Net Neutrality Debate is Back! 

Barely hours after more than 100 Indian startups including some big names petitioned TRAI to maintain net neutrality principles, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it would be reinstating rules for broadband players to treat all traffic equally. In other words, telecom players cannot sweeten the deals for special business partners. 

This could be a short-in-the-arm for the Indian startups, who wrote to TRAI chairman P D Vaghela cautioning against over-regulation in the context of subjecting internet services to the same regulatory framework as telecom service providers. They noted that internet services cannot be seen as direct substitutes for traditional services. 

Internet applications and services are both dynamic and multifaceted in nature and categorizing them as substitutes or segmenting them into messaging, video and other categories would be an oversimplification, they said in a letter. A TSP offering data services does not control the internet infrastructure entirely and is dependent on other networks to facilitate it. 

Therefore allowing a TSP which is at one edge of the internet to charge differently for data that it does not process alone could compromise the entire architecture of the internet itself. Were other TSPs across multiple tiers allowed to do this, then the openness of (the) internet as we know, would be altered,” the letter noted. 

It further said that allowing price differentiates based on content-types accessed on the internet goes against the grain of the founding principles of how the web was developed and transformed. There is scope for potential discrimination, non-level playing fields, entry barriers and increased compliance burdens under the regulatory framework, they added. 

FCC all set to reload Net Neutrality Rules

Meanwhile discussions around net neutrality resurfaced in the United States following a well reported speech at the National Press Club by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who was one among those who championed it five years ago. During the Donald Trump regime, these net neutrality rules were repealed.  

Now, Rosenworcel has come back strongly claiming that broadband was not a luxury but a necessity while noting that it was an essential infrastructure for modern life. “No one without it has a fair shot at 21st century success. We need broadband to reach 100% of us and it needs to be fast, open and fair.” 

She shared a fact sheet and said the FCC seeks to largely return to the successful rules the Commission adopted in 2015 that would classify broadband as essential on par with water, power and phone service. Of course, broadband and mobile industries could claim that despite no net neutrality rules, there weren’t any serious offenses against the principle. 

Back in 2015, the US government had brought in net neutrality where internet providers would act as simple pipes for data and not perform analysis or prioritization beyond what is required to ensure good service. It allowed for some data to be prioritized but not allow the provider to throttle streaming services of its competitors while giving an advantage to its own.

The rules were brought in during 2015 with the idea that companies being paid for bandwidth should have nothing to do with its use. While public perception of telecom companies hit a nadir, the other parties weren’t pleased with the move, calling it a regulatory overreach.  

Which is exactly what Indian TSPs are rooting for now with Reliance’s Jio suggesting a framework for OTT players to contribute towards network costs and Bharti Airtel echoing their views. The IAMAI, on its part, argued that a collaborative framework could result in a revenue sharing mechanism between OTTs and TSPs that violates net neutrality frameworks. 

Amidst these diametrically opposite views, we wonder where consumers sit? For now, they seem to be doing so on the fence.