COAI urged all stakeholders in net neutrality to have a comprehensive and informed debate on the subject.
Industrial body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Sunday reaffirmed its support for ‘Net neutrality’, but also made a strong pitch for ‘net equality’ that will enable access to Internet for a billion Indians as part of the governments digital India vision.
In a statement today, COAI urged all stakeholders in net neutrality to have a comprehensive and informed debate on the subject, keeping in mind the requirements of India and its citizens.
“An important and complex subject such as this, which is still being debated in many countries, which has taken years to conclude in many other countries and which is the subject of litigation in some, should not be left to the opinion of a few,” the association said.
It made a strong pitch for ‘net equality’ that will enable access to the Internet for a billion Indians as part of the government’s Digital India vision.
“We support an open Internet and believe that consumers, should decide what to do online. Our job is to enable consumers to benefit from that freedom. We offer choice and do not block or provide any preferential access to any website or app,” it added.
COAI said its members are fully committed to investing in digital India and need an enabling environment that promotes the growth of the entire Internet ecosystem.
“Without infrastructure and investment, there will be no Internet access. Operators have invested billions of dollars in license fees, spectrum fees and network roll-outs. Yet the Industry still makes negative return on the capital employed,” it said.
The industry estimates India would need an additional capital outlay of Rs. 3-5 lakh crore over the next 10 years in spectrum, new technology, equipment, towers, optical fibre backbone, etc, to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Digital India and connect 1 billion Indians.
“The need of the hour, therefore, is to have a sustainable industry that has the ability to invest in growth of data services and connectivity to all,” COAI said.
The association stressed on the need to ensure that same rules apply to same services to get Internet access.
“We believe that our role is to enable all services to reach customers across the country. One of the key factors to enable this is that same rules must apply to the same type of services, including Mobile and IP Voice services,” it added.
There is a need to ensure customers have the freedom to choose how they want to access the Internet. A customer should be free to choose the device, technology and access platform — paid or subsidised as long as the Internet is always open in terms of access in a non-discriminatory manner, it said.
“We support this! The interests of a few should not dictate the fundamental right of a customer to choose what he/she wants,” the COAI added.
Here is all you need to know about Net neutrality
Net neutrality is a principle that says Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic and content on their networks equally.
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
- Internet Service Providers like Airtel, Vodaphone, Reliance…
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India which lays down the rules for telecom companies
- The Internet companies like Facebook, Google, whatsapp and other smaller startups
- You, the consumer
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.
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