ITV

Tag: Net Neutrality

  • IAMAI welcomes DoT recommendations on Net Neutrality

    IAMAI welcomes DoT recommendations on Net Neutrality

    MUMBAI: The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has welcomed the DoT Committee recommendations on Net Neutrality and agrees with the report that the primary goal of public policy should be directed towards facilitating affordable and universal connectivity.

     

    This actually is in line with IAMAI’s submission on Net Neutrality to the DoT. 

     

    IAMAI has always advocated a principle that guarantees consumers equal and non-discriminatory access to all data, apps and services on internet, with no discrimination on the basis of tariffs or speed, and is happy that the DoT paper also conforms to the view of IAMAI.

     

    The industry body has also welcomed the DoT recommendation that OTT services should be actively encouraged and any impediments in expansion and growth of OTT application services should be removed. This is also in line with the suggestions put forward by IAMAI that bringing in more regulation would be counterproductive to innovation and investments in this sector.

     

    According to IAMAI, Zero rating and other pro-access programs have the potential to dramatically expand internet access in India and bring more people online, but the report fails to fully recognize the value and potential of such programs. Not all Zero Ratings are violating the Net Neutrality principles and especially in countries like India where the Internet penetration is very low, such services can actually help in faster proliferation of broadband. So, the Net Neutrality laws should keep the plan of zero-rated services open and implement along the lines that is not anti-competitive and in lines with the principles of Net Neutrality. 

     

    In light of the observations made in the DoT Committee Report on Net Neutrality, IAMAI states that there are already enough regulations on the Internet Telephony in India [Calls from Skype to mobile numbers and land line consume reasonably less, but this is not yet permitted in India] and there is no need to further bring a licensing or revenue share arrangement between the OTTs and TSPs. This will disrupt VOIP and will also skew any further innovation in the same field, which is need of the hour.

  • CCI to await TRAI report even as Parliamentary Committee studies net neutrality

    CCI to await TRAI report even as Parliamentary Committee studies net neutrality

    NEW DELHI: Even as a Parliamentary Committee is meeting to discuss the net neutrality issue, Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairman Ashok Chawla has said net neutrality is a policy issue and Telecom Regularity Authority of India (TRAI) should first take a stand on it.

     

    Chawla said CCI would look into the matter when it will come to it. “It has not come to us. We will see when it comes. This is a policy issue. The regulator has to decide first. Based on whatever happens in terms of behaviour as in conformity and non-conformity of policy, we will see and in any case if they are going to interact with us they are welcome,” Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of an annual day function of the CCI.

     

    TRAI has already touched upon net neutrality in its Consultation Paper on over the top (OTT) services.

     

    Meanwhile, Parliamentary Ministry sources said that the Committee may hold more than one meeting on the issue, and will then place its report in the next session of Parliament. Representatives of some telecom companies are understood to have presented their views on the issue.

     

    CCI orders a probe only if there is prima-facie evidence of a violation of competition norms.

     

    The development comes at a time when some telecom operators have entered into tie-ups for offering free access to certain mobile apps and websites. Such activities have raised concerns on net neutrality. The last refers to equal treatment for all Internet traffic.

     

    Last month, Bharti Airtel launched Airtel Zero, an open marketing platform that allowed customers to access many mobile applications for free, with the data charges being paid by startups and large companies.

     

    Over the past few months, operators such as Reliance Communications and Uninor have partnered Internet companies such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Wikipedia to offer free usage to consumers.

     

    Such moves are being seen as being opposed to net neutrality, particularly to the extent that they affect communication OTT services like Viber, free calls on WhatsApp etc. 

  • CASBAA advocates for consumer access to lawful content on Internet

    CASBAA advocates for consumer access to lawful content on Internet

    MUMBAI: The net neutrality debate is still on in India. The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), which is a non-profit trade association, has said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on ‘Regulatory Framework for Over the Top (OTT) services’ focuses to a large degree on OTT applications that are used as communications services.

     

    Opining on the issue of net neutrality, CASBAA said that consumers should have access to all lawful content on the Internet and that they should be able to use whatever lawful services and devices they wish whether from India or overseas.

     

    “Consumers should have guaranteed right to accurate, comparable and relevant information about the management practices of the operator from which they choose to buy Internet service, and about the full costs and conditions of the service they purchase. Legitimate network management measures, including data caps and bandwidth limitations, are inevitable, in current situations of limited network capacity, but they should be clearly specified and understood. Consumers who want to buy better service should be able to easily migrate to another provider,” said the industry body, which comprises 110 companies dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia- Pacific region.

