Is free broadband possible in India?
By siliconindia   |    5 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
Is free broadband possible in India?
Bangalore: Today, internet has become an integral part of people's daily life, and to prove this point, Finland government has gone one step ahead and made accessing internet a legal right for its citizens. To access internet has become a right for every Finnish citizen. Yes, Finland has just passed a law that makes access to broadband a legal right for its citizens. From July 2010, every person in Finland, which has a population of around 5.3 million, will have the guaranteed right to a one-megabit broadband connection. Now whole focus comes to Indian market, which is considered as an IT hub. Now-a-days, IT companies are invariably looking toward India to meet their research and development needs and software production demands. So, will it be possible for Indian government to go ahead and make this a legal right for its citizens? "While the internet savvy users of India will hail this move, let's not forget that Finland's total population is 5.5 million, which is five percent of ours. Our primary concern right now should not be broadband access being a legal right, but childhood (and education) being the legal right of every child in the country and tougher laws on child labour. Can we please emulate Babar Ali, the world's youngest Headmaster, and ensure that children have a right to be children before they're made to be earning members of the family?" says Jayashree S, a Child Rights Activist. Yes, it sounds true as it would be very unfair to compare India to Finland, given the gross discrepancies. But, all the people do not think in the same way. Nancy, an avid netizen, says, "Internet is a way of life in India now. It is not just the youngsters who are hooked - people from all walks of life have started using the net to their benefit and are paying high prices for the same. It would be good if the rates are lesser, and yes, if it's free in Finland, even if it's one mbps, why not here too?" A majority of Indians feel that making a broadband connection a legal right is too farfetched a dream. "Broadband connection should not be a legal right as we have more important issues to deal with. We are lagging in providing even the basic amenities like water or electricity, thinking of legalizing broadband is still very far," says Tarun, who works with a leading media house. It might be too early to start a debate on whether broadband internet can be a natural extension to our legal rights in India. But kudos to the Finnish government for this landmark law. Who knows, this might just be the beginning of a new fight for our rights.

siliconindia