<div dir="ltr">Folks<br><br><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The Indian regulator is pushing for 100 megabytes/month free for 50M rural residents. He calculates that would need a budget ~$100M a year, which is on target with marginal telco costs. India has several $B in a Universal Service reserve, so the funds are possible. (Article below from Economic Times.)</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I can confirm it is realistic on technology but defer on politics. The marginal cost of data on today's new networks is less than $1/gigabyte, falling, if they have good backhaul. (Big if)<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I'm sending this over to ask our Indian chapters to speak up if they think this is deserving of strong ISOC support as the cabinet considers the TRAI proposal. Please inform me, offlist, if I have any of this wrong. I write about technology more than policy, and am 12,000 miles away.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I'm also trying to inspire thinking about how policy should reflect the new technologies and totally different cost factors. Jennie bought a 100 gigabyte LTE SIM in Paris for $22, another example of what's possible today.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I think ISOC chapters in every country should be asking "Why aren't we like the best?" U.S. prices are 2-4X the French prices, which I think should be our primary chapter issue. What would it take for say, Nigeria, to do what India is doing? How can ISOC move things in that direction.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">For example, I believe concerted action against cartel-like backhaul/transit pricing is a prime international issue. Several Africans have told me it's the most important international issue driving up the cost of access.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">India has become the most interesting country in expanding access. Mukesh Ambani's new Reliance Jio is completely state of the art 4G and offers ~10 gigs + free voice for about $5/month. ~ 3 gig is $1.50 and 60 gig over two months $15. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.jio.com/en-in/4g-plans" target="_blank">https://www.jio.com/en-in/4g-<wbr>plans</a>. They have LTE to ~85% and soon 95%.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Bharatnet is bringing government fiber to 250,000 villages and is finally building after years of political delay. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">There's a lot for all of us to learn from the Indians.</div><br><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Here's an article with some details. I'd love to hear offlist from anyone with more data. 100 megabytes isn't enough but it gets you your email, Facebook, News and a bit more. Topups will start around thirty cents (U.S.)</div><br><br><font size="4">Trai asks government to consider its 'free data' suggestion to bridge rural India's digital divide</font><br><br>Lately, the regulator has been vocal on taking policy steps that could enhance India’s digital profile and eventually facilitate cashless economy by way of increased broadband penetration.Muntazir Abbas | ETTelecom | Updated: October 05, 2017, 09:21 IST<br> NewsletterA A<br> <br> inShare3 <br>NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(Trai) wants the government to consider its ‘free data’ suggestion in the wake of Internet being unaffordable to a large number of people residing in rural regions, saying such an intervention was essential for digital empowerment.<br><br>“These (free data) policygoals need to be seen in light of the fact that the Internet remains to be unaffordable for a vast majority of rural population, and basic Internet infrastructure continues to remain inadequate in most rural and remote areas of the country,” Trai chairman RS Sharma told ET.<br><br>Last month, Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body of the government, sent back the sector regulator’s recommendations for a rework, which it had suo moto put forth in December 2016 with a view to provide free data to bridge the affordability gap.<br><br>Sharma said he is yet to see observations made by the commission.<br><br>While, the commission sought clarity on how a free data could be operationalised without infringing the stakeholders’ business model, Trai said provisioning of Internet access to all sections of the population, including rural masses, is essential for their digital empowerment and, in turn, for bridging the urban-rural divide.<br><br>“The current situation calls for the adoption of a range of innovative solutions that will help in enabling the broadest set of users to connect to the Internet through reliable and ubiquitous networks, access to which is within their reach and means,” Sharma said.<br><br>India’s rural Internet penetration stands at merely 16% with an overall user base spread across 33% of the service areas, according to the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) IMC-Deloitte finding.<br><br>Lately, the regulator has been vocal on taking policy steps that could enhance India’s digital profile and eventually facilitate cashless economy by way of increased broadband penetration, and suggested leveraging cable television infrastructure and satellite-based connectivity.<br><br>Trai had recommended an aggregator model and 100 MB of free data for mobile phone users in rural or remote areas and suggested that the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) be used to foot the bill for providing government-incentivised free data schemes to rural subscribers.<br><br>Additionally, to increase participation of other entities for incentivising free data, a third party, or aggregator, should be introduced to offer schemes that are telco-agnostic and non-discriminatory in their implementation and don't circumvent rules that have barred discriminatory pricing of data services, Trai suggested.<br><br>“Since the time we gave our recommendations in December 2016, the data charges per megabyte (MB) in the country have seen a further decrease, which would imply a lesser burden on the USOF,” Sharma added. USOF is derived from a 5% levy on adjusted gross revenue of all telecom companies. The fund is used for setting up telecom infrastructure in all uncovered rural and remote areas of the country.<br><br>In May 2016, the regulator’s consultation paper explored ways of providing mobile Internet to consumers for free without violating a ban on discriminatory pricing of data services and had sought responses on three suggested models — a toll-free platform for users where browsing will be free; consumers paying upfront and being subsequently reimbursed; and applications that reward users with incentives such as recharges for data or voice usage.<br><br>The regulator’s suggestion of an aggregator stems from the third model.<br><br>--<br>Editor, Fast Net News, WIreless One.news, Net Policy News and DSL Prime<br>Author with Jennie Bourne DSL (Wiley) and Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed (Peachpit)<div id="m_-8749753892081297842DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br>
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