What Net Neutrality is about
Net Neutrality is a terrible, technical sounding phrase, and suffers for the lack of an easy definition. Here’s how we look at it:
Telecom operators/ISPs are access services providers, and can control either how much you access, what you access, how fast you access and how much you pay to access content and services on the Internet.
It’s important for access to knowledge, services and free speech, as well as freedom and ease of doing business online, for this access to be neutral:
– All sites must be equally accessible
– The same access speed at the telco/ISP level for each (independent of telco selection)
– The same data cost for access to each site (per KB/MB).
This means, Net Neutrality is about:
– No telecom-style licensing of Internet companies (see this and this)
– No gateways (Internet.org, Airtel OneTouch Internet, Data VAS), censorshipor selection;
– No speeding up of specific websites (that may or may not pay telcos)
– No “zero rating” or making some sites free over others (and that goes for you too, Wikipedia and twitter).
Defend Internet Freedom in India!
The internet’s success in fostering innovation, access to knowledge and freedom of speech is in large part due to the principle of net neutrality — the idea that internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the internet, without giving priority to any website over another.
Due to intense lobbying by telecom operators like Airtel and Vodafone, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to allow them to block apps and websites to extort more money from consumers and businesses — an extreme violation of net neutrality.
TRAI has released a consultation paper with 20 questions spread across 118 complicated pages and wants you to send them an e-mail by 24th of April, 2015.
Join us in fighting for net neutrality. Let’s remind TRAI that their job is to protect the rights of consumers, not the profit margins of telcos. Let’s demand access to the free, open internet.
How you can help ?
Help raise awareness
- Share links to net neutrality articles and campaigns on Social Media. See the posts below for ideas. Make sure you use the hashtag #NetNeutralityIndia.
- Have conversations with your family, friends, colleagues & acquaintances about this.
- If you have access to journalists or politicians, write to them.
plz share this as much u can . This can help us to save the internet …
shubh gaikwad blog 