Despite a few misadventures, telcos including Bharti Airtel, Uninor and Reliance Communications are testing the waters by entering into tie-ups with e-commerce and social networking partners to provide free apps that could prove to be discriminating against other online players and restrict choices for internet consumers.
Net Neutrality, which means non-discrimination in providing Net access, has captured the imagination of internet users. And anyone violating it is incurring a backlash so severe that it is putting him on the backfoot.
Despite a few misadventures, telcos including Bharti Airtel, Uninor and Reliance Communications are testing the waters by entering into tie-ups with e-commerce and social networking partners to provide free apps that could prove to be discriminating against other online players and restrict choices for internet consumers.
On Monday, after feeling the heat of the raging debate, Union telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced setting up of a six-member panel to recommend a framework for Net Neutrality. He said the expert committee has been asked to submit its report on the subject by the second week of May.
“(I have asked the panel to study) its benefits and limitations, including regulatory and technical issues. I have asked them to give me the report by the second week of May after widest consultation possible to help government come to an informed decision on the issue of Net Neutrality,” he said.
And even as he has did so, he claimed internet was the finest creation of human mind and believed it was a property of the entire human race. The minister said Net Neutrality would also further the government’s Digital India programme.
“Net, to be become truly global, must be integrally linked with the local. And when we talk of digital inclusion, it is equally important that it must be available to those who are under-privileged and on the margins,” he said.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also initiated the process of putting in place guidelines for the Net Neutrality in India after there was a resounding protest against Airtel’s attempt to smother it a month back. It has put a consultation paper on its website and invited public comments and feedback by April 24.
Interestingly, Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said in the absence of best global practices, there widespread confusion on the issue.
He, however, said that the representative body of GSM players was all for non-discriminatory use of internet.
“We don’t want discrimination. We support Net Neutrality. There is still confusion about it,” he said.
Reacting to the Airtel’s partnership with Flipkart and other internet service providers to offer free apps, he said telcos would look at revenue sharing model but will not discriminate among Net users.
Manna Kanuga, digital freedom activist, had an interesting view of how if the telecom service providers were to offer certain apps for free, it would perpetuate piracy.
“There is an underlying privacy issue that most of the people are missing, giving the service providers the ability to make certain apps free, gives them access to the different applications we are using. Previously when our data was encrypted, and all going through a unified data pack, the service providers had no idea of what apps we are using. This kind of access for an internet service provider could lead to abuse of all kinds,” she said.
“I have a lot of friends who are software developers and they are deeply concerned about what is happening. The service providers are saying that this is a part of digital inclusion but if that were true, it would be helping our Indian start-ups and not the major corporations that already control more information than even our government does. A small apps developer in rural India will not have access to Airtel Zero, and therefore there will be serious limitations on the potential of the apps he will make as the applications users will have to pay for data while users can access applications from international developers for free.” Kanuga said.
G Krishna Kumar, a Bangalore-based telecom professional, had a somewhat different view on the issue. He said India should look at a balanced approach and not blindly imitate the US.
“India certainly needs a clear Net-Neutrality framework, but we need a balanced approach and cannot copy from the US. Even if differential pricing or zero pricing is allowed for certain content, a guaranteed quality of service for accessing internet must be ensured,” he said.
While the US plans a strong Net Neutrality framework, Europe appears to have a contrasting view allowing for preferential treatment.
Krishna Kumar said India had to go for a different model as its market was different with operators getting just one-fifth of the spectrum compared to other countries and was price sensitive. Even in terms of average revenue per user (Arpu), it is less than 10% of the Arpu earned by operators in advanced countries.
Even Sajai Singh of law firm J. Sagar Associates (JSA) believes that the policy makers should not rush into coming out with guidelines without thinking it through.
“Net Neutrality should be thought through before being applied because, in addition to ethical issues, there are basic economic issues involved for the ISP (internet service providers) and any policy or regulation on it should address every interests and aspirations of all stakeholders,” said Sajai Singh of law firm J. Sagar Associates (JSA).
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