We have been following the emotionally loaded net neutrality debate for some time with some detachment. Our research clearly shows that low prices are critical if the BOP is to join the Internet economy and that low prices are not sustainable without the adaptation of the budget telecom network model to broadband supply.
One of the most controversial of the recommendations that came out of this work is that which said one should go gentle on regulating quality. The main reason we said that was because we believed that the poor needed access in the form of different price-quality bundles; that if high quality standards were imposed by fiat, the only victims would be the price-sensitive consumers who would get priced out. While we did not take an explicit position on net neutrality those days, we now have to, based on what we have learned. We do not believe net neutrality is appropriate for emerging economies, especially for the BOP.
Major decision has come down from the US courts on the Obama appointees’ attempt to mandate net neutrality by law:
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that regulators had limited power over Web traffic under current law. The decision will allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites and charge video sites like YouTube to deliver their content faster to users.
The court decision was a setback to efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to require companies to give Web users equal access to all content, even if some of that content is clogging the network.
3 Comments
Abu Saeed Khan
“Confused? You are not alone,” said Martyn Warwick of Telecom TV.
Waqas Hassan
The developed world is fearsome of the fact that net neutrality will create a ‘class-system’ among the Internet Community which is against the openness and access-for-all mission of Internet stakeholders. However, for under developed makets, disagreement with net neutrality can actually bring down the basic Internet User’s cost of service. Therefore, Net Neeutrality may not be the best policy for developing countries.
Aswesuma to Prajashakthi: considerations for future social protection programmes
This article was carried in the Daily Mirror on 17 October 2024 on International Eradication of Poverty Day Poverty in Sri Lanka has increased significantly with the onset of COVID-19 and the macroeconomic crisis. LIRNEasia’s national survey in 2023 highlighted that 4 million people fell into poverty between 2019 and 2023, causing 7 million individuals — or 31% of the population — to live in poverty at the time.
LIRNEasia is hiring: Statistician and Research Manager
LIRNEasia is seeking an experienced individual to join the team as a Statistician and Research Manager. The full job description is available here.
Report on election misinformation in Vietnam
This report is one of the final outputs of an IDRC-funded project to 1) understand election influence operations and measures to counter disinformation globally, especially pertaining to Asia; 2) map actors who are involved in election-related counter-disinformation actions in five countries in South and Southeast Asia, and 3) document their past and upcoming activities related to countering disinformation around elections. This research report was intended to lay the groundwork for a network of actors systematically working towards countering disinformation related to elections in Vietnam and document the impact of their actions.
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