I am privileged to offer a workshop module on research to policy as part of a media and governance refresher course offered for Indian university faculty from multiple disciplines by the Jamia Millia Islamia University’s Center for Culture, Media and Governance. I anchored my presentation on specific research-based policy interventions undertaken by LIRNEasia which happened to deal with infrastructure issues such as telecom and electricity but the discussion was wide ranging given the multiple disciplines represented in the room. Here are the three presentations used in yesterday’s interactive sessions. Introduction and measuring impact Indian policy processes What kind of evidence
It appears that the finalization of the rules that we commented on is the cause of the delay in issuing licenses to Telenor and Ooredoo. This is not really a bad thing. It is always better to have the rules embodied in generally applicable law and rules than in individual licenses (which would have been the alternative approach). “We are working on finalising five applicable rules for the Telecom Law by the end of January. We have already negotiated with foreign telecom operators about applying detailed rules and regulations of the law so they are able to start their businesses,” he said, adding that the five provisions have already been sent to the Attorney-General’s Office.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has started its approval process on a new broadband standard that could potentially achieve 1 Gbps speeds (within 250m) on the existing copper access networks (press release). This is particularly good news for developing economies that already have / have started laying FTTC (fiber to the cabinet) / FTTdp (fiber to the distribution point). Market players and regulators should not intend to differ plans of FTTH (fiber to the home) implementations, certainly on new builds; however, it will now be possible for the majority to still enjoy much faster speeds at (hopefully) the same cost. It will also benefit the operators in developed economies who have been battling with the costs associated with fiber deployments to scarcely populated areas. This piece by Huawei provides some interesting technical detail.
John Podesta is no stranger to privacy issues. I can remember some interactions with him in the context of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) during the Clinton Presidency. He has now been tasked with producing a big data-privacy report in 90 days. We are undergoing a revolution in the way that information about our purchases, our conversations, our social networks, our movements, and even our physical identities are collected, stored, analyzed and used. The immense volume, diversity and potential value of data will have profound implications for privacy, the economy, and public policy.
Cisco’s annual security report has said that 99% of the total mobile malware targets Android devices. The report highlights the current security concerns and trends in vulnerabilities so that users can build more effective countermeasures. The report also said that mobile malware constituted of 1.2% of all web malware encounters during 2013. Another highlight from the report is that 71% of web-delivered malware was meant for Android only.
Government agencies are slow with procurement. This is common knowledge. Despite this common knowledge, the Telecom Minister and Mr Sam Pitroda decided to implement the NOFN using government entities only. It is also common practice for government entities to engage in the blame game, diverting precious effort from fixing the problems. All these not-unexpected things are happening right now.
Organized by LIRNEasia and Centre for Culture Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia University (with support from Ford Foundation). For persons residing in India only. The objective of the four-day residential course on How to engage in Broadband Policy and Regulatory Processes is to produce discerning and knowledgeable consumers of research who are able to engage in broadband policy and regulatory processes. At the end of the course attendees will: Be able to find and assess relevant research & evidence Be able to summarize the research in a coherent and comprehensive manner Have an understanding of broadband policy and regulatory processes in India Have the necessary tools to improve their communication skills Have some understanding of media function and how to effectively interact with media Who may apply? We will be selecting 20-25 participants (including junior – mid level officers of government and regulatory agencies, university students, lecturers, academics, media personnel and other civil society officers working in related fields) to participate in the course.
Appears Facebook will have competition in Asia. “Even if Facebook had permission, it’s probably too late,” says Wang Xiaofeng, a technology analyst at Forrester Research. “Weixin has all the functionality of Facebook and Twitter, and Chinese have already gotten used to it.” Weixin is the creation of Tencent, the Chinese Internet powerhouse known for its QQ instant messenger service and its popular online games. Tencent, which is publicly traded and is worth more than $100 billion on the Hong Kong exchange, is now seeking to strengthen that grip in social networking and expand into new areas, such as online payment and e-commerce.
The Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS) and Shanghai Liantong have developed a Linux-based new smartphone operating system. Dubbed as the China Operating System (COS), it is the country’s second move for a home-grown smartphone platform. COS has the advantage of being government backed, which in China means that local app developers will come under ever so subtle pressure to port their apps to the new platform. One area of where the OS may gain traction over Android is that apps will have to go through an Apple-style validation process and can only be sold on the official app store. That may reassure Chinese consumers in a market where Android apps are often pirated and infected with malware.
Given the slow start and the pushing back of deadlines for the NOFN, one would have thought the BJP would bash the UPA on wasting public funds on fiber. But no, they want to do more. I guess Modi will claim he can get it done, without having to distinguish Congress and BJP policies. Read the article. The feel is that Modi and Reliance Jio are on the same wavelength.
The deployment of 4G wireless as a complement to ADSL last mile by Sri Lanka Telecom suggests that the convergence process that was marked by having a single CEO for the fixed and mobile arms may be reaching its logical conclusion. Sri Lanka Telecom said it had expanded broadband service coverage by deploying fourth generation wireless technology to areas that are not served by its wired network. From January data volumes on all broadband packages had been increased. SLT provides broadband services through ADSL (assymetrical-digital-subscriber-lines), fibre to home and now through 4G LTE (fourth generation long term evolution) wireless technology. At Ruwanwella, in Sri Lanka’s Kegalle district the firm said it had given a gratis broadband connections to the public library and school which had demonstrated downlink speeds of 50 Megabits per second.
Regulators make decisions. Their decisions can be challenged, and often are. Thus it is important that the decisions are supported by strong evidence. In many cases, the evidence requires information. Mostly the information lies with the operators.
The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) issued a public consultation on establishing a Quality of Service (QoS) regulatory framework for fixed and mobile voice services (consultation reference: TRC/CL/2/1/1/2). The document was well structured and provided insights to the international standards set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and had an overview of QoS practices by other national regulatory authorities (NRAs). LIRNEasia took the opportunity to respond and used its recently completed research module on improving service delivery in the telecom sector to better inform the recommendations. LIRNEasia’s comments can be found here.
Myanmar is a bit of a ways from the Pacific, but I am pleased PTC picked Myanmar for its comprehensive broadband study. The online document with multiple sections is now up, including a little contribution from LIRNEasia. A flood of current reports detail the opportunities for growth in telecom and other industries; while acknowledging the obvious potential, this study takes a critical approach by detailing the magnitude of the challenges that will be faced in order to provide a realistic view of how companies, policy-makers and non-governmental organizations can best proceed and collaborate. Many current studies of Myanmar’s telecom landscape focus on the great potential for comprehensive transformation, while sometimes downplaying challenges that may not be insurmountable, yet need to be fully understood so that they can be met with effective remedies and tools to support new dynamics. Among the oft-noted, thorny and complex challenges include: ongoing ethnic violence, poverty, human and institutional capacity, and broad infrastructure needs.
Why we do research is because we get surprised, sometimes. Here is a fascinating discussion on mobile use in public space in the Eastern US, comparing archival film from decades ago with current video of the same space. Many surprises, but this is the kicker. In fact, this was Hampton’s most surprising finding: Today there are just a lot more women in public, proportional to men. It’s not just on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.
There is a possible explanation for the confusion around whether the Myanmar operating licenses have been issued or not. It appears that the license reported on by Reuters was a permit relevant to the investment, not the license which is the critical document in telecom policy and regulatory terms. This is still to be issued, since the rules have yet to be finalized. Telenor and Ooredoo were selected as winners of a government bid for two private telecoms licenses in June 2013. They expected to receive their licences by last December, but the government has yet to pass a vital telecommunications by-law which will outline the rules and regulations by which the companies must operate.