[cr-india] TRAI Open House on FM

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

I agree with Rishi. The people who need community radio the most will find 
a decision taken without their voices being heard... worse still, they may 
not have a clue as to what all this debate is about.

Unless we can expand the debate vastly, decisions are going to be taken 
without the bulk having a say. Can we use the various Internet 
mailing-lists (and also letters-to-the-editors columns) to get news about 
this out?

I think lists like Cybercom (focussed on the Internet), IINN-L (a general 
mailing list for India), and even the newsgroup soc.culture.india could be 
deployed to build awareness about this crucial communication issues. FN

On Sat, 1 May 2004, Rishi Chawla wrote:


> Dear All,
> 
> As usual the TRAI is having the open House sessions in the 3 metroes as 
> if these are the places where ICTs are needed the most. Is not this the 
> time to raise also the issue that more regional meetings / open houses 
> should be held (apart from metroes)? 
> 
> Last time during the Open House session on "Growht of Internet & 
> Broadband" I raised this point and suggested to TRAI that this practices 
> encourages the Digital Divide rather than narrowing it. But i had no 
> support from other organisations so i was made to sit down on the ground 
> that his was not a forum for talking about digital divide.
> 
> I wish this time some of us can raise this issue of conducting open 
> house sessions only in metroes and not reaching the places where such 
> meetings are required more. Also the consultation paper / open house 
> sessions are only in English (and we talk of local language content. 
> 
> OFCOM (British Regulator)  has started recieving responses on the 
> telephone - why can't TRAI do that. TRAI should put the summary of the 
> submissions received on their website for transparency / accountability. 
> I know our responses at the Open House are recorded but what happens to 
> that recording know body knows.
> 
> Can we also include these issues in our submissions to the TRAI and 
> also raise these issues in the Open House?
> 
> 
> Thanks and regards
> 
> Rishi Chawla
> GIPI India
> www.gipi.org.in 

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