India’s fight for net neutrality

The Net Neutrality debate is unlikely to die down anytime soon in India and continues to be a topic of interest both on social media and the mainstream news. While Flikpart, the company that faced a strong backlash for joining the Airtel Zero programme has withdrawn from it and come out in support of Net Neutrality, the debate is unlikely to die down since TRAI, India’s telecom regulator, is still looking at a regulatory framework for OTT players like Skype, WhatsApp. We take a look at the various statements that have been made around the Net Neutrality debate in India so far.

Flipkart’s first stand: Sachin Bansal Flipkart CEO initially defended his company’s decision to be a part of Airtel Zero.

He wrote on Twitter, “When foreign companies do it in India – Innovation. Indians do it – Violation. #NetNeutralityDiscrimination? I’m for #NetNeutrality. I spend time/money helping start ups in India. Will never support things which suffocate innovation. Zero-rated apps for limited time doesn’t go against #NetNeutrality. Costs/competition are very high. Can’t be sustained for long Zero-rating only reduces data costs for users. Fears of a telecom big brother emerging are unfounded. Choice wins. Always.”

Airtel’s statement on its zero-rating programme: Airtel had put out a statement defending their Airtel Zero programme.The company had said that, “Airtel Zero provides universal access and is free for all our customers. Customers have the choice to decide whether they want to come there or not.”We have had lots of ‘small’ start-ups calling us and congratulating us for building this platform, which offers them a great opportunity to market their products at very low costs. Over 150 companies are already in touch with us and want to sign up.”

Mark Zuckerberg defending Internet.org: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO came out to defend his Internet.org programme. He said that Net Neutrality was equally important and that ISPs should not be allowed to discriminate and limit access.

However he added that, “For people who are not on the internet though, having some connectivity and some ability to share is always much better than having no ability to connect and share at all. That’s why programs like Internet.org are important and can co-exist with net neutrality regulations.”

Flipkart when it withdrew from Airtel Zero: After initially defending themselves, Flipkart gave in to the social media furor and withdrew from the controversial Airtel Zero rating system.

The company then issued a statement saying,“We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of net neutrality, for we exist because of the Internet. Over the past few days, there has been a great amount of debate, both internally and externally, on the topic of zero rating, and we have a deeper understanding of the implications.”

The government of India:  Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad issued a statement that the telecom sector regulator TRAI is holding wide consultations on the issue and its report is also awaited.“TRAI is undertaking a consultation on the issue of Net neutrality. TRAI being an advisory body, their advice is certainly entitled to our respect, which I am awaiting,”

TRAI chief: Telecom regulator Rahul Khullar said there was a need for a democratic debate on net neutrality, especially against the backdrop of a big corporate war between a media house and a telecom operator.

“There are passionate voices on both sides of the debate. And if that was not enough, there’s a corporate war going on between a media house and a telecom operator which is confounding already difficult matters,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Khullar told The Indian Express.

IAMAI slams TRAI:  The Internet and Mobile Association of India, which counts firms like Google, Facebook, Snapdeal, Ola, MakeMyTrip and Saavn as its members, slammed TRAI and its paper.

Ray said in a statement that, “the paper makes an assumption that Internet doesn’t come under any regulations, which is incorrect. All Internet companies are regulated by IT Act.

ClearTrip’s statement after it withdrew from Facebook’s Internet.org: ClearTrip, which was one of the partners in Facebook’s Internet.org, withdrew from the initiative after the whole debate on Net Neutrality exploded.

NDTV pulling out of Internet.org: NDTV, another partner of Internet.org, also announced its decision to pull out of the venture. “NDTV is committed to net neutrality and is therefore exiting, and will not be a part of, Facebook’s Internet.org initiative,” tweeted co-founder and co-chairman Pranoy Roy.

Times of India: Times of India decided to withdraw from the initiative as well. The company in a statement said that “in the case of the group’s properties such as TimesJobs and Maharashtra Times, where its competitors are not on zero-rate platforms, these properties will pull out of internet.org.”

Bharti Airtel: Airtel CEO Gopal Mittal wrote an email saying that the company was not against Net Neutrality and that misinformation was being spread about its Airtel Zero platform.

TRAI chief:  Telecom watchdog TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar said “shrill voices” will not win the

And finally comedy group AIB’s statement on the whole Net Neutrality debate has been the strongest one yet. 

Taru Bhatia

Msc.Media || PG:1