TRAI in Support of Net Neutrality

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Why in news?

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently rolled out a series of recommendations in strong support of Net neutrality.

What are the major recommendations?

• Discrimination - Service providers are restricted from entering into any arrangement that has the effect of discriminatory treatment in Internet access.
• The discrimination should not be based on the content, sender or receiver, protocols being used, or user equipment being deployed.
• Any “discriminatory treatment” including blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds is restricted.
• Content - Non-discriminatory treatment applies specifically to ‘Internet Access Services’ which are generally available to the public.
• The content mentioned includes applications, services and any other data, including its end-point information.
• Monitoring - TRAI has recommended the establishment of a collaborative mechanism in the form of a multi-stakeholder body.
• This would be responsible for developing technical standards for monitoring violations and enforcement of the principles.

What is the significance?

• Internet has become a basic infrastructure and an egalitarian platform that advances the free speech rights of citizens.
• The recommendations have thus upheld the democratic principles of the country by granting the freedom and choice of access for the end users.
• TRAI has also taken the leadership position globally in ensuring that access to internet remains non-discriminatory.
• This is especially given that many other telecom regulators including that of the US have faltered in ensuring equality in cyberspace.

What are the shortfalls and solutions?

• Special Services - A communications network connecting hospitals may rightly be classified as a specialised service.
• The operators may have to ensure a higher grade of service for these kinds of areas compared to the mass internet.
• TRAI has excluded specialised services from the purview of net neutrality but without specifying what falls under this category.
• This could be a cause of concern given that the operators can exploit policy loopholes.
• E.g. a telecom operator could enter into private deals with a healthcare mobile application provider to get unfair access to users.
• TRAI should have set up a monitoring platform to ensure that telecom companies make adequate disclosures about such specialised services.
• Traffic management - TRAI has also allowed telecom companies to carry out reasonable traffic management practices, for delivering internet traffic.
• Traffic management practices such as those used for protecting network security are legitimate, but it can also lead to discriminatory practices.
• TRAI could have specified what type of traffic management is allowed automatically, and which ones need approval.
• Enforcement - TRAI has failed to put in place a neutral enforcement body.
• The multi-stakeholder body led by industry, as proposed by TRAI, may not be enough to ensure implementation of net neutrality, exceptions and transparency measures.
• This is because the industry-led bodies have seldom protected the rights of consumers in the past.
• Besides, the regulations are criticised to be unnecessarily bureaucratic and not conducive for the ease of doing business.
• The Department of Telecom, while accepting the regulator’s overall recommendations, should also iron out these concerns.

Source: BusinessLine