas are discussed below.
Telecom Path-Breaker?
Does the draft National Telecom Policy-2011 reflect true brilliance or smoke-and-mirrors? It will be a game-changer if a shared network is implemented effectively, writes Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on November 3, 2011.
Facing up to Moral Hazard
Systems upholding the law and standards help navigate the grey areas of moral hazard and adverse selection writes Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on October 6, 2011.
Reviving Growth
The government needs to reduce interest rates and undertake specific reforms to revive growth. The focus needs to be on communications, specifically broadband, it would yield results. Mobile communications have grown phenomenally but the meteoric rise got stalled. However, if the government initiates reforms in spectrum policies with incentives for broadband delivery, prospects could revive and communications could go through another meteoric rise, becoming the growth engine for the economy.
The Challenges of Direct Democracy
India must weigh the pros and cons of various approaches to direct democracy and develop one of its own.
NTP 2011 Objective: Broadband
The Indian government has to choose between accessible, affordable services and short-term revenue, writes Shyam Ponappa in this article published in the Business Standard on June 2, 2011.
