NET NEUTRALITY: TRAI TO COME UP WITH ITS VIEWS TODAY
NEWDELHI: After over a year of consultations amid heated debate, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or Trai will issue its much-awaited recommendations on net neutrality on Tuesday.
“We will issue the recommendations on net neutrality tomorrow,” Trai chairman R.S. Sharma told reporters on Monday.
Net neutrality requires telecom service providers to treat all internet traffic equally, without regard for the type, origin, or destination of the content or the means of its transmission.
The issue has been debated upon globally as well as in India with activists arguing the case for an open internet without any restrictions on speed.
The recommendations that the regulator releases on Tuesday will assume significance, especially at a time when the US plans to repeal its existing rules on net neutrality, which will allow telecom firms in the US to restrict broadband speeds and favour their own services if they wish.
The US’ regulatory agency, the Federal Communications Commission, led by Republican Ajit Pai, will vote at a December 14 meeting on his plan to repeal rules on net neutrality.
The existing rules in the US bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing down access to content or charging consumers more for certain types of content.
Trai had in January floated a consultation paper on the topic, seeking views on issues such as how to ensure non-discriminatory access to content on the internet, among others. This was followed up by an open house discussion in August.
The recommendations are expected to include the definition of what constitutes reasonable traffic management practices by telcos. A likely negative list of non-reasonable traffic management practices could also emerge.