For 10 weeks each summer The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University swings opens the doors of its big yellow house to welcome a group of talented, curious, and energetic full-time interns who are passionate about the promise of the Internet and issues related to media and journalism, civic engagement, policy, identity and privacy, education, technology, the developing world, law, and more. The interns team up with Berkman projects like Herdict, Cooperation, Digital Natives, Law Lab, Internet & Democracy, or the OpenNet Initiative, where they have an opportunity for deep and substantive involvement in project operation.  Performing topic-based research; drafting and editing blog posts, papers and other written outputs; conducting outreach, developing partnerships, and maintaining relationships; exploring project and research design; and undertaking academic responsibilities of all kinds both independently and collaboratively are part of the Berkman summer intern experience.  Specific tasks and experiences vary depending on interns’ skills and project needs.

In addition to contributing to project based work, summer interns participate in special events and lectures with Berkman faculty and fellows, engage each other through community experiences like the weekly interns discussion hours, and each year innovate for themselves new opportunities for fun and learning, like organizing debates, producing podcasts and other media outputs, and hosting book clubs and cookoffs (!).

The word “awesome” has been thrown around to describe our internships, but don’t take our word for it. Zack McCune, a summer intern from 2008, had this to say: “it has been an enchanting summer working at the berkman center for internet & society.  everyday, i get to hang out with some of the most brilliant people on the planet. we talk, we write (emails), we blog, we laugh, we play rock band. and when things need to get done, we stay late hyped on free coffee and leftover food. it is a distinct honor to be considered a peer among such excellent people. and i am not just talking about the fellows, staff, and faculty, though they are all outstanding. no, i mean my peers as in my fellow interns, who are almost definitely the ripening next generation of changemakers.”

Eligibility:
* Internships are open to students enrolled across the spectrum of disciplines;
* Internships are open to students at different levels of academic study including undergraduate, graduate and PhD. programs;
* Summer interns do not have to be affiliated with Harvard University;
* We welcome summer interns from universities across the world, however we can not pay international students who have not yet received an undergraduate degree.

Time Commitment: Summer internship positions are full time (35 hours/week), and the summer program runs for 10 weeks from June 1 to August 15.

Payment: Interns are paid $11.50 an hour.  Please be forewarned that stipends may not be sufficient to cover living expenses in the Boston area. No other benefits are provided, therefore interns must make their own housing, insurance, and transportation arrangements.

For additional info please refer to… http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/getinvolved/internships#summer

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Legal concerns have been the primary reason behind this delay as the law ministry has made it clear that there might be “serious legal challenges” in the bidding process if spectrum cannot be made available till September.  Reason behind this legal concern is the availability of spectrum as there has not been any commitment from the defense forces on vacation of spectrum within a particular time frame and in case of delay the operators have raised demands to compensate them for that delay.

Also the cherished ideals of “Technological Neutrality” have been ignored while framing policies. The concept of “Technological Neutrality” came into forefront during “Dual-Technology” case before TDSAT. Though the TDSAT judgment in this case has not been endorsed by the large section of media, stakeholders and practitioners as it further demarcated the divisions between CDMA and GSM technologies and the facilities available to them as there has been  allegation against DOT for introducing the “Dual Technology” principles for the benefit of companies like Reliance Communications and Tata Tele.

The TDSAT Judgment is based on certain assumptions that there is no difference between “Technological neutrality” and “Dual Technology” and the Government should further promote “Technological Neutrality” in the form of Dual Technology regulations. The concept of “Dual Technology” further facilitates the removal of technological and policy barrier between GSM and CDMA operators. Despite the presence of such cardinal principle, the cherished ideals of that principle have largely been ignored by DoT while framing polices regarding 3G Auction.  If the policy framework and institutional approach are analyzed thoroughly it can be alleged that the CDMA operators are favored over GSM operator as both 2G and 3G services are offered using the same airwaves or spectrum to the CDMA operators. While DoT has been clear in its approach that it will not give any favor to GSM operators during the proposed successive 2 G auctions as an incentive.

