Airtel withdraws VoIP charges for now, after forcing TRAI’s hand on net neutrality consultation

[avi]

Bhai roxxx. Bhai is life, Bhai is love.

 

[blr_p]

Net Neutrality is not an Regulation here in India, as our minds were not even mature even in 2007 when people didn't knew Internet can provide other services than mail and Instant messaging.TRAI left it by not making it as an Regulation.

Net neutrality is regulation. Whether in India or abroad its the same.

You are regulating when you say everything is the same and should be treated the same when it clearly is not. Watch the video i posted, it does a brilliant job of exposing this net neutrality ideology.

I am arguing for Net Neutrality as a Principle of Internet, The same applies to Paying Water bills or Electricity > I can use it for anything, Electricity dept cannot ask me to Pay 3/unit for kitchen appliances and 5/unit for Tv.
I am sure you would pay, because you like such rules.

But you are charged by the amount you consume and its a sliding scale. Use the water as you like for whatever but if you consume more you pay more. I have never seen such rules in other countries where it was more a flat rate. More like internet here actually.

Are the Taxes in 1999 and now Same? How will the Govt increase its Budget? Why do you want india to Build good Infrastructure and support these Subsidies?
Telecos would pass it on to the customer.. Really? Please Don't bs.

Govt increased the internet taxes recently when there were none to 8%, result was a similar hike in base tariffs.

You are an Amazing Troll I have seen in the Recent times, I remember someone having a signature "Blr_p is a troll, avoid him" I guess that Someone was Right.

Prove it !

'conventional' wisdom has to be challenged. You apparently do not like that.

Resorting to name calling does not get you off the ropes i've put you on

BLR_P You may Start opting for A-la-carte packs Here. Ask Your company to apply these packs for you:

lol this is scare tactics and misleading.

How about a pack for netflix or similar ? low latency.

Streaming is the big thing it consumes lots of data and requires low latency. How to provide it at what cost. The present model won't scale. So we are stuck where we are unless companies see an incentive to improve. Holding them back means they invest elsewhere in more productive enterprises. A friend of mine in the networking industry told me this ten years ago but i was like you net neutrality bla bla. No longer. The explosive growth of the internet started with no net neutrality. Once it got introduced things got stifled.

Keep complaining and calling cartel, but the result is the market here is stagnant. What can be done to change it.

FCC erred on the side of net neutrality in 2010. This happens when democrats are in power.

 

[swatkats]

Govt increased the internet taxes recently when there were none to 8%, result was a similar hike in base tariffs.

Since you were talking about spectrum, yes i justified the price hike and Now you are suddenly talking about 8% ISP Tax on AGR, Well i am against it.
Please learn the difference between spectrum prices and taxes.

Net neutrality is regulation. Whether in India or abroad its the same.

Let me correct that for you. Net Neutrality is not a regulation in India or else Airtel would have been paying Crores of Rupees in Fines here.

There are no laws enforcing net neutrality in India. Although TRAI guidelines for the Unified Access Service license promotes net neutrality, it does not enforce it. The Information Technology Act 2000 also does not prohibit companies from throttling their service in accordance with their business interests
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality_in_India

 

[Crapmypants]

@blr_p
The basic premise of your argument is that one should 'pay for what they use'. This is in line with net neutrality.

e.g. Suppose i download a 100mb file and make 100mb worth of skype calls, should i not be charged the same for both since the data used is the same?

Charging differential pricing for the same product is what i find wrong here. Net neutrality was never discussed so much until airtel announced these extra charges.

Net neutrality does not stop innovation. it is NOT regulation. It was originally an academic concept and was only used on proposed policy to check monopolistic practices of internet companies.

They are free to charge more if their costs are higher (nobody's sad about an 8% hike in tariff due to taxes) but clearly this is not the case here. our telecom providers universally struggle to maintain even the bare minimum of quality standards (if at all).

Remember, these companies are not providing you "the internet". they are providing access to the internet ON A PUBLICLY OWNED MEDIUM.

