1 April 2015 ~ "TAKE NO AS A QUESTION "

Friday 3 April 2015

Trai's Draft on OTT Regulations Goes Far Beyond Telecom for No Reason




Trai's Draft on OTT Regulations Goes Far Beyond Telecom for No Reason

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) released its draft consultation paper on the regulatory framework for over the top (OTT) services last week. There are severalissues with this paper ranging from language that hides its meaning, cherry picking examples of net neutrality while ignoring those that don't agree with its decisionsproposals, and drawing inferences about losses to telecom providers without real justification.
The problem is that the term OTT, as defined in the paper, is far reaching and refers to all apps and services you can access online - from Gmail, to Facebook, to news websites like NDTV.com or even apps like Uber or Foodpanda.
The issue goes beyond simply net neutrality, though that is an important one for all Indians. However, Trai's guidelines go well beyond the telecom industry, and start to look at things like health, social sentiment, and the concerns of brick and mortar businesses. This does not really seem relevant in a paper that is meant to understand the impact of Internet businesses on telecom providers.

You can read the consultation paper yourself on the Trai website. The regulator is seeking the views of all stakeholders by April 24 - that includes consumers like you and me - and we would strongly urge our readers to go read this article and then send your comments to advgos@trai.gov.in to let your government know what you want from it.

We read through the complicated 118 page document and while we certainly won't call ourselves experts on the subject, there are some passages that seemed particularly worrying, and didn't seem to belong in this discussion at all. We already highlighted the biggest telecom related issues in the paper, but here are some of the passages from the draft that seem completely tangential.
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The argument that Internet services disrupt brick and mortar businesses, and therefore need to be regulated by Trai seems pretty random. That online businesses are disrupting traditional models is clear. Discounts have reportedly cost e-commerce sites around Rs. 1,000 crore in losses and this behaviour appears in many ways anti-competitive.
However, these are questions that have little to do with telecom, which is Trai's mandate, and don't belong in this paper. An app shouldn't require a green-light from Trai before it can be distributed in India.
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Trai also raises the dreaded spectre of hacking - and describes the Internet as a car parking lot that a thief is prowling through - this kind of alarmist language is misleading, and perhaps even more importantly, simply allowing people to access apps and websites can't be blamed for these things. Unless the Trai is suggesting some sort of a safety net, the overall implication of these two points is that we should just not have Internet access in India.
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Apart from thieves in parking lots, predators, stalkers, bullies and con artists fill the Internet in Trai's eyes. Children need to avoid file sharing, chat rooms, and online gaming. You can almost imagine someone saying: "When we were kids we didn't have any of this Internet stuff. If you wanted to play, you went outside and had fun."
Cyberbullying and (gasp!) "sexting" (their quotation marks, not ours) are the scary phrases of the day, that are apparently made possible by OTTs. Of course, you could argue that it's the prevalence of smartphones that has caused this in the first place, so perhaps Trai can issue a mobile license, which will be required to operate a smartphone, much like a driving license.
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Companies like Ola and Uber are also disrupting the taxi industry, and this, Trai believes, should be regulated. We agree wholeheartedly. However, taxi companies should be regulated as taxi companies - the fleets that these companies are hiring operate very differently from their business in the West, and come closer to acting like radio taxi fleets than private car hire.

This seems to be an issue for the Transport department - which is in fact already looking into taxi apps - and not Trai.
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Trai also seems to believe that consumer protection laws do not apply to e-commerce websites, which is quite strange. If a site is the seller, why can't you name it as the respondent in case of any issues? And in the case of a marketplace model, the seller is still made clear, and contactable, when you make a purchase. The laws of the land shouldn't cease to exist simply because something is online, and you shouldn't require special laws for the Internet, as was proved by the Supreme Court of India recently.

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It is also quite interesting that while Trai in other parts of this document complains that OTT services make it hard for the government to access your data, in this point, it goes so far as to say that Big Data (not Big Brother) is watching. The use of term 'Big Data' aside, this is actually a point we are in agreement with Trai - not that OTTs shouldn't collect data, but the government should have some provisions guaranteeing the privacy of citizens. The catch is that this should be universal, and not something that the government can violate on whim.
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Here, we see Trai worrying that tech-savvy thieves will use your GPS information to rob your house while you're out. As you can see though, the regulator is a little conflicted because it says that these apps could be useful for law enforcement. These are actual concerns that need to be debated, but again, Trai does not seem to be the ideal forum to debate issues of national security.
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Cultural sensitivity is a bogey that is raised fairly often in Trai's draft consultation paper. Here, the regulator talks about how social media was used to send inflammatory photos targeting students from the North East in 2012. This is problematic because Trai seems to be suggesting that we should not have the option to communicate quickly on social platforms that allow messages to disseminate quickly, in the name of cultural sensitivity. In a paper whose main thrust is that OTTs are hurting telco revenues, this feels like an emotional point being scored that isn't really relevant to the key argument in the first place.

These are just a few samples of how the Trai paper seems to want to focus on all issues that are not related to net neutrality and telecom. At a time when our providers use Fair Usage Policies to offer limited plans they call "Unlimited", where Airtel was considering special fees so that Skype calls aren't cheaper than voice calls, when billing is often erroneous, never transparent, and our call and data services are barely acceptable, it seems that Trai should be looking at what the telcos can do better, instead of helping them to do nothing new and still make more money.
Once again, please read the paper and write to Trai before April 24. It's for all of us.