Then only   5 MHz… as all the stake holders have raised this question that the amount of spectrum allocated will not provide a viable business proposition. Moreover it will be too cumbersome for new entrant GSM operator to operate within the limit of 5 MHz. In a way DoT itself is flouting the principles of “Technological Neutrality” which it meticulous argued before TDSAt in Dual Spectrum case, which further challenges its legitimacy as an institution of governance.  Also the Government seems too eager to invite international participation but despite all its eagerness it has limited the participation for GSM space only.

Therefore despite Telecom Minister’s over willingness to engage in auction of spectrum as soon as possible it is still not clear what he wants. It is desirable not to have spectrum auction without revising the present framework.

From now I will be contributing at this blog and I hope you all will enjoy my posts and other contributions.

My first post seeks to address few issues related to the newly introduced TRAI regulations regarding Mobile Number Portability (hereinafter referred as MNP). Number portability, is a kind of service which allows a telephone subscriber to retain his/her number despite moving from one access provider to another. The reason behind such a move by the Telecom Regulators is to enhance the freedom of subscribers, and to increase competition amongst access providers, with an objective to further encourage improvement in the quality of services. After a detailed discussion and consultation with the stakeholders, TRAI issued the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 on 23-9-2009 (available at http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/Regulations/89/Regulation23sep09.pdf). There are certain new concepts introduced through these regulations.

Mobile Numbers Portability- Regulation 2 (i) defines MNP as “the facility which allows a subscriber to retain his mobile telephone number even  when he moves from one access provider to another irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile technology to another of the same access provider.”  Now as per this definition a subscriber will be able to shift from (1) one access provider to another (2) CDMA to GSM or from GSM to CDMA of different access providers (3) one technology to another technology of the same access provider. This service is highly beneficial for the subscribers as it gives ample choice to choose from various access providers. But it is also important to know the process and how this whole system of MNP works.

Porting- The process initiates with the subscribers request for a new connection. The subscriber is suppose to submit a “porting request form” to the recipient operator (access provider who will be providing mobile telecommunication service to the subscriber after porting) with all documents required for a new connection i.e. photo id, address proof, etc. along with a copy of the last bill of the donor operator (to whose network the mobile number belongs at the time the subscriber makes a request for porting). The recipient operator then verifies all the documents and after verification the recipient operator has to inform the subscriber. The subscriber has to send a request to the donor operator to initiate porting process and the donor operator in return will forward an SMS with a unique porting code to the recipient operator. After receiving the porting code the recipient operator has to send all the documents with porting code to the MNP operator within next 24 hours.

The MNP operator’s task is to facilitate porting process between two operators. After receiving all the details from recipient operator including porting code the MNP operator forwards all the documents to the donor operator for clearance. But before forwarding the documents MNP operator has to verify few details i.e. the number has been previously ported in the immediately preceding 90 days (as ninety days is compulsory for a subscriber to stick to one access provider) or if there is any other request for porting the same number is pending. After receiving all the details the donor operator within 24 hours and has to report back to MNP operator after verifying all the details and the porting code.

Thereafter MNP operator has to complete the porting within next 36 hours and is supposed to communicate the date and time of porting to both the operators. The MNP operator at the specified time instructs the donor operator to disconnect the subscriber’s number from its service and report compliance within one hour of such instructions. Thereafter, the MNP operator informs the recipient operator to activate the number on its network within one hour thereof.

Also the subscriber is supposed to pay a porting charge and he is also entitled to cancel his porting request but his porting charge will be non- refundable.

Till this date the MNP regulations remains unopposed as it was drafted after a prolonged and detailed discussion with the concerned stakeholders. Though at a preliminary stage there was little opposition but even that was also addressed by the authorities. Most of the regulations was supposed to be effective from 31^st December, 2009 in respect of Metro and Category ‘A’ licensed service areas; and the 20th March, 2010 in respect of other licensed service areas. Though Number Portability got further delayed due to disagreement between the operators with respect to the prescribed Tariff distribution (details available at Govt puts off mobile number portability by three months http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/31142858/Govt-puts-off-mobile-number-po.html).

