Want to free Internet? Do philanthropy: Mittal to Zuckerberg

Barcelona, Mar 9: Taking on social networking giant Facebook's ambitious 'free internet' plans, telecom major Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal has said the companies should do 'philanthropy' if they stop charging for mobile internet.

Facebook has launched an 'internet.org' initiative under which users can access internet free of charge for select websites if they come through a partner telecom operator.

Incidentally, Airtel Africa is one such partner for Facebook, while rival Reliance Communications has partnered Facebook in India for this initiative, which is based on assumption that bringing more people to the internet fold by offering them free service initially is good for the industry.

Mittal, who met Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg here at the Mobile World Congress, said that the social networking major is right in its thinking that such a would expand the market, but telecom operators also need to get their revenues and charge for the services.

"I told him (Zuckerberg) that you are right that this (internet.org) expands the market. At the end, you must understand that we (telecom operators) need to charge you for something. SMSes have gone more or less, voice is going down and they (Facebook) recognise that," Mittal said in a media interaction here.

"If you are going to make the data free, then let's do completely philanthropic projects. Government must make spectrum free, there should be free network, but it is not happening," the billionaire industrialist said, while adding that telecom companies were as such not making large money.

The comments, incidentally, come at a time when a high-pitched auction is underway in India for spectrum and committed bids worth about Rs 86,000 crore have come in within first four days of bidding -- crossing the minimum targetted amount of Rs 82,000 crore. The auction will resume tomorrow, as more unsold spectrum is left and there are expectations that the overall auction may cross Rs one lakh crore.

Telecom companies say they invest billions of dollars in spectrum, network and other operations, but they argue that internet-based entities offering pseudo-telecom services are piggy-backing on the mobile operators' networks without bearing much investments on their own.

At the same event here, UK-based telecom giant Vodafone's global CEO Vittorio Colao reportedly said about Facebook's free-of-cost internet plan that "it is almost like Zuckerberg does philanthropy, but with my money."

Mittal cautioned that investments in mobile networks by industry will go down as Internet-based messaging and calling services are 'cannibalising' revenues of telecom firms.

"He (Zuckerberg) is saying that make Internet.org lite version of Facebook free of data charge, so that people will upgrade. People will come to internet for the first time. The point is that it is self-serving for them," Mittal said.

Telecom operators have been facing pressure on their financials from the emergence of a number of Over-The-Top (OTT) firms like Facebook (through its WhatsApp messaging service), Skype and Viber, which on their part claim to be helping telecom operators grow business.

"We (telecom operators, social media and over-the-top players) are good for each other but they, regulators and politicians must understand that networks' investment must be on reasonable terms. Gone are the days when telecom companies were making large amounts of money," Mittal said.

"OTT players must understand pains of the mobile industry. Sometimes we are seeing as gatekeeper, bad guys. The fact of matter is spectrum - there is cost, network there is cost and tariff has gone up by only 3 paise in last three years," he added.

In December, Airtel had announced separate charges for Internet based calling services but withdrew it after an outcry on social media.

"The rate that we announced was exactly the same rate as a voice call. If you do one minute VoIP (internet based calls) in kilobyte terms it would be exactly the same as voice call. It was exactly the same as one minute call," Mittal said.

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Powerful solar storm hits earth; will it disrupt communication, power grids?

News Network

May 11,2024

Washington, May 11: The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular celestial light shows from Tasmania to Britain -- and threatening possible disruptions to satellites and power grids as it persists into the weekend.

The first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) -- expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun -- came just after 1600 GMT, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Space Weather Prediction Center.

It was later upgraded to an "extreme" geomagnetic storm -- the first since the "Halloween Storms" of October 2003 caused blackouts in Sweden and damaged power infrastructure in South Africa. More CMEs are expected to pummel the planet in the coming days.

Social media lit up with people posting pictures of auroras from northern Europe and Australasia.

"We've just woken the kids to go watch the Northern Lights in the back garden! Clearly visible with the naked eye," Iain Mansfield in Hertford, England, told AFP.

That sense of wonder was shared in Australia's island state of Tasmania.

"Absolutely biblical skies in Tasmania at 4 am this morning. I'm leaving today and knew I could not pass up this opportunity," photographer Sean O' Riordan posted on social media platform X alongside a photo.

Authorities notified satellite operators, airlines, and the power grid to take precautionary steps for potential disruptions caused by changes to Earth's magnetic field.

Elon Musk, whose Starlink satellite internet operator has some 5,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, described the solar storm as the "biggest in a long time."

"Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far," Musk posted on his X platform.

Unlike solar flares, which travel at the speed of light and reach Earth in around eight minutes, CMEs travel at a more sedate pace, with officials putting the current average at 800 kilometers (500 miles) per second.

The CMEs emanated from a massive sunspot cluster that is 17 times wider than our planet. The Sun is approaching the peak of an 11-year cycle that brings heightened activity.

'Go outside tonight and look'

Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, told AFP that how far the effects would be felt over the planet's northern and southern latitudes would depend on the storm's final strength.

"Go outside tonight and look would be my advice because if you see the aurora, it's quite a spectacular thing," he said. People with eclipse glasses can also look for the sunspot cluster during the day.

In the United States, this could include places such as Northern California and Alabama, officials said.

NOAA's Brent Gordon encouraged the public to try to capture the night sky with phone cameras even if they couldn't see auroras with their naked eyes.

"Just go out your back door and take a picture with the newer cell phones and you'd be amazed at what you see in that picture versus what you see with your eyes."

Spacecraft and pigeons

Fluctuating magnetic fields associated with geomagnetic storms induce currents in long wires, including power lines, which can potentially lead to blackouts. Long pipelines can also become electrified, leading to engineering problems.

Spacecraft are also at risk from high doses of radiation, although the atmosphere prevents this from reaching Earth.

NASA has a dedicated team looking into astronaut safety and can ask astronauts on the International Space Station to move to places within the outpost that are better shielded.

Following one particularly strong flare peak, the US Space Weather Prediction Center said users of high-frequency radio signals "may experience temporary degradation or complete loss of signal on much of the sunlit side of Earth."

Even pigeons and other species that have internal biological compasses could also be affected. Pigeon handlers have noted a reduction in birds coming home during geomagnetic storms, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Officials said people should have the normal backup plans in place for power outages, such as having flashlights, batteries, and radios at hand.

The most powerful geomagnetic storm in recorded history, known as the Carrington Event after British astronomer Richard Carrington, occurred in September 1859.

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