Re:Internet.org will finish internet the way we know it, hur...
by gojomo on Sunday March 15, 2015 @03:43AM
(#9205737)
If you're swayed by that logic, should perhaps Google be forced to charge users for web search, and Android, and their other "free" offerings that put smaller competitors at a disadvantage?
Re:Internet.org will finish internet the way we know it, hur...
by simonh on Sunday March 15, 2015 @04:23AM
(#9205819)
Google being add supported doesn't directly raise the cost of competing services. Conversely Facebook making a deal to make accessing itse service free on a paid network has the direct consequence of making the cost of using competing services go up. The cost of free access to Facebook has to be borne by somebody, if not the ISP then the customer has to pay it when they acess non-subsidised sites.
Internet.org is not about giving things away for free, it's about a cartel using their combined market power to negotiate subsidies and fix prices in order to distort the market.
Re:Internet.org will finish internet the way we know it, hur...
by adventured on Sunday March 15, 2015 @03:57AM
(#9205767)
You won't get a response to that, for the same reason you won't get a response to: should all Linux vendors be forced to charge prices comparable to Windows, because otherwise they're dumping?
And of course OpenOffice should be made illegal under that same logic.
Re:Internet.org will finish internet the way we know it, hur...
by pmontra on Sunday March 15, 2015 @04:09AM
(#9205792)
They also give you the source code. That makes the whole issue so different that I won't use Linux and OO as an analogy for this Indian case.
Re:Internet.org will finish internet the way we know it, hur...
by captn3m0 on Sunday March 15, 2015 @03:53AM
(#9205760)
The difference here is that of "service" and "utility". Google can offer its services for free. However, it should not be allowed to partner with a utility to make its services free, if that makes sense.
Another issue is what is given for free. If free access is given to something that is 80% of what they need, people will have reduced incentive to buy 100%, shrinking the market for the 100% solution, raising its price, and keeping it out of reach of most people. As an analogy, giving people free low quality food could discourage them from high quality food, and the lack of market for good food could drive up its price further.