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Net neutrality, a controversial topic around the world, has emerged in India. At a high-level meeting on Wednesday, the Telecommunications Commission, the highest decision-making body of the Telecommunications Department, approved the net neutrality rules implying that the Internet will remain open to everyone in the country .
The commission also approved the new telecommunications policy – National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP), 2018 – to promote investment, ease of doing business and emerging technologies like 5G.
The adoption of the neutrality of the internet, the most important decision of the meeting, is in line with the recommendations of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai). It is intended to ensure that no service provider can restrict or discriminate in the processing of content by blocking, slowing down or granting preferential speeds while providing access to the Internet. However, some essential services will remain out of reach of the rules of net neutrality, said Aruna Sundararajan, the secretary of Telecom, after the meeting of the commission chaired by her.
ALSO READ: Neutrality of the Net and Debate on Privacy
net neutrality rules, the body IBOC said it has already expressed its support on issues related to the Internet. non-discriminatory use of the Internet, including no blocking, no limitation and the adoption of the same service rules-same. He said that a light regulatory approach should be adopted so that innovation is not hindered by the rules of net neutrality.
Trai had previously banned telecom operators from offering differentiated pricing of data, ending Free Basics from Facebook and Airtel Zero. The regulator recommended a change in the conditions of license to restrict any form of discrimination in Internet access based on content. "We do not accept any enclosed garden – these are the same principles of net neutrality that were articulated by DoT earlier, then by Trai and reaffirmed by the Commission today," said the secretary
] The DoT will modify the licenses of telecom operators so that they comply with the principle of net neutrality. Trai had given the recommendations on the subject last November, favoring the open Internet policy for the country.
ALSO READ: The privacy of telecommunications users: Trai uses the blockchain as a weapon against spam
) as a clbad will not be exempt from net neutrality, some categories of IoT critical services will be excluded. Apart from this, the Secretary of the DoT said that in the era of autonomous vehicles and digitized healthcare, certain types of traffic must be prioritized.
The DoT will establish a committee to identify critical services and propose a separate plan for these services.
Explaining the critical services, an official said that autonomous vehicles on the roads would have priority over conversations on social networks. Similarly, in healthcare, where remote diagnostic surgery takes place, internet traffic must be a priority because even a millisecond drop in connectivity can be fatal.
The DoT will also define a net neutrality traffic management policy. ALSO READ: India needs 100,000 telecom towers to meet growing demand for data
On the new telecom policy, Sundararajan said: "… we must make sure that the digital infrastructure is provided at the earliest. Therefore, India must have the facility to do business and create a favorable political environment. "Key Aspects and Enabling Provisions to Reduce Levies have been mentioned in the policy and should be translated into specific proposals, once the Commission approved on Wednesday a proposal for streamlining double taxation for Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) .This is an important step for encourage the provisioning of WNV services Despite the fact that 67 companies have licensed WNVs, the services were not launched because they were double taxation and, in some cases, three times in cascade.
Another proposal approved by TC includes the creation of more than one million Wi-Fi hotspots. All gram panchayats. The DoT will provide Rs 60 billion as viability gap funding to service providers to set up these hotspots. The DoT will present a call for tenders and the project will be completed in December. In addition, a proposal to fund pilot projects through the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund for new technologies has also been clarified
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