Technology is an enabler. It changes lives and enables a person to undertake feats which seem impossible. Who would have believed that:
1) Poor Fishermen in Kerala have increased their earnings by as high as 35% by checking the latest prices on a cell phone.
2) This poor illiterate daily wage earner can find a second job by just pressing a few buttons.
3) You no longer have to go through traffic jams because u can telecommute.
– Image by
We have seen similar trends in Banking, Insurance, Postal, Airlines etc… the rich man’s luxury has become a common man’s necessity. The day government allows private operators to operate, there is a revolution. However, when the government operates, it screws the public by providing sub-standard service, it screws the tax payer by pissing away our hard earned money. The best thing the government should do is allow private operators, impose Social Obligation Norms (serving the poor and underdeveloped regions) and charge huge licenses fee, Income tax and use that money for social development.
All around the globe people have started throwing off their copper wire and switched to fiber optics. It allows the operators to sell a wide variety of services like Gigabit broadband, video telephones, IPTv etc etc. But no, Government won’t allow these services in India because the official reason is: “Indian Masses are not prepared for VoIP and digital telephone technology”
Who are you to decide what is good for me?
But then logic and government do not go hand in hand. Thanks to Government, we still rely on Morse Code and have a Telegraph network. Telephone is very important for a nation…. It connects and unites the nation, but why would the government care. If the masses got VoIP access, who would use its outdated BSNL services?
If a private company uses unfair to control the market and kill the competition MRTP (monopolies and restricted trade practices) Act is invoked. I wonder if a similar thing exists for government?
15 replies on “Ban on VoIP Phones”
//I wonder if a similar thing exists for government?//
Nope..it does’nt.
how unfortunate… we common men r screwed 🙁
yes..even power projects are not taking off bcos of the Govt.
//even power projects are not taking off bcos of the Govt.//
exactly otherwise what would be the rational behind having a perennial power cut. u have the demand open a powerplant… charge for the electricity… use the profits to open another one
As far as I have heard , there is such complex red tapism that
all the investors in power projects are losing out on interests .
yups even worse.. thing is that there is no uniform pricing mechanism… a SEB (state electricity board) buys power at 7-14 different prices and sells it at >10 different prices.
the main complaint I heard was that the Govt (esp the Karnataka)
is not paying them in time.
the company must have tried to cut short on legal expenses… that is why there is no substantial penalty on defaulting on payments
Well…I dont think they have approached those good samaritans yet 😛
i thought Samaritans were used in the context of “non-discrimination and interracial harmony” but will check.
hey P..
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Samaritan
Noun 1. Samaritan – a person who voluntarily offers help or sympathy in times of trouble
I did’nt give it a deep thought ,though.
I guess Samaritan is also used for altruists.
as for the post, if they privatized everything then what will people crave for when they go for polls?? but don’t worry it will come there slowly but surely!!! Whatever bad governance picture you might see but I always see a ray of hope in the end of tunnel!!! may be I am too optimist but again I predict a glorious future for India in our hands 🙂
thanks for this.. i never knew of this info…
i always thought u were referring to that biblical story where a Samaritan helped a fellow jew… and hence he was was called a Good Samaritan by Jesus Himself…. but ya it can very well be used for an altruistic person.
@scorpion…
that ray of light might as well be the headlight of a bullet train approaching towards u 😉
yups things have started improving and it will improve… but the most important thing would be that people should be aware of what privatization means for them.. and why it is important
nice post,
I hope whenever a concerned citizen brings up such issues for raising public awareness or for whatever purpose it is! It would be better if he or she can think of a most reasonable practical changes necessary for solving the posted issue. It need not be necessarily a best possible solution, but it can initiate and motivate readers to think and respond with other possible practical solutions, at least to be recorded in text before it can actually be realized.
@thiru..
thanks
//it would be better if he or she can think of a most reasonable practical changes necessary for solving the posted issue.//
as already mentioned
“The best thing the government should do is allow private operators, impose Social Obligation Norms (serving the poor and underdeveloped regions) and charge huge licenses fee, Income tax and use that money for social development.”