ITV

Tag: Net Neutrality

  • TRAI chairman wants debate to settle net neutrality not spars between companies

    TRAI chairman wants debate to settle net neutrality not spars between companies

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Rahul Khullar has said that there is a need for a democratic debate on net neutrality, especially against the backdrop of a big corporate war between a media house and a telecom operator.

     

    “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.

     

    The authority has received over 800,000 mails since it floated a consultation paper on regulatory framework for over-the-top (OTT) services and applications on 27 March. TRAI requested stakeholders to comment on its paper by 24 April and offer counter comments by 8 May. It is also likely to hold an open house discussion on the issue soon. Stand up comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) and other net neutrality activists were the prime reason behind so many mails sent to the Authority. 

     

    According to Khullar, there are people who are passionately concerned about net neutrality. “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 said.

     

    The regulator has heard arguments on both sides. For instance, telecom service providers have pointed out the contradiction in the government’s digital inclusion agenda, which may not be achieved if they strictly adhere to the net neutrality principle, because they will be unable to raise any additional resources for rolling out networks and infrastructure. On the other hand, OTTs argue that if telecom operators are allowed to pick and chose, they might build alliances with the big OTTs at the cost of the nascent ones.

  • Telecom Ministry sets up committee to study net neutrality

    Telecom Ministry sets up committee to study net neutrality

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently issued a Consultation Paper on over-the-top (OTT) services, the Telecom Ministry has set up a committee of its own to examine the whole issue of Internet usage in the country including the newly-highlighted debate on net neutrality.

     

    Telecom Ministry director (security) R Shakiya said that the committee was expected to finalise its recommendations towards the latter half of next month.

     

    Although there was no plan for the committee to give a hearing to stakeholders before finalising its report, he assured stakeholders present at a meet organised by ASSOCHAM that he would forward its request to the Minister in this regard.

     

    Meanwhile, he made it clear that OTT meant communication services like WhatsApp or WebChat and not sites related to e-governance. Similarly, internet governance is independent of net neutrality.

     

    He also said that Digital India was a delivery-oriented scheme and it would be erroneous to confuse it with Internet growth.

     

    Meanwhile, he added that India had asked the International Telegraphic Union (ITU) to conduct a study into how the traceability of the user can be brought in the present regulations.

     

    ASSOCHAM itself is also expected to form a paper on net neutrality.

     

    ASSOCHAM chairman for the National Council on Telecommunications T V Ramachandran, while holding that he was all for net neutrality and there was no reason for consumers to pay extra for services foisted on them, said telecom corporations have been discriminated against and wanted them to find ways to avoid this as far as net neutrality is concerned. 

     

    He cited a US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) statement, which said that these “…new service offerings, depending on how they are structured, could benefit consumers and competition.” The FCC, however, has ruled against a move that violated net neutrality principles.

     

    The net neutrality debate has arisen after Airtel launched a platform called Zero on which Internet companies could sign up to allow its users free-of-cost access.

     

    Other speakers included Pradeep Kumar Verma, who is a Scientist with the Department of Information Technology, and ASSOCHAM senior director Ajay Sharma among others.

     

    A representative of Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) wondered if TRAI, which sought views by 24 April, should interfere as net neutrality was more a matter of content than carriage and the regulator only dealt with carriage issues. He felt that the best body to deal with the issue was the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

     

    Meanwhile, in its paper on OTT, TRAI devoted one full chapter on net neutrality. It suggested that to ensure a thriving and neutral Internet, the issues that needed to be addressed are:

     

    i. The Internet must be kept open and neutral. Reachability between all endpoints connected to the Internet, without any form of restriction, must be maintained.

     

    ii. All data traffic should be treated on an equitable basis no matter its sender, recipient, type, or content. All forms of discriminatory traffic management, such as blocking or throttling should be prohibited.

     

    iii. Network service providers should refrain from any interference with internet users’ freedom to access content (including applications of their choice).

     

    iv. There should be restricted use of packet inspection software (including storage and re-use of associated data) to control traffic.

     

    v. Complete information on reasonable traffic management practices and justifications for the same must be accessible and available to the public. TSPs should be transparent and accountable to any changes in practices.

     

    vi. Non-neutral treatment of traffic for “voluntary” law enforcement purposes must be prohibited unless there is a legal basis for it.

     

    In view of this, TRAI sought to ask the stakeholders about their views on net-neutrality in the Indian context; what forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach; what should or can be permitted; should the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications; and how should the conducive and balanced environment be created such that TSPs are able to invest in network infrastructure and CAPs are able to innovate and grow. 

     

  • After Flipkart, Airtel responds to Net Neutrality controversy

    After Flipkart, Airtel responds to Net Neutrality controversy

    MUMBAI: Net neutrality activists and the Indian netizen’s valiant effort marked its first goal as after e-commerce giant Filpkart backed out from its deal with Airtel for Airtel Zero, the telecom tycoon has now issued an explanation on various controversies.

     

    Airtel, in its statement, said that it fully supports the concept of net neutrality. “There have been some misconceptions about our toll free data platform – Airtel Zero. It is a not a tariff proposition but is an open marketing platform that:

     

    * Allows any application or content provider to offer their service on a toll free basis to their customers who are on our network.

     

    * Such customers whether on a data pack or not will therefore be able to access these toll free services free of charge.

     

    * No site whether on the toll free platform or not under any circumstances is blocked, throttled or provided any form of preferential access.

     

    * The toll free platform is open to all content providers on a completely non discriminatory basis and operates on the same principle as 1-800 toll free voice services.”

     

    Airtel further said, “The statement made by Flipkart regarding its decision to not offer toll free data service to its customers is consistent with our stand that Airtel Zero is not a tariff proposition. It is merely an open platform for content providers to provide toll free data services. The platform remains open to all companies who want to offer these toll free data services to their customers on a completely non discriminatory basis.”

