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Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

medianama.com

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Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#11

Post by nphyte »

Sven7 wrote: post #6

The Indian Telecom landscape has no resemblance to the US or Europe. There is no AT&T/Comcast monopoly. Why? Because the regulator has done a pretty decent job ensuring access to voice and data stays cheap through competition. As far as I know, in all the big cities you can choose between 7-8 major provider's. No contract. Dirt cheap access. Also worth mentioning is the existence of a reasonably large public sector I…

Every market is different and so are their rules. You are right that India has more players than the US or Europe markets but it also has more diversity and population density. Imagine paying all these multiple service providers to make your content free as a small company , non-profit , or startup to reach a billion people.

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#12

Post by thescriptkiddie »

nphyte wrote: post #9

what's the difference between access to "basic internet" and "internet"?

If Google and Facebook get their way, the world's poor will get subsidized "basic internet" that only delivers sponsored content. Only the competitively wealthy will be able to pay for the real internet and break out of the walled garden. This is opposed to giving everybody access to the same internet and having governments/charity subsidize the cost for those who can't afford it. Do we really want to create second class netizens?

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#14

Post by reagency »

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #12
nphyte wrote: post #9

what's the difference between access to "basic internet" and "internet"?

If Google and Facebook get their way, the world's poor will get subsidized "basic internet" that only delivers sponsored content. Only the competitively wealthy will be able to pay for the real internet and break out of the walled garden. This is opposed to giving everybody access to the same internet and having governments/charity subsidize the cost for those who can't afford it. Do we really want to create second c…

You are saying that he world's poor should become rich enough to pay for Internet, before they can get access to Internet?

Or that some arbitrary third party should be forced to subsidize their Internet access?

Why is the Indian government banning Google from providing free Internet, yet not providing such themselves?

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#15

Post by reagency »

abandonliberty wrote: post #13
plinkplonk wrote: post #5

I know Google jumped the shark on the "Don't be evil" concept long ago. Still, (as an Indian living in India) I am very disappointed at Google selling out like this

How is supporting net neutrality selling out?

GP doesn't believe that "[website-specific] Zero Rating" is compatible with "Net Neutrality".

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#16

Post by dragonwriter »

abandonliberty wrote: post #13
plinkplonk wrote: post #5

I know Google jumped the shark on the "Don't be evil" concept long ago. Still, (as an Indian living in India) I am very disappointed at Google selling out like this

How is supporting net neutrality selling out?

Supporting Zero Rating is opposing net neutrality. Google generally supports net neutrality in the US, but apparently is supporting (or at least, opposing the idea of opposing) Zero Rating in India.

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#17

Post by smhenderson »

abandonliberty wrote: post #13
plinkplonk wrote: post #5

I know Google jumped the shark on the "Don't be evil" concept long ago. Still, (as an Indian living in India) I am very disappointed at Google selling out like this

How is supporting net neutrality selling out?

Google is not supporting net neutrality. Zero Rating is a tool to encourage the opposite of net neutrality. They are lobbying the Indian Government to keep any mention of Zero Rating out of new regulations so they can keep open the idea of promoting fast lanes and free data, as long as people choose Google's content over those who don't offer Zero Rating on their products. I guess because in the end it's the ad money they want over any subscription fees they might collect.

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#18

Post by adityab »

reagency wrote: post #14
thescriptkiddie wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Google and Facebook get their way, the world's poor will get subsidized "basic internet" that only delivers sponsored content. Only the competitively wealthy will be able to pay for the real internet and break out of the walled garden. This is opposed to giving everybody access to the same internet and having governments/charity subsidize the cost for those who can't afford it. Do we really want to create second c…

You are saying that he world's poor should become rich enough to pay for Internet, before they can get access to Internet? Or that some arbitrary third party should be forced to subsidize their Internet access? Why is the Indian government banning Google from providing free Internet, yet not providing such themselves?

> Why is the Indian government banning Google from providing free Internet, yet not providing such themselves?

The Indian government is not "banning" Google from doing anything.

> You are saying that he world's poor should become rich enough to pay for Internet, before they can get access to Internet?

In several ways, India has arguably more widespread and affordable internet infrastructure than Europe or the US. And it is getting cheaper all the time.

So the motivation of zero-rating is NOT about helping the poor. It is about the huge market that India represents and the boost in market share that companies with subsidised traffic get.

Re: Google joins Facebook in support of Zero Rating in India

#19

Post by mratzloff »

nileshtrivedi wrote: post #4
smhenderson wrote: post #2

Having skimmed the first paragraph of a Wikipedia article on Zero Rating[1] I immediately knew what it was about but I'd never heard it called that before. Think T-Mobile's free music[2] service if you live in the US. Once again I think this is going to be a hard one. If you understand the devilish details under the surface and it's effects on Net Neutrality you can make an informed decision to oppose this. But it's…

Imagine if Orkut was zero-rated, back when Facebook started. Or if Yahoo was zero-rated when Google started. Internet giants are turning their back on users, now that they have money.

It's pretty standard practice for any company that becomes suffiently large to increase barriers to entry (after previously championing low barriers to entry when it suited them). Not saying it's good for users, but the incentives for corporations are clear.
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