Govt for equal access: Prasad

Panel will look into benefits, advantages, says Minister

 Reinforcing the government’s commitment for Net Neutrality, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said his ministry will find a solution to it after getting the report of its six-member panel.

In a telephonic interaction with Deccan Herald from Patna, Prasad said the government is committed to the idea of Net Neutrality. “Besides Trai undertaking a consultation on the issue, I have constituted a committee headed by senior government officials of the Telecom Ministry to give me a report on the whole gamut of Net Neutrality,” he said.

The minister said the government will look into its benefits, advantages, and limitations, including regulatory and technical issues. “We want to assure citizens that government will guarantee equal and non-discriminatory access to all data, apps, and services on the internet,” he said.

Airtel on April 6 announced Airtel Zero, a platform that allows consumers free access to select apps and services with the cost of this data traffic being borne by the companies that have signed up.

The issue of Net Neutrality became viral on social media, and Trai’s consultation paper on regulating OTT (over-the-top) services such as WhatsApp and Skype received around 2 lakh responses in favour of Net Neutrality within a few days.

When e-retailer Flipkart decided to pull out of the controversial Airtel Zero preferential access platform on Tuesday, many who were campaigning for Net Neutrality felt their stance vindicated.