The net neutrality debate was rarely out of the news through 2017, with the majority favouring a market with open internet principles. Contrary to the popular opinion, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in a landmark move, voted to repeal its 2015 rules on net neutrality that aimed at ensuring a free and open internet for all. The news came as a major shock to telecom markets worldwide, including India, which is itself debating this key issue of net neutrality.
Passed in 2015 under the Obama administration, the net neutrality rules prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking, degrading or slowing internet traffic selectively. In addition, these rules prevented ISPs from getting into any tie-ups that led to discriminatory treatment of internet traffic. However, according to the FCC, the net neutrality rules were aiming to solve a problem that did not exist.
While the Indian regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has batted strongly in favour of net neutrality in its recently released recommendations, the recent US decision on the subject could well have a ripple effect in India, not immediately perhaps, but eventually. Interestingly, the “Big Five” of the internet world – Facebook, YouTube, Google, Apple and Amazon – which drive most of the Indian internet traffic, are US based. If India is striving to become an internet economy, it will have to develop a regulatory ecosystem that takes cognisance of the interests of these companies, which, notably, were in favour of implementing net neutrality in the US.
As of now, TRAI has noted in its recommendations that the internet is an open platform and as such, internet services must be non-discriminatory. The Department of Telecommunications has initiated the process of formulating a policy based on these recommendations. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the net neutrality scenario unfolds, and what impact will such a move have on the economy as a whole and on the internet market in particular.