     

    “Our focus is somewhat different – we are concerned with development of high-capacity broadband networks capable of delivering large quantities of high-quality video content to consumers. India’s development path is likely to follow the trajectory set by other large and diverse societies, and we should therefore anticipate that the future principal use of the broadband networks will be to provide video, which consumers will use to watch at the time of their choosing on many different kinds of devices. In much of the developed world, the Internet has in fact become a TV network with some other uses, and Indian policy should be made with that in view,” CASBAA said in its response.

     

    Presenting a few facts and projections, CASBAA noted that:

     

    • IP video traffic made up two-thirds of global Internet traffic in 2013; the percentage will rise to around 80 per cent by 2018. For the Asia-Pacific region alone, the corresponding numbers are 63 per cent in 2013 and 75 per cent by 2018.

     

    • Even with respect to mobile networks (leaving out fixed line connections), the latest forecast is that nearly three-fourths (72 per cent) of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2019. Video was already 55 per cent of mobile traffic in 2014.

     

    • A key means of accommodating this level of mobile traffic growth will be offload of traffic from mobile devices to the fixed network by means of Wi-Fi devices and femtocells. By next year (2016) half of all mobile data traffic will be offloaded by these means, each month. Indian mobile network operators will have to invest to develop such options, or risk network overload.

     

    CASBAA suggested that Indian telecom service providers needed to make heavy investments in the coming years. “Our industry wants and needs to be able to reach consumers with service offers that meet them where they want to be; that means a different future – the content industry will be moving online, and that means having networks that are capable of accommodating demand. We do not believe the TRAI or the government should adopt policies that result in reducing or rationing of funds for network investment. Advocates of ‘networks for all, open to all’ sometimes tend to forget that capable networks are costly, and they will not build themselves,” it said.

     

    The non-profit body does not believe in government’s role in financing such networks is appropriate, both because governments have shown themselves to be incapable of moving with sufficient alacrity and flexibility to accommodate dynamic market demand/technological change, and because governments need to devote taxpayers’ scarce resources to building networks to be used primarily for entertainment. “The private sector could and should mobilize the necessary resources to make these investments, as long as government policy recognizes and facilitates that resource mobilization,” opined CASBAA.

     

    Like India’s broadband networks, the online content industry is only at an embryonic stage of development. Market actors are just beginning to frame consumer offerings to see which can succeed in the Indian context. 

     

    The body, in its response, also raised a few concerns:

     

    • TRAI and the government must avoid seeing the online content industry as another facet of the mature television content supply industry, ripe for extension of the same regulatory approaches governing the “traditional” TV industry. This would be a colossal mistake, especially at this new stage of development of online content supply in India. Over- regulation will constrain development of newer business models, which could be of great benefit to consumers and to India’s overall economic development. Stated differently, in India’s specific circumstances, submission of online content suppliers to the entire panoply of regulations (rate regulation, “must provide,” interoperability, interconnection regulation, etc.) that have evolved in the cable and satellite sectors would kill innovation. 

     

    • Even as the Indian industry develops legitimate content supply options, CASBAA sees a strong likelihood that the consumption of pirated content – already a substantial factor in the market – will continue to grow. “There are numerous actors, big and small, in the Internet economy who see other people’s content as attractive underpinnings for services for which the goal is simply sales of bandwidth or attraction of “eyeballs” – where more is better. Further development of the online pirate economy will sap legitimate content production of its energies. Government policies must support protection of intellectual property and promotion of a fair return on creative investment.

     

    CASBAA also feels that consumers should not be expected to pay for their network services at rates that subsidize service to the heaviest users. “If a consumer doesn’t want to buy Netflix, for example, he/she should not have to pay Internet service rates set to provide Netflix – like bandwidth. Differential consumer pricing should be recognized as an essential element in meeting the needs of vastly different groups of consumers,” the association said.

     

    CASBAA further feels that TRAI may define the parameters for a basic level of Internet service, setting minimum bandwidth and speed standards, and the types of services that must be supplied in a completely nondiscriminatory manner at the basic service level. “We do not see the advisability of including entertainment- oriented services in this basic service level. Leaving them out of the regulatory net will allow more scope for experimentation and innovation, to meet the needs of different consumer groups,” it said.

