Govt committed to net neutrality, says Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad came out strongly in favour of net neutrality on Tuesday saying blocking and deliberate slowing down or speeding up of lawful content on the Web should not be allowed.

With over a million Internet users opposing Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) consultation paper on allowing telcos like Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance to charge consumers differently for using different websites and mobile applications, Prasad said that the government has powers to give directions to the regulator on public policy.

The government agrees with the viewpoint that customers should have unrestricted access to all lawful content on Internet, Prasad said replying to a call attention notice on net neutrality in the Rajya Sabha.

He, however, said that implications of net neutrality would need detailed examination by experts with regard to traffic management, national security, integrity of network and investment in infrastructure.

"This is what governments and regulators all over the world are grappling with," he explained.

Prasad said that as per the Trai Act, the regulator makes recommendations to the government on regulating various aspects of the telecom sector.

"However, Trai's powers to regulate tariff and quality of service are subject to overall public policy of the government and the government has sufficient powers under the Trai Act to invoke its national policy objectives to give directions to Trai", he said.

Since Trai issued the consultation paper on March 27, it has been a flood with messages in support of net neutrality.

Telcos that support the Trai paper argue that while they make heavy investment to develop infrastructure, over-the-top services like Skype and Viber use it without paying for it.

"The government stands for ensuring nondiscriminatory access to Internet for all citizens of the country and current debate on net neutrality should be seen from this perspective while resolving the issues harmoniously and consistent with constitutional and economic principles."