Still Not Written to TRAI? Voice Your Opinion Till January 7th!

The concern for Net Neutrality continues while the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India accepts comments from concerned netizens. TRAI’s chairman RS Sharma made it clear that comments are still considered by concerned internet users to voice their thoughts about Internet Neutrality. Additionally, counter comments are now allowed till January 14^th which earlier was set on January 7^th.

More on TRAI’s Statements

Stakeholders, telecom operators and other associated collaborators were persistent to TRAI about considering netizens’ opinions which has lead to this decision.

“On the request of the stakeholders, the last date for receipt of written comments/views has been extended up to January 7 and counter comments, if any, up to January 14. It has also been decided that no request for any further extension of time for submission of comments/counter comments shall be entertained.” – TRAI.

Repercussion of Net Neutrality

Even as the document by TRAI does not mention the term ’net neutrality’ anywhere, it points out the suggestion of zero-rating platforms which have whipped up a huge debate on the topic across the nation. The TRAI headquarters received more than 1.65 million comments according to sources. The comments related to the Facebook Free Basics are about 1 million. An equal number of people oppose and endorse the issue.

In a nutshell, the net neutrality theory says that ISPs (internetservice providers) must not discriminate any applications or block content that streams via their networks.

As I have already mentioned in a previous article on net neutrality, the concept includes uniform access to all websites, abolishing the telecom-style licensing and doing away with the impression of free and paid websites. Moreover, saving the internet will lead to more employment opportunities, enhanced returns on investments and improved society dominion.

Stay tuned to the Aadishesh Info Communications Blog for more happening news & updates!

Internet Neutrality – What is the Buzz?

Save the internet! Save the internet! This mantra seems to exist as the most apprehensive syllable uttered by the world. The internet essentially was rolled out decades ago with regular alterations and betterment to the structure over the years.


So what exactly is net neutrality? Almost a couple of months ago, some service providers and government administrations treated some parts of the internet with discrimination. Net neutrality is the brawl to make all data available on the internet uniformly.


The Concept of Open Internet
The theory of net neutrality proposes all data on the World Wide Web must be treated equally and must remain accessible to internet users at all times. However, some public and private administrative sectors believe that certain data from the internet must come at a premium. ISPs, government agencies and telecom operators have entire control over the internet’s content and can control the costs, speed and availability of various websites.

Fanatics strongly oppose this discriminating move and have shown grave dislike for the actions.

In a nutshell, net neutrality comprises about:

• All sites must remain uniformly accessible 
• Internet companies shall not entail telecom-style licensing
• Preference of speeding up websites must not prevail
• Free or paid websites must not prevail

Consequently, all users must have freedom to access websites without any obligation from government agencies, ISPs or telecom operators.


Hype in India about Net Neutrality
Telecom operators in India adhere to the guidelines laid by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and are pressing to introduce new principles for the internet that may stake or freedom for privacy and preferences. If this intention bears fruit, our Internet Service Providers will choose which portals or apps we can visit and the costs for each site.

Website owners and application publishers will have to pay each ISP individually to make your work visible to the users on their network. For instance, the Airtel network may charge it customers for using WhatsApp, whereas the Hike Messenger would be free as it is a product from Airtel.


What’s More Important?
The surge in wireless broadband connections has lead to intense debate and differences in outlooks. All odds are bending in favor of the customer and independent ISP companies are now withdrawing their programs. The internet is finally free as before and people can use it accordingly. Several ISPs such as Aadishesh have shown grave concern about Net Neutrality and have initiated several states with internet connection.
The conflict with net neutrality is not what people should brood over; instead, the prime focus should remain with pan-India internet connectivity for all.