     

    According to CASBAA, Internet consumers can be offered the opportunity to purchase superior service levels (above the basic service). Those who do not buy superior service will find it difficult to access high-bandwidth entertainment applications; this should be expected, as long as consumers have clear and accurate disclosure of any prioritization being applied.

  • Telcos support net neutrality but root for checks on OTT platforms

    Telcos support net neutrality but root for checks on OTT platforms

    NEW DELHI: While supporting net neutrality and firmly holding that access should be made available to all on a non-discriminatory manner, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that there is a need to evolve the regulatory framework for Over The Top (OTT) communication services to prevent various regulatory imbalances between the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and the OTT communication players.

     

    It is response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on OTT, COAI has said a “common regulatory framework for businesses providing the same services is the need of the hour and will benefit all players as it will reduce legal ambiguity and prevent unnecessary litigations.”

     

    At the outset, COAI said it welcomed the entry of OTT players and believes that they play an important role and offer many new services. However, the body added that, “it is pertinent to note that some of the services that are offered by the OTT players such as messaging/instant messaging and VOIP telephony are perfect substitutes of the services that can be offered by the telcos. These OTT players have rightly been classified by the Authority as “OTT Communication Services” players and their services are in direct competition with the licensed communication services offered by the TSPs.”

     

     The COAI wants not only net neutrality, but also net equality – the need to connect the one billion citizens of India, who are still not connected to the internet, by facilitating an open, inclusive and affordable access to the Internet, and with the same rules being made applicable to the same services.

     

    There is a need to review the regulatory framework and “we submit that the time is ripe for a comprehensive review to build a regulatory neutral, forward looking and transparent framework that ensures that the principles of “net equality” and “same service, same rules” are implemented.”

     

     “The need of the hour is to connect the 80 per cent of India’s population, which is still unconnected; and our campaign “Sabka Internet, Sabka Vikas” reaffirms our commitment to the Government’s vision for “Broadband for All” and Digital India, for socio-economic inclusion of all strata of the society. We believe a customer should be free to choose the device, technology and access platform – paid or subsidized, as long as the Internet is always open in terms of access in a non-discriminatory manner. Also, we offer choice and do not block or provide preferential access to any website or application, thereby safeguarding Net Neutrality,” COAI said.

     

    Some stakeholders have suggested that there are already adequate laws controlling the operations of OTT players such as Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code etc. It is pertinent to point out here that such laws are general laws, which in its terms and effect apply to the entire country irrespective of the sector and framework in which they operate. While these laws are important and useful in a general context, they cannot be said to be a substitute of a common regulatory framework, which would govern and regulate similarly placed service providers and give them a common platform for the provision of services on common terms, which would ensure a level playing field.

     

    The telecom industry has already invested over Rs 7,50,000 crore in setting up world class mobile networks over the last 20 years and is looking at investing another Rs 5,00,000 crore in the next five years to roll-out into rural areas and also upgrade existing networks to connect one billion Indians to the internet. Moreover, going by the Government’s commitments, the Digital India Programme itself will require investments to the tune of Rs 113,000 crore. Additionally, the Planning Commission’s 12th Five Year Plan requires an investment of Rs 943,899 crore with 93 per cent of the total investment expected to come from the private sector.

     

    The Indian mobile telephony industry today, is in dire financial straits with a cumulative debt of over Rs 300,000 crore, and a one per cent return on investments, with many operators even making negative returns on their investments. This situation puts at risk the nation’s agenda of “Broadband for All”, as private operators will be unable to attract additional investments in the sector, required to support the ambitions of the government.

     

    COAI said there were various regulatory imbalances that existed between the telecom operators and OTT communication players. “We would like to submit that the TSPs bear the cost of infrastructure, spectrum, and payment of license fees and spectrum usage charges, which are not applicable to the OTT communication players. The TSPs also have the obligations related to roll-out, meeting quality of service parameters and security related obligations. Many of these do not apply to OTT communication players, which result in an arbitrage opportunity. The National Security and consumer security, safety and privacy are of paramount importance, and should not be compromised at any cost. The security framework has evolved over the years along with the growth and proliferation of telecom services and all the telecom operators provide these services under a strict licensing framework, including compliances with the security conditions and service standards. The extensive and stringent security conditions laid down and required to be met by the licensed TSPs are not applicable to the OTT Communication players. Most of the OTT players do not meet the encryption and decryption requirements of the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA).”

