Trai extends net neutrality deadline

Telecel had a Facebook Zero service which offered free access to the social media platform while Econet launched Econet Zero – a bouquet of free education sites that included Wikipedia, which has also been offered under every Free Basics plan. India is expected to have 500 million Internet users by the end of 2017, and what kind of an Internet they get access to is important for our country.

Egyptians officials have not commented on Free Basics, and haven’t previously expressed any strong opposition to the service. Our consultation paper is not an opinion poll. While this might not seem that of big a setback for Facebook, but if an adverse decision is issued in a net neutrality hearing scheduled for next month, FB might have to overhaul its Free Basics operations in India. Facebook’s proposed Free Basics, which is the new avatar of its internet.org initiative, allows customers to access a slew of apps for free.

If Free Basics and its peer programs are allowed to continue, it would leave us all with poorer access to the Internet, and take away our right to choose. 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.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has been carpet-bombing Indians pushing its Free Basics app through advertisements in nearly all major daily newspapers.

Trai has extended the last date for receiving comments on its consultation paper on differential data pricing to January 7.

“Instead of recognizing the fact that Free Basics is opening up the whole internet, they continue to claim – falsely – that this will make the internet more like a walled garden”.

Facebook announced that Free Basics, its program for providing free internet for over 30 developing nations, will no longer be available in Egypt.

Will there be another extension to the deadline for sending comments on your paper for differential pricing, as you have received a large number of comments, mostly from Facebook users? “Now how supporting Free Basics help in answering the questions…it has become hard for us to arrive at”, Sharma said. But users have to pay for content that is not offered by the companies that partner with Facebook.

In December, the telecoms regulator in India asked mobile networks to suspend the scheme in the country while it considered granting it specific approval.