Flipkart has decided to pull out of an ongoing discussion with Bharti Airtel to join the Airtel Zero platform. The move comes after the deal has attracted criticism for violating the principles of net neutrality.
In a press release, the e-commerce company has stated that it strongly believes in the concept of net neutrality. “We exist because of the internet. Over the past few days there has been a great amount of debate, both internally and externally, on the topic of zero rating, and we have a deeper understanding of the implications.?
Flipkart asserted that it is committed to the larger cause of net neutrality in India and it will be working towards ensuring that the spirit of net neutrality is upheld and applied equally to all companies in India irrespective of the size or the service being offered and there is absolutely no discrimination whatsoever.
Responding to Flipkart?s withdrawal from talks and larger industry debate regarding net neutrality, Bharti Airtel in a press release has stated that the company fully supports the concept of net neutrality. It has added that there have been misconceptions about the operator?s newly launched toll free data platform ? Airtel Zero. According to Bharti Airtel, it is a not a tariff proposition but is an open marketing platform that allows an application or content provider to offer their service on a toll free basis to their customers who are on Airtel?s network. Customers, whether using a data pack or not, will therefore be able to access these toll free services free of charge. Further, no site whether it is on the toll free platform or not, is blocked, throttled or provided any form of preferential access. Also, the toll free platform is open to all content providers on a completely non-discriminatory basis and operates on the same principle as 1-800 toll free voice services.
Bharti Airtel has further added that statement made by Flipkart regarding their decision not to offer toll free data service to their customers is consistent with the operator?s stand that Airtel Zero is not a tariff proposition. It is merely an open platform for content providers to provide toll free data services. The platform remains open to all companies who want to offer these toll free data services to their customers on a completely non-discriminatory basis.
Bharti Airtel had recently launched a new platform called ?Airtel Zero?, which allows users to access chat apps, e-commerce sites, gaming portals, and other internet-based services without having to pay for the data usage. Under the new model, Bharti Airtel will collect the data charges from the application service providers.