     

    In response to a Parliamentary question on security threats from OTT applications, COAI said that the Telecom Ministry has acknowledged the fact that security/LEAs are facing difficulty while dealing with encrypted communication services provided by OTT service providers and the same may also be used by anti-national and criminal elements, posing a security threat. Lack of regulation on communication related application services could lead to serious national security and data privacy implications because they bypass the regulatory regime enforced on licensed service providers. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the principles of “Same service, Same rules” are implemented.

     

    Referring to claims by some stakeholders that Internet Based Services (IBS) players should not pay for use of the TSPs network over and above data charges paid by customers, COAI highlighted that increased data usage fails to compensate for loss of revenues to TSPs arising due to OTT services. Further, these services demand high-speed networks that require substantial investment in infrastructure, particularly for the development of the broadband infrastructure both from the fixed and mobile perspective. “We hereby advocate for the Open and Pro-innovation Environment wherein pricing flexibility is provided to the operators and the choice is provided to the customers.”

     

    On traffic management for different OTT services, COAI said traffic management allows operators to secure their networks, prioritize time-critical services and match scarce network resources to service requirements. It is an essential function of networks to meet the performance expectations of different types of traffic to ensure better customer experience. Traffic management is a tool for consumer benefit not consumer harm as it provides a number of clear benefits to end users in terms of improved performance, innovation, consumer protection and efficiency.

     

    On the contention that TSPs should not be allowed to implement non ­ price based differentiation as it would be grossly uncompetitive and would kill competition leading to all traffic being cornered by a few, the Association said there is a need to look at the internet as a two sided market, which involves the consumer and the content app provider. The TSP is the platform that market together and needs to be given the flexibility of implementing based differentiation.

  • COAI’s net neutrality campaign garners support of 40+ lakh Indians

    COAI’s net neutrality campaign garners support of 40+ lakh Indians

    MUMBAI: Cellular Operators Association of India’s (COAI) campaign – ‘Sab ka Internet, Sab ka Vikas’ – for net neutrality, net equality and consumer choice, has received support from over 40 lakh Indian mobile users in under a week.

     

    Launched on 22 April, 2015, the campaign is about making the internet accessible and affordable for every Indian. In addition, it is about ensuring that everyone has the right to choose what they want to access, ensuring access to solutions that make the internet affordable for all, and applying the same rules for the same services to all. 

     

    The campaign was announced by CEOs and representatives of the member companies of COAI on 24 April in New Delhi. 

     

    COAI members had reaffirmed their commitment to the government’s ‘Digital India’ programme and to promote net equality, so as to facilitate an open, inclusive and affordable access to the internet for every Indian.

     

    COAI director general Rajan S. Mathews said, “The campaign championed the cause of customers choosing what they would like to access in the web space, benefitting from affordable internet packages and with the same rules being applicable to services as well. COAI started the outreach effort to ensure mobile customers have the freedom to benefit from the power of the internet in the way they would wish to. This includes the choice of platform, device and technology.”

     

    “We respect the choice of our customers and support the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India.’ #SabkaInternet has always been the essence of our philosophy and the billions of dollars investments made by all the telecom operators in the space,” added Mathews.

     

    SMSes and voice calls were leveraged to promote the core thought of the campaign and to garner the support of a large number of people across the country. To ensure ease of understanding, the messages were conveyed in 12 local languages across India. This medium was intentionally selected so as to be able to reach out to and include the views of the millions of mobile customers who are yet to be connected to the internet.

     

    In the past week, more than 40 lakh people showed their support for the cause, while about 10 per cent chose to opt out.

  • TRAI proposes more data pack usage for mobile users; Khullar non-committal on net neutrality

    TRAI proposes more data pack usage for mobile users; Khullar non-committal on net neutrality

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wants telecom service providers to provide ample information about subscribed data pack usage.

     

    TRAI said in the draft ”Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015” that it proposes to mandate the service providers to provide information, through SMS or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), to mobile users, who have subscribed to data connection other than through data packs about quantum of data used and the tariff thereof after every 5,000 kilobytes of data usage.

     

    The draft was released on 29 April and comments of stakeholders can be submitted till 12 May.

     

    TRAI has been receiving several complaints from consumers regarding non-availability of information relating to the amount of data used during a data session.

     

    The service providers offer concessional tariff for data, up to a certain limit, through special tariff vouchers or combo vouchers (data packs) and also through certain tariff plans. The tariff for any usage beyond the specified limit is substantially higher, and in case the customer does not know about reaching the limit for concessional tariff, it results in substantial charges levied, leading to sudden bill shock or unexpected deduction of balance amount.