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Samsung Gives Away Free Galaxy S6 Phones to Loyal Galaxy S Owners


Samsung Gives Away Free Galaxy S6 Phones to Loyal Galaxy S Owners

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Samsung Korea is giving away its new flagship smartphone to loyal Galaxy S owners in South Korea, a local newspaper reports. The company offered the new Samsung Galaxy S6 to SK Telecom customers who either bought all Galaxy S-series smartphones or were still using the Galaxy S1, which was launched back in 2010.
The South Korean electronics giant on Tuesday held an event to reward its loyal customers, and the report adds the customers were also given one year's worth of free calls on SK Telecom. The South Korean mobile operator claimed that 15 million customers of its customers had used at least one Galaxy S-series smartphone while 17,000 were still using the Galaxy S1.
Additionally, the operator revealed that more than 1,600 consumers bought all the 13 Galaxy S-series handsets unveiled in the country, while 2,400 people bought more than 10.
Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S6 was initially unveiled at MWC and was launched in India last month at Rs. 49,900 for the 32GB variant.
The Galaxy S6 feature 5.1-inch Quad HD (1440x2560 pixels) Super Amoled display with a pixel density of 577ppi. The new Samsung Galaxy S6 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and is powered by a 64-bit octa-core (quad-core 2.1GHz+ quad-core 1.5GHz) processor coupled with 3GB of RAM (LPDDR4). Three storage variants are available: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB.
There is a 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS (optical image stabilisation) and LED flash while there is a 5-megapixel front camera on board. The new premium Galaxy handset also packs fingerprint scanning with an enhanced touch-type fingerprint scanner on the home button. Additionally, the handset comes pre-installed with upgraded Samsung Knox. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft apps such as OneNote and OneDrive with 115GB cloud storage free for 2 years.
The Galaxy S6 is backed by a 2550mAh battery and for connectivity supports LTE Cat. 6 featuring up to 300Mbps download speeds and support for India's 4G LTE networks as well.

Display

5.10-inch

Processor

1.5GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 1440x2560 pixels

RAM

 3GB

OS

 Android 5.0

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

16-megapixel

Battery capacity

2550mAh










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Xiaomi Mi 5 to Launch With MIUI 7 Based on Android 5.1 Lollipop




Xiaomi Mi 5 to Launch With MIUI 7 Based on Android 5.1 Lollipop

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Xiaomi, the company often referred to as China's Apple, has teamed up with the Android Open Kang Project (popularly known as AOKP) for its MIUI 7 custom user interface based on Android 5.1 Lollipop.
The news was confirmed via AOKP's official blog that revealed both Xiaomi and Team Kang were working closely on MIUI 7, which will debut on the next flagship smartphone, the Mi 5. For the uninitiated, AOKP develops custom Android ROMs for smartphones and tablets, much like what Cyanogen does with CyanogenMod.
The blog said, "With all the pieces of the deal in place, I wish to announce that all Team Kang members are working with Xiaomi on a new and refreshed MIUI 7, which will be finally based on Android 5.1, and be coming on the Mi 5."
The company revealed that MIUI 7 is internally codenamed MiKangy, which will see a new take on the Android UI. It added that the new UI will include popular features from top ROMs such as CyanogenMod, ParanoidAndroid, Omni, and AOKP to "create an experience which completely submerges the user in his own world."
The ROM maker stresses that the upcoming UI of the Mi 5 will evolve with the user and after few months of usage, the UI of each Mi 5 handset will have personalised features.
According to the company, MarcLandis will lead the technical development of MIUI 7 aka MiKangy, while Zaphod will oversee the product development.
The ROM maker also claimed that the tie-up with Xiaomi won't affect the future of AOKP, discarding any acquisition rumours - if any.
Xiaomi earlier this week announced a price cut for the Mi 4, which ties-in well with the company's plans for the Mi 5 release expected this year.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 will retail at CNY 1,799 (approximately Rs. 18,000) for the 16GB variant down from the previous price tag of CNY 1,999 (approximately Rs. 20,000). While a 'lite' variant of the Xiaomi Mi 4 with 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB, will retail at CNY 1,699 (approximately Rs. 17,000) - a CNY 100 price cut from the earlier price of CNY 1,799. Notably, both the Mi 4 variants would be available at reduced priced starting April 8.







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Asus ZenFone 2 to Launch in India by Last Week of April



Asus ZenFone 2 to Launch in India by Last Week of April

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The Asus ZenFone 2 is set to launch in India by the last week of April, as per a company statement on Monday - in-line with an earlier statement by Asus Taiwan that'd tipped an April launch. The much-anticipated smartphone has several variants, including one with a 5-inch display and a few with 5.5-inch displays, and with memory up to 4GB of RAM.
The top-end Asus ZenFone 2 model (ZE551ML) with 64GB of built-in storage and 4GB of RAM was also recently revealed by the firm, with a price of TWD 9,990 (roughly Rs. 19,900).
Earlier this month, Asus Taiwan had revealed the pricing of all the models of the new ZenFone 2 series. The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB RAM, and 32GB storage) was priced at TWD 8,990 (approximately Rs. 18,000); the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (2GB RAM) at TWD 6,990 (approximately Rs. 13,900); the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE550ML at TWD 5,990 (approximately Rs. 11,900), and the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE500CL priced at TWD 4,990 (approximately Rs. 9,900).
All variants of the Asus ZenFone 2 run the company's new ZenUI based on Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop, and feature Intel Atom SoCs. The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB) features a 64-bit 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, while the 2GB of RAM model features a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560. The ZenFone 2 ZE550ML is also powered by the same Intel Atom Z3560 chipset. The basic ZenFone 2 ZE500CL model features a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor. All the versions support expandable storage via microSD card (up to 64GB).
Asus earlier this month also launched new smartphone accessories named ZenFlash and LolliFlash

Display

5.50-inch

Processor

2.3GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 1080x1920 pixels

RAM

 4GB

OS

 Android 5.0

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3000mAh









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