Free mobiles will empower the poor

The proposal to distribute mobile phones to below the poverty line families has the potential to bridge the digital divide in one stroke. It should not be dismissed as another extravagance by a profligate government to buys votes. In fact a mobile phone in every hand backed by innovative technology and government programmes has the…

Facebook page to connect community radio stations and ministry

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The information and broadcasting ministry has launched a dedicated Facebook page for community radio stakeholders in the country to connect with them and answer their queries relating to government policies as well as provide them a platform to share information about their programmes. The Facebook page ‘Community Radio India’ can be accessed at www.facebook.com/communityradioindia.…

A mobile service for vehicle tax information

The user gets an SMS on the amount paid, date of payment, receipt number, and any amount that’s due In the first-of-its-kind service in Nepal, the transport department is providing vehicle information through mobile text messages, a citizen service that is particularly useful in a country where cars, two-wheelers and other vehicles attract an annual…

DEF & Ford Foundation to Organise 3-Day Wireless Access Workshop in Delhi

Digital Empowerment Foundation is in a process to organize three-day workshop on, ‘Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Technologies & Prospects’ on 6-8 August, 2012 in New Delhi, India. The objective of the three-day workshop is to understand theoretical and practical understanding of wireless environment in India especially driven through the unlicensed band facilities as provisioned by the…

DEF’s Petition to forego the spectrum fee altogether for running community radio stations

Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) has urged the National Advisory Council, Govt. to forgo the spectrum license fee altogether for community radio stations, run by non-profit organisations. In its petition, DEF has requested the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & IT to forego the five-fold increase (from Rs 19,700 to Rs 91,000) in license fee…