     

    ”The consumers have also voiced their concern about activation of internet service on mobile phones without their consent and knowledge leading to sudden deduction of charges for data usage,” the statement said.

     

    TRAI has examined these complaints and has felt that measures need to be taken for addressing these genuine concerns of customers. In this regard, TRAI proposes to amend the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012.

     

    The regulator also proposed to mandate the service providers to provide the mobile subscriber who has taken data connection through data packs or through tariff plan with discounted tariff up to certain limit, an alert through SMS or USSD, whenever the limit of data usage reaches 50 per cent, 90 per cent and 100 per cent of data limit.

     

    ”Also when the usage reaches 90 per cent of the limit, information about the applicable tariff beyond the data limit shall also to be communicated,” the statement added.

     

    It is proposed that data services should be activated or deactivated only with the explicit consent of the subscriber through toll free short code 1925, following the prescribed procedures for obtaining explicit consent of the consumer and for deactivation data.

     

    In fact, TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar recently said that TRAI is likely to announce new parameters for improvement of quality of service for telecom operators in a month’s time to tackle call dropping and other problems being faced by customers.

     

    He was speaking at the 2nd National Summit on ‘IT & Mobile Banking: Digital Transformation of Indian Banking. Enabling Financial Inclusion,’ organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

     

    Regarding the ongoing debate on net neutrality, Khullar said, ”The consultation process on network neutrality is still on till that consultation is complete, I will not make any statement.”

     

    Khullar also said that financial inclusion could be deeply achieved by harnessing new technology, which does not cater exclusively to those who are already banked or those living in urban areas.

     

    ”Do not delude yourself into believing that merely because technology exists, it will be suddenly harnessed for everybody’s good. The way it has worked so far at least, it has been harnessed for the good of a very few as it’s only those having devices and are electronically savvy who are in good shape,” he added.

  • Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

    Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

    MUMBAI: One of the largest mass movements online in India came to an end as we crossed the 24 April, 2015 deadline day to send online responses to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    The Net Neutrality debate began after Indian telecom operators lobbied to TRAI to change certain rules as per their convenience, which would have a direct impact on the consumer’s pocket. TRAI, in response to the telecos on 27 March, released a 118-page long consultation bulletin, which concluded by asking 20 questions. The last date to respond to that bulletin electronically was 24 April, 2015 while all the counter responses could be sent till 8 May, 2015.

     

    From 27 March to 24 April there have been certain incidents, which managed to ruffle quite a few big feathers. Many came on record to make a statement.

     

    Some of the major developments throughout the net neutrality debate tenure are as follows:

     

    All India Bakchod (AIB) Video

     

    AIB’s video conveyed the message – “Internet is not a luxury but a utility” and the video ended with a link (www.netneutrality.in), which directed people to the net neutrality home page where all of TRAI’s 20 questions were answered in detail. One could send an email with the pre-written answers by a single click or could edit the replies and send it as well. The video saw the Internet savvy youth getting into action and a complex concept like net neutrality spread through word of mouth as thousands of mails were sent to the Authority.

     

    Net Neutrality Website

     

    www.netneutrality.in: After AIB’s video, thousands of people came to the website and mailed TRAI with the pre-written responses. The website also posted all the developments that were happening around the topic, tweets of dignitaries and most importantly the number of mails that were sent. The website also shared their perception which read, “The Internet’s success in fostering innovation, access to knowledge and freedom of speech is in large part due to the principle of net neutrality — the idea that Internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the Internet, without giving priority to any website over another.”

     

    Internet.Org Backout

     

    Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative, which aims to bring five billion people online in partnership with tech giants like Samsung and Qualcomm. In India, Facebook partnered with Reliance Communications to provide free Internet access to 33 websites as part of its Internet.org initiative, which came under controversy and raised quite a few eyebrows with free Internet activists saying that it violated the idea of net neutrality. Major participants like Flipkart, Cleartrip, NDTV and Times Network, which had earlier joined this initiative, opted out later as the Net Neutrality debate gathered momentum in India.

     

    NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy tweeted, “NDTV is committed to Net Neutrality and is therefore exiting, and will not be part of Facebook’s Internet.org initiative.”

