Wow. That would be great wouldn't it. (/end sarcasm). Actually it might indeed by quite great. India says that it's going to use the free internet as a way of boosting economic activity. But I can think of a lot of other different things that the high speed internet can allow consumers to do. And that would include downloading music and movies, to their hearts content.
But are there any disadvantages? Surely. If India's internet service is relied upon by millions if not billions of people, then what happens when the service dies? Or can the government even handle that many people using their internet as much as they want? Would you provide limits? But what about the people who are willing to pay for the internet? Will they not be allowed to buy internet either? And think about the internet companies themselves. If consumers realise that they can get internet for free instead of paying them about $50 a month, then wouldn't that reduce economic activity? Quite an interesting move by the Indian government indeed. But then, I'd like to see Australia at least trying to do something like it.
I think perhaps what would be the best solution is to introduce somewhat of a levy on broadband which is subsidized by the government. So you pay what you normally pay for broadband to your respective government, but at the end of the day, the government reimburses you with a portion of that payment, essentially making the broadband cheaper, rather than free. I think that's a better idea for promoting economic activity.
