Internet giant Google has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India pushing for net neutrality which will enable consumers to access services and products irrespective of the operator.
What is Network Neutrality?
It is a question that concerns the ownership and control of the Internet. At its heart is the principle that if one user pays a certain amount for a certain level of connectivity and another user does the same, the two should be able to connect at that designated speed.
Network neutrality is a principle proposed for user access networks participating in the Internet that advocates no restrictions by Internet Service Providers and governments on content, sites, platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and no restrictions on the modes of communication allowed.
Debate
The Internet has more or less remained neutral because no single entity, government or corporate, owns it. But off late telecom companies, which own the network, want a share of the revenue earned by content providers and thus put restrictions on the services available to consumers. They may promote certain websites (which provide them higher revenue sharing) and neglect a few websites or even block them.
To unlock the full potential of a national broadband network, it is crucial to implement policies that maintain the Internet’s fundamentally open, neutral, non-discriminatory nature.
TRAI should ensure that the fundamental openness of the internet should not be threatened.
Google’s interest
Google is known for it’s search engine but the company is also a huge player in the online services market. For web services to succeed, consumers have to get unrestricted access to the internet.
What is your take on net neutrality?