     

    Mark Zukerberg’s letter

     

    Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg wrote a note justifying the Internet.org initiative. It read, “In many countries, there are big social and economic obstacles to connectivity. The Internet isn’t affordable to everyone, and in many places awareness of its value remains low. Women and the poor are most likely to be excluded and further disempowered by lack of connectivity. This is why we created Internet.org, our effort to connect the whole world. By partnering with mobile operators and governments in different countries, Internet.org offers free access in local languages to basic Internet services in areas like jobs, health, education and messaging. Internet.org lowers the cost of accessing the Internet and raises the awareness of the Internet’s value. It helps include everyone in the world’s opportunities.”

     

    He further added, “We fully support Net neutrality. We want to keep the Internet open. Net neutrality ensures network operators don’t discriminate by limiting access to services you want to use. It’s an essential part of the open Internet, and we are fully committed to it. But Net neutrality is not in conflict with working to get more people connected. These two principles — Net neutrality and universal connectivity — can and must coexist.”

     

    TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar’s statement

     

    “There are passionate voices on both sides of the debate. And if that was not enough, there’s a corporate war going on between a media house and a telecom operator, which is confounding already difficult matters,” Khullar told The Indian Express. “They have a moral anchor… Equally, there are others on the opposite side. But there are many others in between that one should not ignore despite the passionate nature of the debate between the two extremes. We need a democratic debate on the issue, not shrill voices,” he added

     

    Sabka Internet Campaign

     

    The battle for net neutrality in India saw an interesting twist after the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) launched a campaign called Sabka Internet. The Sabka Internet initiative was launched to counter the net neutrality campaign. The campaign communicated the positives of the zero Internet venture, where one gets whatever they pay for.

     

    Million Mail Mission

     

    In a span of 12 days, a million emails were sent and the ‘million mails’ mission of Netneutrality.in was accomplished before the due date. That sums up the entire net neutrality voyage.

     

     

  • COAI reaffirms support for net neutrality; industry speaks in favour too

    COAI reaffirms support for net neutrality; industry speaks in favour too

    MUMBAI: While the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has reaffirmed its support to net neutrality, the body has also made a strong pitch for ‘Net Equality’ that will enable access to Internet for a billion Indians as part of the Government’s Digital India vision.

     

    The Association has urged all stakeholders to have a comprehensive and informed debate on the subject of net neutrality keeping in mind the requirements of India and its citizens. “An important and complex subject such as this, which is still being debated in many countries, and has taken years to conclude in many other countries, is the subject of litigation in some, should not be left to the opinion of a few,” COAI says in an official statement.

     

    Clearing misconceptions that have arisen from the recent public debate over net neutrality and concerns over operators who are trying to control the consumers’ access to the Internet, COAI said, “We support an open Internet and believe that consumers should decide what to do online. Our job is to enable consumers to benefit from that freedom. We offer choice and do not block or provide any preferential access to any web site or app.”

     

    COAI also underlined its commitment to the ‘Digital India’ story and has called for an open, inclusive and affordable Internet access for every Indian. The industry association added that India’s telecom revolution has empowered over 950 million citizens through affordable services and the Internet revolution must now touch every citizen of the country.

     

    The Association has said that its members are fully committed to investing in the Government of India’s ‘Digital India’ vision and need an enabling environment that promotes the growth of the entire Internet ecosystem.

     

    Create an enabling and equal environment

     

    COAI has pointed out that without infrastructure and investment, there will be no Internet access. “The operators have invested billions of dollars in license and spectrum fees as well as network roll-outs. Yet the industry still makes negative return on the capital employed,” read the statement.

     

    The industry estimates that the country would need an additional capital outlay of Rs 300,000 – Rs 500,000 crore over the next 10 years in spectrum, new technology, equipment, towers, optical fibre backbone, etc., to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Digital India’, and connect one billion Indians to the world of Internet. The need of the hour, therefore, is to have a sustainable industry that has the ability to invest in growth of data services and connectivity to all.

     

    Promote innovation to enable Internet for all      

     

    India has over 950 million mobile subscribers, which is the second largest in the world. This growth was enabled by innovation across the ecosystem – in the ever expanding complex networks, outsourcing models, infrastructure sharing, innovative pricing structures – that allowed operators to offer customers some of the most innovative and affordable call rates in the world.

     

    “We need the same spirit to connect a billion Indians to the Internet. This means innovations across the ecosystem – affordable smartphones, more efficient networks, even more broad ranging applications (especially in areas such as education, health, governance) and pricing flexibility – that promotes greater digital inclusion. Only then can our citizens in rural India, or from a lower economic strata, be empowered through Internet access,” said COAI.

