This is an extremely comprehensive write up on free basics Sumanth and one I completely agree with. The point you made on using the marketing spends for subsidising the internet rates, makes a lot of sense. Additionally instead of limiting the sites, the speed of the internet can be limited after a certain cap off. The same way we pay a certain…
“This basically means that in the time that Free Basics has been available in India, a mere 200,000 people came online for the first time through the program — hardly a number that justifies the tall claims espousing Free Basics as a panacea.”
No, not a panacea but a contribution to increasing Internet penetration. Given its…
Great insight of the Internet.org topic, Anil. You’re correct that it all comes down to trust issues. But, just want to point out that the Indian regulators’ decision is now probably being considered and replicated by telco regulators in other developing countries, with growing Internet users but still lack infrastructures to cover all regions, such…
