Bharti
Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal has sent personal mails to a host of top
CEO/CXOs and influencers explaining that its controversial zero-rating
plan called Airtel Zero does not violate the principle of net
neutrality. The company is also launching a separate website conveying
Airtel's commitment to net neutrality, and to clarify its stand on
issues like the zero-rating plan.
The move comes three days after Flipkart pulled out of its talks with Airtel on joining its zero-rating plan, following a social media backlash against the e-commerce firm. Airtel itself has been under sustained attack from net neutrality advocates.
"We have been very concerned at the incorrect information that has been carried by some quarters in the media as well as in social media. I wanted to take this opportunity to clear the air and reiterate that we are completely committed to net neutrality," Vittal writes.
The letter goes on to say that the objective of Airtel Zero is to ensure that every Indian is on the internet by making data access free to them. "There are millions of Indians who think that the internet is expensive and don't know what it can do for them," Vittal writes.
Vittal writes that Airtel Zero is a technology platform that connects application providers to their customers for free. "The platform allows any content or application provider to enroll on it so that their customers can visit these sites for free. Instead of charging customers we charge the providers who choose to get on to the platform," he says.
The platform, he says, is open to all application developers, content providers and internet sites on an equal basis. "The same rate card is offered to all these providers on a totally non-discriminatory basis," he says.
The letter also says there is no difference between this and toll-free voice services such as 1-800. "When a company selling an insurance product enrolls into the toll free voice platform, customers who call the number are not charged but when they call a normal number they are charged," he says. The tab is paid for by the corporate customer.
"Toll-free voice is not a product or a tariff plan - it is merely a technology platform. We are simply taking the same concept of toll-free voice to the world of data," he says.
Some net neutrality advocates say Airtel Zero discriminates against smaller firms who might not be able to pay to get on to the platform. Customers would likely move to services that they can access for free. Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal said there were risks of Airtel Zero going against net neutrality principles in the long run.
But some experts also say it is possible to regulate zero-rating plans in a way that it does not discriminate against small players.
The move comes three days after Flipkart pulled out of its talks with Airtel on joining its zero-rating plan, following a social media backlash against the e-commerce firm. Airtel itself has been under sustained attack from net neutrality advocates.
"We have been very concerned at the incorrect information that has been carried by some quarters in the media as well as in social media. I wanted to take this opportunity to clear the air and reiterate that we are completely committed to net neutrality," Vittal writes.
The letter goes on to say that the objective of Airtel Zero is to ensure that every Indian is on the internet by making data access free to them. "There are millions of Indians who think that the internet is expensive and don't know what it can do for them," Vittal writes.
Vittal writes that Airtel Zero is a technology platform that connects application providers to their customers for free. "The platform allows any content or application provider to enroll on it so that their customers can visit these sites for free. Instead of charging customers we charge the providers who choose to get on to the platform," he says.
The platform, he says, is open to all application developers, content providers and internet sites on an equal basis. "The same rate card is offered to all these providers on a totally non-discriminatory basis," he says.
The letter also says there is no difference between this and toll-free voice services such as 1-800. "When a company selling an insurance product enrolls into the toll free voice platform, customers who call the number are not charged but when they call a normal number they are charged," he says. The tab is paid for by the corporate customer.
"Toll-free voice is not a product or a tariff plan - it is merely a technology platform. We are simply taking the same concept of toll-free voice to the world of data," he says.
Some net neutrality advocates say Airtel Zero discriminates against smaller firms who might not be able to pay to get on to the platform. Customers would likely move to services that they can access for free. Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal said there were risks of Airtel Zero going against net neutrality principles in the long run.
But some experts also say it is possible to regulate zero-rating plans in a way that it does not discriminate against small players.
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