     

    Industry Speak

     

    Earlier last week, Times Group committed to withdraw from Internet.org and appealed fellow publishers to follow suit and support net neutrality.

     

    The Times of India and its language websites like Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Ei Samay and Nav Gujarat Samay, who have together been spearheading the movement for net-neutrality in India, appealed to all publishers to jointly withdraw from Internet.org.

     

    The group’s properties such as TimesJobs and Maharashtra Times, where its competitors are not on zero-rate platforms, will also pull out of Internet.org. As forThe Times of India itself, the group has committed to withdraw from Internet.org if its direct competitors – India Today, NDTV, IBNLive, NewsHunt, and BBC – also pull out.

     

    The group, through a letter, also encouraged its fellow language and English news publishers like Dainik Jagran, Aaj Tak, Amar Ujala, Maalai Malar, Reuters, and Cricinfo to join the campaign for net neutrality and withdraw from zero rate schemes.

     

    “We support net neutrality because it creates a fair, level playing field for all companies – big and small – to produce the best service and offer it to consumers. We will lead the drive towards a neutral Internet, but we need our fellow publishers and content providers to do so as well, so that the playing field continues to be level,” said a Times official.

     

    Meanwhile, Airtel has come out in open to explain Airtel Zero. Through a statement, Airtel said, “Airtel Zero is a technology platform that connects application providers to their customers for free. The platform allows any content or application provider to enroll on it so that their customers can visit these sites for free. Instead of charging customers we charge the providers who choose to get on to the platform.”

     

    “Our platform is open to all application developers, content providers and Internet sites on an equal basis. The same rate card is offered to all these providers on a totally non discriminatory basis,” it further said.

     

    Airtel said that it stands fully committed to net neutrality to ensure the goals of the Prime Minister’s vision of digital India are met.

     

    On 22 April, the Indian telecom regulators are preparing to recommend changes that are required in the current telecom regulatory framework. Telecom operators are concerned primarily because of the excessive use of Internet leading to congestion and bandwidth difficulties. About 10 per cent of mobile users consume 90 per cent of operators’ bandwidth. Internet companies are not in favour of regulation that could tilt the balance in favour of telecom operators, but are advocating legislation to keep the Internet open.

     

    Expressing his views on net neutrality, TRA CEO N Chandramouli said, “The crux of the situation is simple – the idea that Internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the Internet, without giving priority to any website over another. At one level, it is being linked to the right to freedom of expression and the right to information and correctly so. From a brand point of view we can already see it is impacting and hampering the equation with telecom brands such as Airtel, which decided in December 2014 to charge more for calls made through services like Skype and Viber, but had to roll back the decision after outrage on social networks.”

     

    Shoptimize & Cooliyo co-founder & CEO Mangesh Panditrao believes that it is important to not let differential pricing and performance creep into the Internet. “Budding online brands in India are already struggling to reach the target audience due to the huge marketing and advertising barriers created by large players. It will become even more difficult for them if they have to pay to maintain a level playing field in terms of bandwidth. One of the things that has really worked well for our app Cooliyo is the fact that we show products purely on the basis of their merit and popularity thus keeping away any bias. It would be quite ironic if we now suddenly have to face a bias while we try to reach our own community. It would be a massive setback for several startups such as ours.”

     

    Internet is an essential service and should be provided without any discrimination, feels Askme group CMO Manav Sethi. “Zero rating platforms can seriously affect the freedom and growth of the billions of entrepreneurs, quite against the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ vision of our government. Any violation of Internet neutrality can have a serious bearing on effective and fair competition in the market place. We feel it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure a level playing field for home grown entrepreneurs and at the same time protect the interests of netizens,” he opined.

     

    Speaking in support of net neutrality, OYO Rooms CEO Ritesh Agarwal said, “Net neutrality is absolutely essential for a free and competitive market especially now since there is a start- up boom in the country particularly in the online sector. Most importantly Internet was created to break boundaries and as concerned industry players, we should maintain that. We support net neutrality and will do all needed to build this further.”

     

  • Mark Zuckerberg on net neutrality debate in India

    Mark Zuckerberg on net neutrality debate in India

    Over the past week in India, there has been a lot written about Internet.org and net neutrality. I’d like to share my position on these topics here for everyone to see.

     

    First, I’ll share a quick story. Last year I visited Chandauli, a small village in northern India that had just been connected to the internet.

