Preserving digital democracy: Why Net Neutrality is critical for a free and open internet

In July 2023, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a consultation paper on OTT services. The consultation paper delves into the regulatory mechanisms for OTT communication services. It explores concepts such as imposing network usage fees on internet services and the selective banning of OTTs. This has reignited the debate on net neutrality in India. 

The net neutrality debate has historical baggage in India. In 2016, TRAI came up with regulations to prohibit discriminatory tariffs on data services. Since then, multiple attempts have been made by both TRAI and the Department of Telecom (DoT) to regulate OTT services, and while none of these efforts have borne fruit, TRAI has remained firmly on the side of net neutrality.

The recent consultation paper, however, seems to suggest that TRAI’s stance may be wavering, and the regulator may be leaning towards imposing network usage fees and regulating internet and telecom services together. This could have huge implications for net neutrality in India and has unsurprisingly sparked a wave of protests from startups.