Net neutrality in India

As of April 2015, there were no laws governing net neutrality in India, which would require that all Internet users be treated equally, without discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.[1] There have already been a few violations of net neutrality principles by some Indian service providers.

The debate on network neutrality in India started after Airtel, a mobile telephony service provider in India, announced in December 2014 to charge additional rates for making voice calls (VoIP) from its network using apps like WhatsApp, Skype, etc.[2]

In March 2015, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a formal consultation paper on Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services, seeking comments from the public. The consultation paper was criticised for being one sided and having confusing statements. It received condemnation from various politicians and Indian Internet users.[3][4][5] By 24 April 2015, over a million emails had been sent to TRAI demanding net neutrality.[5][6][7]

History

2006-2013

In 2006, TRAI invited opinions regarding the regulation of net neutrality from various telecom industry bodies and stakeholders.[8] Specifically, in December 2006, a consultation paper published by TRAI noted that even though the Internet had been neutral since 1998 when private ISPs were allowed to begin operations, the situation might change in the future. Internet Service Providers may discriminate against competing applications and content providers. This may affect services like Internet telephony. The paper invited opinions from stakeholders on whether regulatory intervention was required or whether it should be left to market forces.[9]

In February 2012, at the World Mobile Congress held in Barcelona, the CEO of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Bharti Mittal suggested that services like YouTube should pay an interconnect charge to network operators, saying that if telecom operators are building highways for data then there should be a tax on the highway.[10] In July 2012, Bharti Airtel's Director of Network Services, Jagbir Singh suggested that large Internet companies like Facebook and Google should share revenues with telecom companies. According to him, Internet companies were making big profits from small investments, whereas the telecom companies were actually investing in building networks. He also suggested that the telecom regulator should establish interconnection charges for data services, similar to those applied to voice calls.[11] In August 2012, The Hindu reported that according to data from M-Lab, You Broadband, Airtel, and BSNL were throttling BitTorrent traffic.[12]

In February 2013, Killi Kruparani, Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, said that the government would look into the legality of VoIP services. The Chief General Manager of the state-run BSNL, V. Srinivasan also said that services like Skype are illegal.[13] In June 2013, Bharti Airtel began offering certain Google services for free to its cellular broadband users, with a limit of 1GB on the free data.[14][15]

2014

In February 2014, Gopal Vittal, CEO of Airtel's India operations, said that companies offering free messaging apps like Skype, Line and Whatsapp should be regulated similar to telecom operators.[16] In August 2014, TRAI rejected a proposal from telecom companies to make messaging application firms share part of their revenue with the carriers or the government.[17] In October 2014, Vodafone India Marten Pieters CEO suggested that companies like Facebook and Whatsapp should be taxed to ensure a level playing field with telecom operators.[18] In November 2014, TRAI began investigating if Airtel was implementing preferential access by offering special Internet packs which allowed WhatsApp and Facebook data at rates which were lower than its standard data rates.[19]

In December 2014, Airtel changed its service terms for 2G and 3G data packs so that VoIP data was excluded from the set amount of free data. A standard data charge of ₹0.04 per 10 KB for 3G service and ₹0.10 per 10 KB (more than ₹10,000.00 for 1GB) for 2G service was levied on VoIP data.[2] A few days later Airtel announced a separated Internet pack for VoIP apps, it offered 75 MB for ₹75 with a validity of 28 days.[20] The TRAI chief Rahul Khullar said that Airtel cannot be held responsible for violating net neutrality because India has no regulation that demands net neutrality.[21] Airtel's move faced criticism on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.[22] Later on 29 December 2014, Airtel announced that it would not be implementing planned changes, pointing out that there were reports that TRAI would be soon releasing a consultation paper on the issue.[23]

Rahul Khullar, TRAI chairman, said that what Airtel tried to do was against net neutrality, but not illegal, as India had no law enforcing net neutrality. He added that TRAI was preparing a consultation paper on regulating OTT services to level the playing field. OTT firms will have to apply for licenses and share revenue with the government.[24]

