#SaveTheInternet

Ever received those cute and irritating spams in WhatsApp saying that if you don’t do this and that you gonna have to pay for WhatsApp? If you have, you must know the eye roll you may have kept safe for such occasions. Now imagine that actually happens. You must feel pretty stupid not heeding to those messages. Sounds silly, but as you read it the telecom companies are nudging the TRAI to do just that.

Digital India. Narendra Modi has talked extensively about digitising India. Bringing in broadband connection to more homes. Rightly so. Figures (from Internetlivestats website) show only 243 million people out of the huge 1.26 billion population has access to Internet, which works out a lowly 19% penetration! Though the YoY (Year on Year) growth rate is only second to Brasil.

A big obstacle to this growth and digitization is the issue of Net Neutrality.

So, what is Net Neutrality, you ask?

It is the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments should treat all of Internet traffic the same. All websites can be accessed (unless it's illegal) at similar speed, and no websites or applications are favoured. ISPs should not block or slow down traffic on their local broadband networks based on individual users or the type of traffic those users are accessing or by the type of service that is sending the content. Net Neutrality creates a level playing field in the Internet for websites to thrive on.

The fight isn't for Internet access in India. But for a level playing digital webspace.

Case : Net Neutrality in India.

Smartphone adoption rate in India is on the rise, and will continue to be so in the coming years. (Thank you, smartphones under ₹15k/$250) New demographics have been introduced and carriers want to cash in on that. To sell them more data along with calls and texts. However, with the increasing popularity of instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber and others, carriers had started making noise against the accelerated adoption of these services. Throughout last year, they have been quite vocal about their dislike for over-the-top (OTT) services, who have been eating into their main revenue streams – calls and SMSes.

Around Christmas 2014 , Airtel took a chance and tried introducing an extra charge for VoIP calls on Skype and Viber. But they had to retract the scheme due to all the outrage and condemning they received in social media.

In February 2015, Facebook in association with Reliance, launched free Internet.org app and website for feature phone users and smartphone users offering "free" Internet access to some 33 tie-up websites.

In order to compete with Reliance, Airtel announced Airtel Zero marketing platform allowing customers to access apps of participating app developers at zero data charges last week. Sounds awesome? Yeah. It's not really though. Free internet sounds great, but in reality you are only getting free access to services/ apps which have struck a deal with the carriers. It's not a problem for cash rich companies, but for startups it's a nightmare! Similarly, other carriers like Vodafone, Idea, Tata DoComo also have such tie-in(s).

This might seem like a conspiracy theory but one that makes sense. The ISPs can make lanes: fast and slow, where tie-in(s) are priority and are routed along fast lanes and the other not-paying-bruh websites are routed along slower lanes. Other than this, there is also the issue where ISPs demand money from their subscribers for every Web portal, they want to access. Wanna send that picture of your new socks on Instagram? Pay up for your Instagram pack bro!!

All along though, the carriers have maintained that there is no bias whatsoever.

How USA have dealt with the issue of Net Neutrality?

Until 2015, there were no legal restrictions for violation of Net Neutrality. Though, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has been discussing the topic for years. In May 2014, the FCC decided to consider two options: permitting fast and slow broadband lanes, which compromises net neutrality; and second, reclassifying broadband as a telecommunication service, thereby preserving net neutrality. Fortunately for the sake of Internet, FCC chose the later option. FCC has reclassified Broadband as a common carrier, which means it has to provide its services to the general public without any "discrimination".

European Union's final decision, though, is still up for debate as discussions continue out there.

What are we going to do about this in India?

In India, there are no legal restrictions for violation of Net Neutrality yet. All the decisions are made by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI has invited views of Indian citizens on the future of the Internet in the country. You can send your views via email at "advqos@trai.gov.in" by 24th April. You can read about the consultation paper the carriers have come up with in TRAI's website. Or Head over to change.org and sign up the online petition.

It's better TRAI comes up with a good framework for Internet access in India that protects the consumers as well as Web developers interest, all the while ensuring innovation and goodwill on the part of all carriers, with Internet access still in its infancy. At the same time, do your part as a consumer for now!

P.S: If you don’t have the patience to sit through 118 pages(cough cough) long consultation paper by TRAI titled “Consultation paper for Regulatory Framework for Over-the-Top services” (cough-cough), please go to www.savetheinternet.in where with just two clicks you can send an email to TRAI answering to their whole consultation paper.

P.P.S: Watch AIB’s hilarious take on the issue.