But there remains certain issues which both the industry and the policymaker should address.

• There are problems with the institutional framework envisage by the MNP regulations as the MNP operator is left without any recourse if the porting charges are not paid, as the Regulations prohibit suspension of porting facility despite non-payment of porting charges.

• Though the onus of this whole procedure of porting more or less lies with the recipient operator which is beneficial for the subscribers up to a certain extent. But few important subscriber rights are also ignored like the pre-paid subscribers are not entitled to a refund of the balance talk-time and the post-paid subscribers also has to do a lot of time consuming paper work for a refund of any deposits, etc. It would have been much viable if balance talk time could have been transferred with the subscriber’s number to the recipient operator.

• Another major lacuna which this regulation fails to address is the problem associated with repeated incorrect billing and/or overcharging by the access providers. Since the onus lies with the subscriber to prove that all the dues of the donor operator has been paid, then in that case if the  bills are incorrect, the subscriber is left without any remedy while the donor operator could, without justification, prevent the porting. I would like to suggest for a creation of ombudsman or similar kind of mechanism to deal with this problem. As we are all aware that if the subscriber proceeds under Consumer Protection Act how much cumbersome and time consuming the process is. In the meanwhile the subscriber cannot switch over to a new access provider with the same number. Therefore it negates the whole vision of Consumer benefit which these regulations envisage to promote.

Guided by a similar intuition the Supreme Court held that the DoT could not increase tariffs previously agreed between the parties by a license agreement, on the basis of internal circulars. The court held that even though the Government of India had an absolute monopoly with regard to telecommunication services under the Telegraph Act, these circulars did not form part of that law. The provisions of the contract were to be governed on the basis of the terms of the contract itself, since the circulars did not have the force of law to modify the contract. The contract could only be modified by mutual agreement between the parties

The court then went on to hold that since the circulars were internal rules and not within the knowledge of the licensee there could not be any mutual agreement or acquiescence. The court further held that even if the circulars were mentioned in some meetings and casually came to the knowledge of the licensee they would not evidence agreement as to the terms of the contract. The position is succinctly summarized in the following para :

“They [the circulars] may have been published by some publisher but indisputable they are not statutory in nature. They have not been framed under any statute. The telegraph act or the rules framed under do not provide for the issuance of such circulars. The circular letters collected at one place are loosely called rules. They are meant for office use only.”

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The full text of the decision is available on the following link. I have also prepared a case brief which is available on the following link. The decision has an interesting commentary on the law of unconditional guarantee and is a recommended read!

The Bajaj Chetak remains a symbol of Indian middle class aspirations. In the absence of adequate public transportation services the two stroke scooter remained an affordable way of transport for decades. A similar sentiment seems to have inspired Ratan Tata to create the vision for the Tata Nano. The Tata Nano, the worlds cheapest production car will empower a new generation of Indians who are looking to replace their Chetak. Due to the large number of Nano’s that will be zipping around Indian roads there has been some chatter on accounts of it contributing to pollution, specifically climate change. Though these arguments can be defeated as elistist ad hominem objections (often legitimately so) there is some merit to the arguments especially in the growing concerns about global warming.

Some climate change modeling studies show that India is a huge looser (second only to Bangladesh) when it comes to (a) disruptive weather patterns; (b) inundation of low-lying areas, these are the direct impacts of ofcourse there are hundreds of ways how we will be affected indirectly. We are primarily an agricultural country, with the lives of millions being tied to the monsoon. The impact of climate change cannot be overstated.

However, claims by environmentalists as to how the Nano and the Nano alone will choke the atmosphere are highly overstated. India as a country even though is amongst the top emitters of greenhouse gases, is still in terms of per capita one of the lowest emitters. The Nano will not drastically change this. Here the Nano is not the dispositive contributor to the problem but it can be the solution. The claims on the Nano can properly be understood as objections flowing from the perception that emerging economies (read India and China) are causing the climate change problem. This perception is further exploited by industralised nations to avoid their obligations. Here the Tata Nano can play an important role by adapting and implementing cleaner, greener technologies. Several technical studies point to how plastic unibodies, regenerative braking, reflective glass and paint etc. can be employed efficiently and economically.

