Net Neutrality : Pros, Cons
Recently, Flipkart - India's e-commerce giant announced its plan to join Airtel Zero programme , a technology platform that proposes to connect application providers to its customers for free. Flipkart's decision, which violated net neutrality, raised many eyebrows and drew severe criticism on the social media, eventually compelling it to pull out of the programme. Further, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, came up with its consultation paper, looking to regulate Over- The- Top (OTT) players like Whatsapp, and Skype, and hence fuelling the ongoing debate of freedom, neutrality and privacy of the Internet.
Before dwelling further into the topic, it is pertinent to understand the technicality of net neutrality. In essence, net neutrality implies that all data packs should be treated equally, and that there should be no fast or slow lanes for the Internet, and each website should be equally accessible and equally priced. The Airtel Zero programme for instance, proposes to provide few internet websites and applications as Facebook, for free, to its customers, while the cost incurred in this case is charged from the providers who choose to get on Airtel Zero platform. This is a clear violation of the concept of net neutrality, as it solely benefits the big IT giants, who are able to afford huge charges of the telecom operators, while new startups lacking financial resources, are at a clear disadvantage.
While the telecom operators as well as TRAI are defending themselves from the onslaught of criticism, saying these websites- the chosen ones- would benefit the society as whole, most people throughout the nation are questioning the rights of telecom operators and TRAI, in their determination of 'the chosen ones'. For instance, how can Flipkart benefit the society more than Snapdeal, when both are e-commerce giants. It cannot be disregarded that there is a distinct possibility in the near future, when programmes such as Airtel Zero and Internet.org lose their social benefits and merely become a battle of the mighty. But, it is equally important to note that in India, which stands 125th in the list of broadband penetration and internet accessibility, the importance of having access to at least some free internet pages as compared to none, cannot be completely overlooked.
The Net Neutrality debate is unlikely to die anytime soon and continues to be a topic of interest among thousands of internet users across the nation.
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