Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday said the government will soon come out with its report on the controversial issue of >net neutrality and the telecom department is waiting for the report from sectoral regulator TRAI.
“Report of net neutrality will be out very soon but we are waiting for TRAI report on the issue,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in New Delhi.
The telecom department, which had set up a panel to look into the net neutrality issue, submitted its report to Mr. Prasad earlier this month.
Net neutrality implies equal treatment be accorded to all internet traffic and no priority should be given to any person or entity or company based on payment, which is seen as discriminatory.
Apart from the six-member committee appointed in January this year by DoT, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had also invited stakeholders comments on issues such as net neutrality and regulation of OTT services like WhatsApp and Skype.
The regulatory received over 10 lakh comments.
In the meantime tenure of the then TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar ended and the new head is yet to be appointed.
“Announcement (of new TRAI Chairman) will be made very soon,” Mr. Prasad said.
Net Neutrality, a widely debated issue globally, has in the past few months caught India’s attention with politicians, corporate leaders and film stars taking to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to debate on the issue.
The issue gained national attention after internet activists and experts flagged telecom giant Bharti Airtel’s ’Airtel Zero’ platform to be in violation of the principle.
Airtel Zero is an open marketing platform that allows customers to access a variety of mobile applications for free, with the data charges being paid by start-ups and large firms.
Also over the last few months, operators like Reliance Communications and Uninor have tied up with players like Facebook, WhatsApp and Wikipedia to offer free usage to consumers.
Read more about Net Neutrality
Net neutrality
How does net neutrality affect you?
The internet is now a level-playing field. Anybody can start up a website, stream music or use social media with the same amount of data that they have purchased with a particular ISP. But in the absence of neutrality, your ISP might favour certain websites over others for which you might have to pay extra. Website A might load at a faster speed than Website B because your ISP has a deal with Website A that Website B cannot afford. It’s like your electricity company charging you extra for using the washing machine, television and microwave oven above and beyond what you are already paying.
Why now?
Late last month, Trai released a draft consultation paper seeking views from the industry and the general public on the need for regulations for over-the-top (OTT) players such as Whatsapp, Skype, Viber etc, security concerns and net neutrality. The objective of this consultation paper, the regulator said, was to analyse the implications of the growth of OTTs and consider whether or not changes were required in the current regulatory framework.
What is an OTT?
OTT or over-the-top refers to applications and services which are accessible over the internet and ride on operators' networks offering internet access services. The best known examples of OTT are Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, e-commerce sites, Ola, Facebook messenger. The OTTs are not bound by any regulations. The Trai is of the view that the lack of regulations poses a threat to security and there’s a need for government’s intervention to ensure a level playing field in terms of regulatory compliance.
Comment
>Privileging telcos over netizens - Prabir Purkayastha The sort of closed Internet that TRAI is proposing, in defiance of the principle of net neutrality, is no longer on the discussion agenda in any country.
>Live Chat: The Hindu conducted a live chat on how net neutrality affects users. The panel included Pranesh Prakash from Centre for Internet and Society, Vijay Anand from The Start Up Centre and Sriram Srinivasan, The Hindu's Business Editor - Online.
Key players
- like Airtel, Vodaphone, Reliance...
- which lays down the rules for telecom companies
- The like Facebook, Google, whatsapp and other smaller startups
- You,
The Hindu Editorials
- > The importance of Net neutrality: Should the Internet be touched? That's one way to summarise the twenty questions the TRAI has asked the public in a recent consultation paper.
- > Blow for Net neutrality: Flipkart had to contain the fallout after Airtel Zero was severely criticised by the proponents of Net neutrality, the principle that all Internet traffic has to be treated equally.
>News analysis: Flipkart and flipside
Is Flipkart so naive not to know the implications of Airtel Zero for the overall Internet ecosystem?
>Here's why you're wrong, Mr. Zuckerberg
The Facebook founder said universal connectivity and net neutrality can co-exist.
>Here's all you need to know on the issue
Missed the debate? A look at the issue of Net neutrality and the controversy surrounding it.
>Telecom Ministry to submit report by May 9
The government has set up a six-member committee to examine the issue of Net neutrality.