I agree as to how the price is generating press and demand for the Tata Nano, however Ratan Tata has realised that his vision should extend beyond merely reworking the model-t wheel. Here Tata is also developing an electric version of the Nano, called the E-Nano (reportedly with attached or sideby solar panels as well) which might well turn out to be the “world’s cheapest electric car”. Moreover, the E-Nano is expected to continue with the philosphy of  providing a cheap passenger car and expected to cost compartively to the conventional nano.

We are losers from climate change. What makes this more incredible that larger parts of industrialized countries are supposed to become cultivable with the rise in temperatures, in essence they become net gainers! Here we have to help ourselves, by defeating the perception that Tata’s assembly lines are turning out mobile chimneys. Catering to middle class aspirations should be balanced with world wide perceptions. An important concept in environmental law is intra-generational equity and it ties in serendipitously with the Bajaj commercial when it says,”humara kal, humara aaj (our today, our tomorrow)“.

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The article admittedly is a policy detour and the result of a climate change law course taken at Columbia Law School (the best legal policy money can’t buy).

The findings of the court suggest that technology neutrality has always been part of the deregulatory process. The implications of the findings are that telecommunications companies will not be bound by legacy contracts or provisions and be tied to one particular technology. This will result in a market based adoption of technology, which is most efficient and economical for companies.

Another thing which I find interesting is the reliance which has been placed by the TDSAT on the obiter of the Delhi High Court. When the case was initially filed before the TDSAT, the TDSAT refused to grant stay on the allocation of spectrum, impugning this order the petitioners filed a writ petition before the High Court. The High Court declining to interfere with the order, made certain remarks in the text of its judgment though it cautiously added the caveat that the obiter was restricted to the impugned stay application and was not a finding as to the merits of the case. However, whenever the TDSAT could utilize the obiter of the court to buttress its own findings it has done so and has quoted the obiter to some extent. This shows that the TDSAT though acknowledging that it is not controlled by the obiter still looks to support and guidance from it.

Readers who are interested in more information and background into the Dual Spectrum Allocation Case may refer to a case brief which I have made for the judgment.

The success and popularity of the creative commons license is symptomatic of the growing sentiment of Internet users and authors against the expansionary nature of intellectual property law. The creative commons license allows the authors of creative works to license out of default copyright provisions and allows greater rights to the users of their works. The creative commons license is not the only one kind of license and there exist several such licenses. The different between the creative commons license is its wide implementation due to its user friendliness.

The standard form creative commons license comes in several flavors and allows authors to pick and choose which rights they want to grant the users and which they want to retain. Aiding this process are pictorial representations which help an artist choose the license. Such a pictorial representation is called by the creative commons website a, “human readable contract” (as opposed to a lawyer readable contract??).

The success of the license calls into question the implementation of, “human readable contracts” on an industry wide level (by industry I mean the online services industry). Such a system would help be a great alternative to the process of making an online user of the service scroll through a page of contract terms, which are either incomprehensible or too long to read. In most situations a subscriber sees the long flowing paragraphs as walls between him and the service and wants to get it out of the way. An analysis of the data would reveal that if a website requires a sign up the user just quickly wants to avail the service and will rarely go through the terms.

A consumer society administered system, with a standard form of such terms matched with pictures would go a long way in making substantial assent to the terms presumptively existent. On the sign up besides the “human readable contract”, the service provider can also provide the subscriber with the actual terms of the contract and then avoid any quandary in court. This system will be mutually beneficial to both online service providers as well as subscribers. It will be especially helpful to online services which sell different services on the basis of different contract terms, such as online car insurance companies. Also litigation prone online services, where the validity of the acceptance and the lack of agreement between the parties always comes in to issue.

However, a question does loom as to how much do the service providers want us to know about the terms of a contract, their policies as to targeted advertising as well as the personal data they collect about us. Though if such a system is adopted it would be immensely popular with subscribers. To be popular with lawyers it just would have to change its name to, laymen readable contracts.