 

[swatkats]

Should India have licensing of Internet services? Net Neutrality? TRAI wants your views

Please submit your answers to the TRAI before the 24th April, 2015 at advqos@trai.gov.in

MediaNama is going to do the following over the next few weeks:
– Publish a simplified version of the complicated TRAI paper so that everyone can understand and participate. We’ll do this next week.
– Respond to queries regarding Net Neutrality so we can help you understand these issues better. We’ll do this next to next week.
– Publish a sample response and if possible, a response generator (we’ll need help with this) so you can submit your views to the TRAI easily.

The 20 questions:

Question 1: Is it too early to establish a regulatory framework for OTT services, since internet penetration is still evolving, access speeds are generally low and there is limited coverage of high-speed broadband in the country? Or, should some beginning be made now with a regulatory framework that could be adapted to changes in the future? Please comment with justifications.

Question 2: Should the OTT players offering communication services (voice, messaging and video call services) through applications (resident either in the country or outside) be brought under the licensing regime? Please comment with justifications.

Question 3: Is the growth of OTT impacting the traditional revenue stream of TSPs? If so, is the increase in data revenues of the TSPs sufficient to compensate for this impact? Please comment with reasons.

Question 4: Should the OTT players pay for use of the TSPs network over and above data charges paid by consumers? If yes, what pricing options can be adopted? Could such options include prices based on bandwidth consumption? Can prices be used as a means product/service differentiation? Please comment with justifications.

Question 5: Do you agree that imbalances exist in the regulatory environment in the operation of OTT players? If so, what should be the framework to address these issues? How can the prevailing laws and regulations be applied to OTT players (who operate in the virtual world) and compliance enforced? What could be the impact on the economy? Please comment with justifications.

Question 6: How should the security concerns be addressed with regard to OTT players providing communication services? What security conditions such as maintaining data records, logs etc. need to be mandated for such OTT players? And, how can compliance with these conditions be ensured if the applications of such OTT players reside outside the country? Please comment with justifications.

Question 7: How should the OTT players offering app services ensure security, safety and privacy of the consumer? How should they ensure protection of consumer interest? Please comment with justifications.

Question 8: In what manner can the proposals for a regulatory framework for OTTs in India draw from those of ETNO, referred to in para 4.23 or the best practices summarised in para 4.29? And, what practices should be proscribed by regulatory fiat? Please comment with justifications.

Question 9: What are your views on net-neutrality in the Indian context? How should the various principles discussed in para 5.47 be dealt with? Please comment with justifications.

Question 10: What forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach? What should or can be permitted? Please comment with justifications.

Question 11: Should the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications? Is this a sufficient condition to ensure transparency and a fair regulatory regime?

Question 12: How should a conducive and balanced environment be created such that TSPs are able to invest in network infrastructure and CAPs are able to innovate and grow? Who should bear the network upgradation costs? Please comment with justifications

Question 13: Should TSPs be allowed to implement non-price based discrimination of services? If so, under what circumstances are such practices acceptable? What restrictions, if any, need to be placed so that such measures are not abused? What measures should be adopted to ensure transparency to consumers? Please comment with justifications.

Question 14: Is there a justification for allowing differential pricing for data access and OTT communication services? If so, what changes need to be brought about in the present tariff and regulatory framework for telecommunication services in the country? Please comment with justifications.

Question 15: Should OTT communication service players be treated as Bulk User of Telecom Services (BuTS)? How should the framework be structured to prevent any discrimination and protect stakeholder interest? Please comment with justification.

Question 16: What framework should be adopted to encourage India-specific OTT apps? Please comment with justifications.

Question 17: If the OTT communication service players are to be licensed, should they be categorised as ASP or CSP? If so, what should be the framework? Please comment with justifications.

Question 18: Is there a need to regulate subscription charges for OTT communication services? Please comment with justifications.

Question 19: What steps should be taken by the Government for regulation of non-communication OTT players? Please comment with justifications.

Question 20:
Are there any other issues that have a bearing on the subject discussed?

http://www.medianama.com/2015/03/22...ervices-net-neutrality-trai-wants-your-views/

 

[blr_p]

Here's hoping this net neutrality nonsense gets scuttled.

 

[baccilus]

If this does happen, will there be any way to circumvent this BS?