The toll-free application programme interface (API) model of providing free Internet to consumers is not discriminatory but could be open to abuse and hacking, according to an expert.
Analysing three business models highlighted in a consultation paper released recently by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Vishal Misra, Professor, Computer Science, Columbia University, told The Hindu that this option, although not discriminatory, could render itself open to abuse and hacking.
Implied in the model is that the content provider will pay the actual data charge, while the consumer will not. It is also implied that the data charge would be whatever the consumer would’ve been charged and not some fixed rate. This last part opens it up for some sort of abuse.
Hackers can open up accounts with extremely expensive data charges and start flooding the toll-free channels with traffic, running up the bill for the content provider. This is different from a denial of service attack that content providers already deal with since all data is charged for at a fixed rate.
This could also lead to disputes between Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and content providers on what the actual charge to the consumer would’ve been.
This rewards model allows for recharge for data usage or voice usage. The benefit here, according to Prof Misra, is that for content providers who cannot afford to be part of the recharge programme, the recharged data could be used in consuming that content so it does not disadvantage.
Direct money transferUnder what Prof Misra cites as the worst of the models, zero rating for select sites that can afford it will get pervasive and the sites that cannot afford to be part of this scheme will be at a severe disadvantage. This is a workaround for differential pricing.
