Internet
businesses and content creators in India have reason to cheer US
president Barack Obama's latest endorsement of "network neutrality", the
notion that all internet traffic should be treated as equal by service
providers. "We believe that even the smallest player should have
non-discriminatory access to the pipes," said the Internet Mobile
Association of India (IAMAI) in a statement.
Unlike in the US, network neutrality has not become the subject of a major public debate in India yet. However, as subscribers shift to data-based services, telecom operators have been wanting to strike revenue-sharing deals with companies such as WhatsApp and Skype to make up for the income they lose from traditional SMS and voice.
Proponents of network neutrality fear that allowing service providers to strike such deals could create a discriminatory environment as companies with money can buy faster internet speeds to reach users and new businesses will lose out in the process.
Delhi-based media entrepreneur Nikhil Pahwa, who has been closely tracking the discussion on network neutrality in India, said, "I'm worried that telecom operators will create gateways to the internet." Pah wa said that if telcos — also large internet service providers in the country — create such gateways, it will stifle new internet businesses.
"Big companies will ultimately succeed and people like me will have to sign deals with them just to make my content accessible," said Pahwa of Medianama.
The practice of providing free access to certain services such as Facebook, as its founder Mark Zuckerberg proposed on his recent visit to India, is also being questioned for being discriminatory. Telecom company Airtel recently launched One Touch Internet, which allows access a limited set of services for first-time internet users.
Unlike in the US, network neutrality has not become the subject of a major public debate in India yet. However, as subscribers shift to data-based services, telecom operators have been wanting to strike revenue-sharing deals with companies such as WhatsApp and Skype to make up for the income they lose from traditional SMS and voice.
Proponents of network neutrality fear that allowing service providers to strike such deals could create a discriminatory environment as companies with money can buy faster internet speeds to reach users and new businesses will lose out in the process.
Delhi-based media entrepreneur Nikhil Pahwa, who has been closely tracking the discussion on network neutrality in India, said, "I'm worried that telecom operators will create gateways to the internet." Pah wa said that if telcos — also large internet service providers in the country — create such gateways, it will stifle new internet businesses.
"Big companies will ultimately succeed and people like me will have to sign deals with them just to make my content accessible," said Pahwa of Medianama.
The practice of providing free access to certain services such as Facebook, as its founder Mark Zuckerberg proposed on his recent visit to India, is also being questioned for being discriminatory. Telecom company Airtel recently launched One Touch Internet, which allows access a limited set of services for first-time internet users.
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