Net Neutrality has become a hot topic in India, following a brief but high-profile national debate instigated by a consultation paper from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that solicited views on what net neutrality is, and whether regulations protecting it are needed in India. The paper also hinted at possible regulation of all…
State-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will sign its first agreement outside India to buy bandwidth from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company to provide internet services in the northeast. It is also exploring South Africa for expansion, and may pick up equity stakes in one of the country’s telecom service providers. Bangladesh Submarine Cable…
India now leads the world in smartphone growth. It saw a 55% increase in the number of smartphones, to 140 million, in 2014. The number of web users increased by 37%, to 232 million. Smartphones were the source of 65% of its internet traffic and 41% of e-commerce, according to a report by Mary Meeker,…
Inspired by need for free internet access to younger generation, a group of young Indoreans started ‘IM Free Wi-Fi’ to provide WiFi facility for free in public places. Determined to make the city a free Wi-Fi zone, seven college pass-out students started working on this project in 2014 and tested it in various areas in…
We are gradually getting to a situation of connected world where, crowd, media, governance and economy are going to be on the crossroads of convergence Osama Manzar …
A US-based Sikh rights group has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for blocking its page in India allegedly at the behest of the Indian government. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in California and is asking that Facebook should cease and desist from blocking access to SFJ’s Facebook page…
Investors are taking serious note of data security breaches in start-up ventures. Some have gone to the extent of asking experts to conduct a ‘stress test’ on cyber defenses and the framework of companies in the pre-investment phase. Many are treating security of data as one parameter for investment, apart from metrics such as the…
New York has released a final framework for regulating digital currencies, requiring organizations that provide virtual currency services in the state to obtain a special license. Only businesses that hold customer funds will need a so-called a “bitlicense,” said Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of financial services for the state of New York, who discussed the regulations…
Facebook has been sued in California by a Sikh non-profit organization for blocking their page in India, reflecting the challenges U.S. social networking companies face in their expansion into countries with different laws on free speech and expression. India, which has a history of communal conflicts, has been particularly sensitive about online content that could…
E-governance is poised to take a big leap in Uttar Pradesh with the state lining up a slew of initiatives to empower citizens in line with the `Digital India` programme. It is putting in place a system which would deliver vital services to citizens directly through the computer, mobile phone or tablet, practically eliminating the…