 "Govt asks Trai for comprehensive paper on net neutrality")
The regulator will make its recommendations to the government over the next few days. According to government sources, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sought a full reference on net neutrality.
The telecom regulator, which came up with rules on differential pricing of data in its historic February 8 regulation, was criticised for not addressing many issues that affect independence on the internet. While net neutrality activists say there are several issues such as blocking and throttling of speed by operators and creation of fast lanes that need addressing, Trai has remained silent on these. It has only addressed the discriminatory pricing of data.
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In an interview to Business Standard on Friday, Trai Chairman R S Sharma said: "Prohibition of discriminatory pricing was essentially Trai's response to the net neutrality issue from a tariff perspective. Net neutrality is a larger issue and the government has requested us to give a comprehensive view on net neutrality, which we are bringing out in the paper."
The pre-consultation paper will take into account all the four dimensions of net neutrality, including throttling and fast lanes. Since the tariffs are the remit of Trai, the regulator decided to come out with the rules on differential pricing of data. "The policy issues will be the government's domain. We will be able to give to the government a broad framework, which will establish the principles of net neutrality," said Sharma. After Trai comes out with its recommendations, the government might take a decision and issue a policy statement. The new policy could be enacted through an Act of Parliament.
Activists have criticised the telecom regulator for not coming up with a comprehensive definition of net neutrality and its binding principles. Many in the government believe that for two years the regulator has not been able to achieve much on multiple issues, which is why the government has stepped in now.
In a letter to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communication & information technology, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar says: "While the discussion on net neutrality across media, consumer groups and especially in Parliament is nearly 18 months old, there is no roadmap or timelines in place on how to deal with the situation. Trai had launched a consultation paper on the regulatory framework for OTT (over-the-top) services on March 27, 2015. Regrettably, that proceeding lies incomplete after 15 months. The DoT committee report on net neutrality dated May 2015 is also one year old and no further steps have been taken."