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Net Neutrality
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has invited public views on contentious net neutrality issue to finalise a framework that would ensure telecom operators do not manipulate network speeds for giving preference to any website or platform over internet. Last date for public comments on the paper is 15 February and for counter comments is February 28.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has invited public views on contentious net neutrality issue to finalise a framework that would ensure telecom operators do not manipulate network speeds for giving preference to any website or platform over internet. Last date for public comments on the paper is 15 February and for counter comments is February 28.
The consultation paper has been issued by Trai on reference sought by the Department of Telecom following suggestion of a High Level Committee that proposed regulation of domestic calls on Internet-based apps like Skype, Whatsapp and Viber by putting them at par with services offered by telecom operators a recommendation that came under immediate attack from industry bodies and some sections of civil society.
The DoT Committee opposed platforms like Facebook's Internet.org (later branded as Free Basics) that allow access to certain websites without mobile data charges, while suggesting that similar plans by Bharti Airtel be allowed with prior clearance from TRAI.
Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and governments regulating the Internet should treat all data on the Internet the same, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.
The term was coined by Columbia Universitymedia law professor Tim Wu in 2003, as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier, which was used to describe the role of telephone systems Without Net Neutrality, cable and phone companies could carve the Internet into fast and slow lanes. An ISP could slow down its competitors' content or block political opinions it disagreed with.
ISPs could charge extra fees to the few content companies that could afford to pay for preferential treatment relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service. This would destroy the open Internet. As of August 2015, there were no laws governing net neutrality in India.
The debate on network neutrality in India gathered public attention after Airtel announced in December 2014 additional charges for making voice calls (VoIP) from its network using apps like WhatsApp, Skype, etc. On 8 February 2016, TRAI took a revolutionary decision, prohibiting telecom service providers from levying discriminatory rates for data, thus ruling in favor of Net Neutrality in India.