2015

On 10 February 2015, Facebook launched Internet.org in India with Reliance Communications. It aims to provide free access[25] to 38 websites through an app. Only Bing was made available as the search engine.[26] Sunil Mittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel, criticised the concept and said, "If you are going to make the data free, then let's do completely philanthropic projects. Government must make spectrum free, there should be free network, but it is not happening."[27]

On 27 March 2015, TRAI released a consultation paper on over-the-top services (OTT) and net neutrality for public feedback.[28][29]

In April 2015, Airtel announced the "Airtel Zero" scheme. Under the scheme, app firms sign a contract and Airtel provides the apps for free to its customers.[30] The reports of Flipkart, an e-commerce firm, joining the "Airtel Zero" scheme drew negative response. People began to give the one-star rating to its app on Google Play.[31][32] Following the protests Flipkart decided to pull out of Airtel Zero. The e-commerce firm confirmed the news in an official statement on 14 April, saying, "We will be walking away from the ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero".[33]

The Communication and Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on 7 April said that a committee will be formed to study the net neutrality issue.[34] Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Member of the Parliament, had also supported net neutrality.[35] The Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairman, Ashok Chawla, said that they were examining whether these practices were unfair.[36] The Department of Telecommunication also said that they were investigating the matter.[35]

Protests

FSMK's walkathon in support of NetNeutrality

On 7 April 2015, the Member of the Parliament from Odisha, Tathagata Satpathy, wrote an open letter to TRAI in support of net neutrality.[37]

On 11 April 2015, the popular YouTube (channel) videos producer All India Bakchod uploaded a video titled "Save The Internet" which urged people to email TRAI demanding net neutrality. The video was re-shared on Twitter by numerous netizens and various Indian actors.[38] Cleartrip.com, the Times Group, NewsHunt and NDTV pulled out of the Facebook initiated Internet.org expressing their support to Net Neutrality. However, Mark Zuckerberg defended Internet.org in an interview to Hindustan Times saying, "Net neutrality is not in conflict with working to get more people connected. We will never prevent people accessing other services, and we will not use fast lanes."[39]

On 23 April 2015, various organizations under the ambit of Free Software Movement of India organized walkathons in various cities across India. Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu organized a walkathon in Besant Nagar Beach.[40] Free Software Movement of Karnataka organized a walkathon from National Games Village to Forum Mall in Bangalore.[41]

On 27 April 2015, Anonymous India hackers took down TRAI's official website, trai.gov, via a DDoS attack in retaliation for TRAI's release of a PDF containing the names and emails of more than a million people who commented on the "Regulatory Framework for OTT services".[42][43][44]

Legal aspects

There are no laws enforcing net neutrality in India. Although TRAI guidelines for the Unified Access Service license promotes net neutrality, it does not enforce it. The Information Technology Act, 2000 also does not prohibit companies from throttling their service in accordance with their business interests.[45] In India, telecom operators and ISPs offering VoIP services have to pay a part of their revenues to the government.[13]

Violations of net neutrality have been common in India. Examples beyond Facebook's Internet.org include Aircel's Wikipedia Zero along with Aircel's free access to Facebook and WhatsApp, Airtel's free access to Google, and Reliance's free access to Twitter.[46][47]

