Re: Orange & Facebook

From: Mohammad Nadim <nadim.attari_at_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 28 May 2015 13:59:10 +0400

Hello SM,



On 28 May 2015 at 04:16, S Moonesamy <sm+mu_at_elandsys.com> wrote:

> Hi Nadim,
> At 14:33 27-05-2015, Mohammad Nadim wrote:
>
>> In a few days, Orange will allow free and unlimited access to Facebook,
>> for those who have subscribed to their packages, be it Prepaid[1] or
>> Postpaid[2].
>>
>> I have some questions:
>> Do you think this is a good thing?
>>
>
> I asked for unlimited access to the internet and I am being offered free
> and unlimited access to Facebook. It is not a good thing for me as that is
> not what I asked for.



I'm asking for the same. Unlimited access to all, without any
discrimination, at an affordable price.



>
> Why is Orange choosing what should be free and what not for us?
>>
>
> Someone would have to ask Orange that question.



How? Who to contact?





> Can we call this free service from Orange a "zero-rating[3][4]" service
>> (joint market agreement)?
>>
>
> Zero-rating is the practice where a mobile operator offers free mobile
> data to allow its customers to access a particular content or service(s)
> without charging an additional cost. This free service is an example of
> zero-rating.
>
> What if I want zero-rating service for another app (e.g. FamilyWall, or
>> Twitter, etc), rather than Facebook?
>>
>
> You won't get that. :-)



Agreed. Simply because they do not have a joint-market agreement.



> Who is benefiting from this? Is Facebook "sponsoring" this free internet
>> to kill competition (from other social networking services, or from
>> startups rising)?
>>
>
> Facebook probably benefits from this. Are there any startups in
> Mauritius? Did they comment about this problem?



Not only startups. Maybe existing entrepreneurs / companies / firms also.
For example what if the government decides that all telcos and ISPs SHOULD
provide zero-rating service for MBC's website and contents (audio & video).
Do you think we can get private TVs / radios? Will it be easy for them to
survive?




> Is it in our advantage?
>>
>
> I don't think that it is to my advantage.
>
> What if they give (zero-rating) "preference" to another
>> service/application in the future (decided by them, and not us, the users)?
>> Will it be a disadvantage to local startups?
>>
>
> I view startups as different from users. The objective of a startup is to
> make money. It is up to the startup to see whether the preference which is
> decided by the mobile operator will be to its disadvantage.
>



Yes there are two angles to see this problem: one from the users' point of
view. Another from a business point of view.

From a user point of view: Who should decide what I consume? Me or the
telcos / ISPs?
From a business point of view: Can I start a business? Can I survive? Can I
provide competition or am I in a healthy competitive environment?


Best regards,
Nadim Attari
Received on Thu May 28 2015 - 09:59:10 PST