The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come out in strong favour of net neutrality, mooting amplification of licensing terms for Internet Service Providers, barring them from any sort of discrimination in Internet access “based on the content being accessed, the protocols being used or the user equipment being deployed”.
TRAI’s stand has been articulated in a set of recommendations that the telecom watchdog has arrived at after a long process of consultations.
The content mentioned includes all content, applications, services and any other data, including its end-point information, that can be accessed or transmitted over the Internet.
“The service providers should be restricted from entering into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory treatment based on content, ender or receiver, protocols or user equipment,” TRAI said in its recommendations.
The recommendations were based on the pre-consultation paper issued in May 2016 to identify key issues and a detailed consultation paper in January 2017 that focussed on requirements, design, scope and implementation of Net neutrality framework in India.
Based on the responses received, open house discussions were held in three cities, TRAI said.
