Re: "Free" WiFi in Delhi

It is not clear, in this discussion, whether a committee of any sort has actually been constituted. But if it has, and if our list members are part of it, then this discussion has brought out some of the nuances of this proposal. 


Ken has clearly brought out two achievements of muniwifi today: ubiquity and broadband. That this is achieved using standard off the shelf consumer hardware is icing. But it is important icing, because it tells us that we can provide broadband to the lowest common denominator for an affordable price. 


Of course, given broadband and accessibility, the need for next-best 4G may drop a little, but it bothers me that this alone might be a reason to either oppose this project or ensure that its takeoff is crippled or shackled with ridiculous restrictions, especially where some of those restrictions drive people to an expensive and potentially risky alternative.


We can hope that the committee creates a report that reflects some inconvenient truths, but I think it would be a little more forward thinking if we looked for ways to connect the committee to a public response process, turning the whole approach closer to cadcam and creating a durable feedback loop. This list shows us that it works, informally, so makes some sense to apply at a broader and more open level.


FYI, list members are probably aware that the nation's entire science  curriculum at the secondary and tertiary levels, as verified with NCERT, is available online, and a mooc for digital literacy at the tertiary level is under testing, in its second year. The framework is suitable for testing in such a consultative process, and being Foss, available.


Let's hope that the state government is open to testing out such a process. I can see one huge benefit already, that Sarbajit will not justifiably feel left out in the future. 


Of course, there is one matter that remains the (appropriated) business of the Centre, and that is interconnect between packet and analogue voice services. The telcos fight this in a manner that is sentimentally evocative of a herd of dinosaurs sinking into a primeval marsh.

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From:"Udhay Shankar N" <[email protected]>
Date:Mon, 27 Apr, 2015 at 6:55 am
Subject:Re: [india-gii] "Free" WiFi in Delhi

On Sun, Apr 26, 2015 at 10:56 PM, sarbajit roy <[email protected]> wrote:


BTW, if this is the monopolistic model AAP proposes to accept, and
since I can't find anything different from Nikhil Pahwa in Medianama
subsequent to this article,  I wonder how ethical it is a) for GoNCTD
to hold consultations? b) for Nikhil to be a part of the task force ?

The silence is deafening.


​Although I cannot speak for the people you are attempting to browbeat, I would suspect it is because of your hectoring and accusatory tone that you're being lumped into the 'random troll' bucket and being ignored.​

 

​As Suresh said earlier, this is in the "have you stopped beating your wife?" category of question.​


​I would also point out that you're skating quite close to the limits of what is an acceptable​ mode of interaction on this list. A word to the wise.


Udhay, wearing the admin hat.


-- 

((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com

))

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