TRAI extends deadline for net neutrality comments

Debunking what he calls false claims, Zuckerberg said his service (previously called Internet.org) creates a more open Web, partners with any telco and all developers, and “fully respects net neutrality”.

The Internet.org project, which Facebook launched in India in association with Reliance Communications, was recently renamed as Free Basics and offers free access to a set of websites and services with the objective of introducing Internet.

The suspension of the service, which an Egyptian telecom official told Reuters was not related to security concerns, comes just days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Critics are especially outraged by the fact that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) does not offer rival services.

Sharma said TRAI has received 18.27 lakh comments till now, out of which 14.34 lakh were in support of Free Basics and the comments did not answer the questions asked by the regulator. That has led to allegations that it hinders consumer choice and violates the net neutrality principle, which requires that Internet providers don’t prioritize traffic to certain websites.

“If we accept that everyone deserves access to the internet, then we must surely support free basic internet services“, Zuckerberg wrote.

Chairman RS Sharma has said the consultation paper on differential pricing wasn’t an “opinion poll”, and that the over 14 lakh comments that have come due to Facebook’s campaign in favour of its controversial Free Basics service are of no use since they don’t answer four specific questions raised by the regulator.

The telecommunications ministry said the grounds for shutting down the service were not related to security.

According to media reports, the regulator has received about 1.65 million comments, the highest ever on any paper floated by TRAI till date.

In such a digitally emerging country like India, Facebook would essentially play gatekeeper, as millions of first-time Internet users on mobile would only experience a “Facebook version of the Internet”.

India has become a battleground over the right to unrestricted Internet access, with local tech start-ups joining the front line against Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg and his plan to roll out free Internet to the country’s masses.

Facebook, however, hopes to “resolve this situation soon”.

The service, which is aimed at users in developing countries, connects a billion people worldwide, providing free health, education, and economic information. The answer which most net neutrality advocates give is that free internet access is surely needed to bridge the digital gap but can be done in other ways.