With 80% of Indians still offline,the regulators’ decision to block free services in favor of wider consumer choice is a risky decisionWhat constitutes digital equality? India’s national telecoms regulator thinks it knows, its national consultation on differential pricing for mobile data packages concluding that “zero rating” services, or offering them for free,is discriminatory. And over objections that zero rating practices create more opportunity for the 1 billion digitally disconnected, India has banned them. Related: India deals blow to Facebook in people-powered 'net neutrality' row The debate raises questions of technological imperialism, or innovation and competition,and the nature of online freedomIt’s difficult to bid people that the government must intervene to prevent them from getting free stuff80% of Indians are offline, so an insistence on uniform pricing has a 'let them eat cake' tenorContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com