What do we understand by net neutrality?

The term “net neutrality” is not a recently coined term. In fact, it had been vouched by many countries years ago. But in India, it is relatively a new term. We were not familiar with this term until Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, came to India and announced a new plan under the banner ‘internet.org’ along with Reliance. It kicked up a hornets’ nest.

One fine day we woke up and saw in our newspapers a big advertisement of ‘internet.org’ guaranteeing free internet to everyone and making India a digital country. Soon Airtel also launched another venture, and many other telecom services began following suit. Nobody, but a few, knew about the dark intentions of these billionaire capitalists. This is where net neutrality enters the arena.

What is net neutrality?

Net neutrality means free access of internet to everyone. Let me make it simple. Let’s say if the telecom services state that calls to few numbers are free, but calls to certain numbers are not free and you have to pay a large sum, what do you think will be the consequences? Your basic right of whom to call is now restricted. And different tariffs for different calls means unfair trade practice. Is it good or bad?

Just apply the above example to the internet. If we go for Mark Zuckerberg’s internet.org, access to many sites will remain free including Facebook, while for accessing other sites, the user must pay some charges. Is this fair? It’s not only unfair; it sounds the death knell to various online sites and start-ups.

The crusaders of free Internet or net neutrality then began a good battle against this exploitative move. And because of huge unrest among the Indians, The T.R.A.I. (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) launched a consultation paper and feedback on net neutrality and based on the response, T.R.A.I. stood for net neutrality and blocked internet.org and also opposed Mark Zuckerberg’s introduction of free basic a new version of internet.org, thus finally putting an end to this debacle.

Legal aspects

Unfortunately, in India, there are no laws to protect net neutrality. And needless to say, our country has witnessed earlier and is now facing many issues which violate the core principles of net neutrality.

So, I guess, as vigilant citizens, it is our duty to protect our right to free internet to ensure net neutrality in India.