References

  1. ↑ The Editorial Board (10 April 2015). "Editorial - Global Threats to Net Neutrality". New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "What Net Neutrality?". NDTV. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Singh, Saurabh (8 April 2015). "Politicos slam TRAI's stance on net neutrality". India Today. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Gandhi, Rajat (8 April 2015). "Net neutrality: Why Internet is in danger of being shackled". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Indians rally for Internet freedom, send over 1 lakh emails to TRAI for net neutrality". IBNLive. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Roy, Prasanto (18 April 2015). "India’s fight for net neutrality". India: BBC. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Over 3 lakh emails sent to Trai in support of Net Neutrality, so far". FirstPort. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "What is net neutrality and why it is important". The Times of India. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Consultation Paper on Review of Internet Service" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Mobile operators: Stop picking on us, or else". CNET. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Google, Facebook should share revenue with us: Airtel". The Hindu Business Line. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "ISPs slam brakes on BitTorrent speeds". The Hindu. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "As debate over Net telephony rages, Govt to re-examine services offered by Skype, Google". The Hindu Business Line. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Free Internet, Google services on Airtel mobile connection". Daily Bhaskar. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Poke Me: Why consumers, not companies, should be kings of internet". The Economic Times. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Instant messaging application firms should be regulated: Airtel CEO". The Hindu. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Trai rejects telcos' proposal to charge fee on popular services like WhatsApp, Viber and Skype". The Economic Times. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Facebook, WhatsApp, others must be taxed: Vodafone". The Times of India. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Trai examining Bharti Airtel's special deals on Facebook and WhatsApp". The Economic Times. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "For Skype, Airtel will charge Rs 75 for 75MB, postpaid packs soon". The Financial Express. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "Can’t fault Airtel on VoIP rates: Rahul Khullar". The Financial Express (India). 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Rage against Airtel spills onto social networking sites". The Economic Times. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Airtel drops plans to charge extra for internet voice calls". The Hindu. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Airtel move to charge VoIP calls not illegal: TRAI chief Rahul Khullar". The Indian Express. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "Union minister Ravi Prasad tweets about net neutrality, says committee to look into matter". DNA India. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "Facebook launches Internet.org in India". The Hindu. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Want to Free Internet? Do Philanthropy: Mittal to Zuckerberg". NDTV. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "TRAI seeks views on net-neutrality". The Hindu. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Consultation Paper On Regulatory Framework for Over - the - top (OTT) services" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  30. ↑ "Airtel Zero: Another blow to net is net neutrality is only for airtel users..?/?neutrality". The Times of India. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Flipkart mobile app bears the brunt of the company’s reported plans to join ‘Airtel Zero’". BGR India. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "Consumers downvote Flipkart app after net neutrality controversy". India Today. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  33. ↑ Mahim Prathap Singh; Pradeesh Chandran (14 April 2015). "Following consumer backlash, Flipkart pulls out of Airtel Zero". The Hindu (New Delhi). Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  34. ↑ "Union minister Ravi Prasad tweets about net neutrality, says committee to look into matter". DNA India. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Net neutrality row: Govt to look into Airtel Zero plan". The Times of India. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "Amid net neutrality debate, CCI looks at possible unfair ways". Business Standard. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  37. ↑ "Odisha MP earns internet points by writing a letter to the TRAI Chairman in support of Net Neutrality". IBNLive. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "Shah Rukh Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt support AIB's 'save the internet' initiative". IBNLive. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  39. ↑ "Net neutrality row hits Facebook's Internet.org in India". The Times of India (Mumbai). Reuters. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  40. ↑ "Young Chennaiites join campaign to protect net neutrality". Deccan Chronicle (Chennai). 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  41. ↑ "Internet activists Free Software Movement Katnataka protest demanding Net Neutrality freedom Internet, Koramangla Indoor Stadium, taking walkathon Forum Mall". Pics4News (Bangalore). 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  42. ↑ "Anonymous India Revenges TRAI", Cyber World Mirror. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  43. ↑ "Trai website down, Anonymous India claims responsibility", The Times of India, 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  44. ↑ "Trai website hacked after it releases over 1 million email IDs; Anonymous India claims responsibility". FirstPost. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  45. ↑ "Net Neutrality: Here is everything you need to know about it". The Indian Express. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  46. ↑ Amrita Madhukalya (19 April 2015). "Net Neutrality: Whose internet is it anyway?". DNA India. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  47. ↑ Shruti Dhapola (14 April 2015). "Not just Airtel Zero: Facebook to WhatsApp, everyone has violated Net Neutrality in India". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 April 2015.

Further reading

External links