With Net neutrality becoming a trending topic, there is no way many of you would have missed coming across it. But what is it all us? Is it something that will affect you personally?
If you are like the millions of people in our country who can't live without WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Instagram, and all those Apps you are hooked on, then yes! It is an issue that you should need to worry us.
What is it?
The grand success of the internet and its journey towards innovation is primarily due to the principle of net neutrality. But what is net neutrality? Internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the internet without providing any privileges to any website over another.
So here are some benefits of net neutrality:
• There is no Telecomm-style licensing by the Internet companies
• There are no gateways such as Internet.org to access the internet
• There is no speeding up of specific websites that may or may not pay these telecoms
So what is the issue?
The freedom you and I enjoy today to access what we wish will soon end if the Telecom operators get their way. They have approached the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) to be granted the authority to provide different internet access to users in the country. It means you and I have to pay money to be able to access and view other websites and apps apart from the amount we spend on our internet connection!
So what if you don't pay up? Well, for one, it will slow your internet connection to the point that it will frustrate you, or even worse, you may not even have access to that particular content.
So, why would the telecom operators come up with such a petition? According to them, they have built infrastructures and pipes that cost billions for easy internet data transmission. Most of the online services are provided to the people for free and are passing through these expensive infrastructures that they have built. They also say that since they have built the infrastructure, they are liable to ask for a share of the earnings the internet firms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. make. Therefore, according to them (the telecom operators), it is only fair that the customers pay to use the network.
