OTTs Vs Telcos: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar Backs Net Neutrality

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday (September 29) opposed the actions of telecom players who are pressing over-the-top (OTT) platforms to share network costs while giving his support to net neutrality. 

Taking to Twitter (now X), Chandrasekhar posted, “Net Neutrality in India was a hard fought battle… I led an effort where over 5 lac [5 Lakh] Indians wrote to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) opposing efforts of some Telcos to cabelize the Internet & double dip/charge.”

His comments have come on the back of a fresh debate that has erupted among internet startups, industry bodies, and telcos on the imposition of network costs on OTT platforms.

In July, TRAI released a consultation paper on regulating OTTs, broadly covering two aspects —  identification of a regulatory mechanism to cover the OTT communication apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Google Meet and the examination of issues related to selective banning of such apps.

As part of the consultation sought by TRAI, most Indian telcos, including Reliance Jio and Airtel came together asking for a regulatory regime that would make the online platforms pay the bill for their network infrastructure. 

“…TRAI should recommend OTT providers to contribute to the network development and building a broadband backbone for the country. In this effort, other OTT service providers should also be required to pay their fair share,” Jio said in its submission.

This led to several startup founders opposing such a proposition and a fresh debate erupted, forcing the telecom regulator to extend the deadline to submit the consultations.

Meanwhile, the industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) told TRAI that any such framework that leads to revenue sharing between OTT platforms and telecom operators would be in violation of net neutrality norms. 

In his latest tweet, MoS Chandrasekhar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision” made India one of the first countries in the world to ensure net neutrality and push back against telcos wanting to be the gatekeepers of the internet.

“That decision of PM was an important factor in India becoming world-leading innovation economy with this vibrant global standard startup eco-system…,” he said.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.