There is a new hashtag in town – #SabKaInternet.
Abiding the last date of TRAI’s deadline, the COAI has given its feedback on net neutrality and much more. COAI is promoting net equality and has launched “Sabka Internet, Sabka Vikas”. It has launched an official website www.sabkainternet.in, an initiative to connect the disconnected India. A very warm move though.
But coming back to the original problem of net neutrality, the industrial body claims to be in favor of it but suggests that IP Voice providers should be treated like mobile service providers. Basically, this means that IP voice services like Skype, Viber etc. should pay a licensing fee similar to mobile providers. Audibly they are opposing net neutrality.
Furthermore, they talk about the need to maintain a sustainable industry that has an ability to invest in future goals. Their statement, “Without infrastructure and investment, there will be no Internet access. Operators have invested billions of dollars in license fees, spectrum fees, and network roll-outs. Yet the Industry still makes a negative return on the capital employed.” Coming back to the point, the same rules should be applied for similar type of services to discontinue the losses in future.
Along with this, a new scenario of sab ka internet is developed by this industry. According to them, the net should be available throughout the country instead for few privileged. Interestingly there were a few messages coming up for the support of #SabKaInternet not clearing its objective. “We support an open Internet and believe that consumers should decide what to do online. Our job is to enable consumers to benefit from that freedom. We offer choice and do not block or provide any preferential access to any website or app,”.
This drastic step has baffled people much who already were confused about the save the internet campaign. They have very cunningly shifted the attention of the masses from net neutrality to net equality. In nutshell COAI has created its own version of ‘Net Neutrality’.