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Flipkart issued a statement saying that the company has always strongly believed in the concept of net neutrality. While it backed off from Airtel Zero, the company also said that it was committed to the larger cause of net neutrality in India.

  • Net neutrality: Flipkart pulls out of Airtel Zero after social media backlash

    Net neutrality: Flipkart pulls out of Airtel Zero after social media backlash

    MUMBAI: Over the last few days, the hot topic of debate on social media has been net neutrality. Even as Indians sent more than 300,000 emails to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in support of net neutrality to ensure equal internet access for all, e-commerce giant Flipkart, has pulled out of its deal with Airtel for its platform Airtel Zero, which allows users to access partner apps sans any data charges.

     

    Flipkart faced a lot of flak on social media platforms on its partnership with Airtel Zero. As a result of this, the company backed out of its deal and has also now committed itself to the larger cause of net neutrality in India. 

     

    In an official statement, Flipkart said, “We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of net neutrality, for we exist because of the Internet. Over the past few days, there has been a great amount of debate, both internally and externally, on the topic of zero rating, and we have a deeper understanding of the implications.”

     

    Based on this, the company took the following decisions:

     

    (1) Flipkart ended ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero.

     

    (2) The company committed itself to the larger cause of Net Neutrality in India and will be discussing internally the details of actions it would take to support the cause.

     

    (3) Flipkart will also work towards ensuring that the spirit of net neutrality is upheld and applied equally to all companies in India irrespective of the size or the service being offered and there is absolutely no discrimination whatsoever.

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, stand-up comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) released a video explaining the concept of net neutrality and its impact if it was denied to users. AIB’s video, which went viral, conveyed the message that Internet was a utility and not a luxury.

     

    To review the concept of net neutrality, the government has created a committee of six members. Indian Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the team’s report on net neutrality will be presented in mid-May.

  • AIB turns activist; ignites movement on net neutrality

    AIB turns activist; ignites movement on net neutrality

    MUMBAI: Not long ago stand-up comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) was directly or indirectly labeled as ‘anti-socials’ because of the controversial roast they uploaded on social media platform, which was eventually pulled down. The same group has now made a sincere attempt to explain the complicated concept of “Net Neutrality” to the common man. And their attempt has been successful with the video going viral and how.

     

    Net neutrality is something that every taxpayer deserves but no one cares for. It’s often regarded as technical jargon. However, AIB’s “Save The Internet” video has changed the perception and now a lot of people are aware of the impending catastrophe.

     

    What is Net Neutrality?

     

    Net Neutrality means every user will have the right to access whichever website she or he wants to. There will be no infringement from anybody and certain websites won’t be given more bandwidth than others. Amazon or The Times Of India, Flipkart or Indiantelevision.com, every website will load at the same speed and that is exactly what Net Neutrality means. And that’s the problem telecom operators have.

     

    Where it started from:

     

    Indian telecom operators lobbied to The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (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 is 24 April, 2015 while all the counter responses can be sent till 8 May, 2015.

     

    What all can change?

     

    No, telecom companies are not restricting any particular website so you can be rest assured that another ban is not coming into play. The demand is to access certain genres that users have to pay separately for. The question then arises: What are the users paying the initial fee for?

     

    The scenario that can emerge from the change is; to access Flipkart, Whatsapp, Facebook or any other established OTT service, one has to separately subscribe for it. The freedom to access any website independently will be infringed upon and the internet, which is probably the only free platform where one can express their opinion, will become a claustrophobic cozy club dominated by big names.

     

    Who all will face the impact?

     

    Not only users but the change will also vigorously affect all aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups. It is easy for established ventures like Flipkart, which is supporting telecom operators, to pay the service providers and ask them to make their app freely available. However, that will leave an impact on the start-ups who don’t have the luxury of cracking a deal with telecom operators. The irony is that when the Prime Minister is delivering speeches in France and Germany about how easy it is to do business in India and sharing aspirations of making the country a global destination for investment, Indian e-commerce startups are on the verge of demolition.

     

    What did AIB do?

     

    The stand up comedians came up with a video (Save the Internet) explaining the entire concept of net neutrality. What was lost and diluted in TRAI’s 118 page long complicated bulletin was garnished in AIB’s nine-minute video. The important points were highlighted and the refreshing yet simple explanation that AIB members’ offered in the video added to the appeal and was lapped up by young and old alike. The Net Neutrality jargon thus became a national movement.

     

    What did AIB’s video do?

     

    AIB’s video conveys this message – “Internet is not a luxury but a utility.” The video ends with a link, which directs people to the net neutrality home page where all of TRAI’s 20 have been answered in detail. One can simply click to send an email with the pre-written answers or can edit as per their wish. At the time of filing this report, AIB’s video had received 1,132,453 views and more than 100,000 emails had been sent to TRAI through the http://www.netneutrality.in/ website.

     

    How to join the movement?

     

    One can be a part of the movement by logging on savetheinternet.in and forwarding the email to the regulatory authority. One can also sign this petition at:https://www.change.org/p/rsprasad-trai-don-t-allow-differential-pricing-… and share it with your friends or write directly to TRAI at advqos@trai.gov.in about their thoughts before 24 April, 2015.

     

    Conclusion:

     

    The AIB video witnessed unabated praise across all social media platforms from the common man and celebrities alike. It brought about the necessary awareness in India and made Net Neutrality a national issue. The Internet is a very important part of the civilized world and a major source of information, entertainment and social networking. Net Neutrality is a right of every Internet subscriber and cannot be infringed at any cost. While the issue has managed to become a major talking point, one only hopes that political parties don’t politicize the issue and turn it into vote bank propaganda because Internet without Net Neutrality is like bones without flesh.