India Bans Facebook’s Free Basics in Favor of Net Neutrality

India’s telecoms regulator has banned mobile networks from offering free access to the Facebook website in a growing row over net neutrality issues.

The new regulations announced yesterday comes after consultations that lasted well over two months and which saw Facebook invest in a vigorous campaign to support its Free Basic Program, it offers in more than 35 developing countries.

The move comes as a blow to Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg who is the driving force behind Internet.org, an effort to empower 4bn people through access to the internet.

“While we’re disappointed with today’s decision, I want to personally communicate that we are committed to keep working to break down barriers to connectivity in India and around the world”, the Facebook CEO wrote.

Is limited Internet access for hundreds of millions of people superior to unlimited Internet access, as enjoyed by a limited set of the population?

Mobile carriers and broadband providers have been banned to charge their clients according to the services and content they have access to on the Internet.

“Differential pricing is not in the interests of consumers, or of the growth of the Internet”, said R.S. Sharma, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Facebook’s Free Basics offers a huge advantage to the sites and services it includes.

India’s new regulatory regime might encourage other countries struggling to get more people online to follow suit, particularly if it seems to help widen access or have other benefits such as helping domestic Internet companies compete with USA giants such as Facebook.

“Anything on the Internet can not be differentially priced, that’s the broad point we’ve made in the regulation and that’s where it stands”, he said.

However, going by this condition, Reliance Communication could find itself in trouble as it has a partnership with Facebook for the Free Basics internet service, which actually violates one of the conditions stated in the TRAI’s notification today.

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Meanwhile, TRAI’s decision was lauded by activists.