     

    In a classroom in the village, I had the chance to talk to a group of students who were learning to use the internet. It was an incredible experience to think that right there in that room might be a student with a big idea that could change the world — and now they could actually make that happen through the internet.

     

    The internet is one of the most powerful tools for economic and social progress. It gives people access to jobs, knowledge and opportunities. It gives voice to the voiceless in our society, and it connects people with vital resources for health and education. 

     

    I believe everyone in the world deserves access to these opportunities.

     

    In many countries, however, there are big social and economic obstacles to connectivity. The internet isn’t affordable to everyone, and in many places awareness of its value remains low. Women and the poor are most likely to be excluded and further disempowered by lack of connectivity. 

     

    This is why we created Internet.org, our effort to connect the whole world. By partnering with mobile operators and governments in different countries, Internet.org offers free access in local languages to basic internet services in areas like jobs, health, education and messaging. Internet.org lowers the cost of accessing the internet and raises the awareness of the internet’s value. It helps include everyone in the world’s opportunities.

     

    We’ve made some great progress, and already more than 800 million people in 9 countries can now access free basic services through Internet.org. In India, we’ve already rolled out free basic services on the Reliance network to millions of people in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Telangana. And we just launched in Indonesia on the Indosat network today.

     

    We’re proud of this progress. But some people have criticized the concept of zero-rating that allows Internet.org to deliver free basic internet services, saying that offering some services for free goes against the spirit of net neutrality. I strongly disagree with this.

     

    We fully support net neutrality. We want to keep the internet open. Net neutrality ensures network operators don’t discriminate by limiting access to services you want to use. It’s an essential part of the open internet, and we are fully committed to it.

     

    But net neutrality is not in conflict with working to get more people connected. These two principles — universal connectivity and net neutrality — can and must coexist.

     

    To give more people access to the internet, it is useful to offer some service for free. If someone can’t afford to pay for connectivity, it is always better to have some access than none at all.

     

    Internet.org doesn’t block or throttle any other services or create fast lanes — and it never will. We’re open for all mobile operators and we’re not stopping anyone from joining. We want as many internet providers to join so as many people as possible can be connected.

     

    Arguments about net neutrality shouldn’t be used to prevent the most disadvantaged people in society from gaining access or to deprive people of opportunity. Eliminating programs that bring more people online won’t increase social inclusion or close the digital divide. It will only deprive all of us of the ideas and contributions of the two thirds of the world who are not connected.

     

    Every person in the world deserves access to the opportunities the internet provides. And we can all benefit from the perspectives, creativity and talent of the people not yet connected. 

     

    We have a historic opportunity to connect billions of more people worldwide for the first time. We should work together to make that happen now.

     

     

    (Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook.com. This article was first published on Mark Zuckerberg’s official Facebook page. The views expressed here are that of the writer and Indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to them.)

  • 43% data service users unhappy with telecom operators: survey

    43% data service users unhappy with telecom operators: survey

    KOLKATA: The recently concluded spectrum auction for the telecom industry saw 19 days of fierce bidding and telecom companies competing for spectrum to strengthen mobile data services. However a community poll conducted by a social networking platform LocalCircles, revealed that around 43 per cent of phone users in India are dissatisfied with the quality of data services while another 43 per cent have rated it as average.

     

    According to the study, around 53 per cent of the surveyed people said the quality of network coverage was average, while 27 per cent expressed discontent with the coverage.

     

    Another 53 per cent felt that the tariffs charged by the operators were expensive, while 38 per cent voted it as a “value for money” proposition.

     

    Of the people surveyed, 53 per cent put faith on the accuracy of data billing and other services charged by the operators, while 32 per cent did not vote in its favour.

     

    “Immediate efforts are needed by the telecom regulators and the operators to improve the voice and data service quality by reducing call drops, improving coverage and quality,” LocalCircles said.

     

    As per the study, a whopping 77 per cent of respondents said the central government and telecom regulatory authorities have “not done enough” to address issues faced by consumers and another 77 per cent said they want operators to bill them based on usage and the services opted for instead of generalised packages.

     

    “Net neutrality is something that a majority of citizens support and want the telecom regulator to ensure consumer interest is protected at all costs,” it added.

     

    The company also said that the telecom regulatory body’s regulations are “loose” and the Department of Telecom’s monitoring of compliance on licensing requirements are falling short of expectations.

     

    The survey was conducted across India with 20,000 citizens responding to six poll questions followed by a “detailed structured discussion.”