Make Internet access a basic right

Last year, Facebook riled up the Internet community in India over its offer of free Internet. The problem was not free Internet, rather the fact that they wanted to control which websites and applications people get access to as part of such a “free” Internet.

This is a problem of net neutrality, that is, making the use of Internet fair and equitable for both consumers and suppliers. Part of the Indian Internet community did not want Facebook to have special rights of being able to decide which websites were ok, and which were not as part of this “free” Internet.

The idea of net neutrality emerges from other public utilities such as roads, telephone etc where a fair fee be levied that offers everyone equal access and not just access for the wealthy or special interests.

A few months ago, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had a consultation paper out on the long-term approach for treating Internet and net neutrality.

However, through its ruling on Facebook’s internet.org initiative, the TRAI made it quite clear that the government believes in net neutrality. Also, through the consultation paper, it indicated that the Internet access will likely be treated as a utility.

These are all positive signs but I believe this is an esoteric debate. The real issue at hand we need to focus on is the underlying idea of Facebook’s internet.org free Internet access.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India programme to become a reality, we need to move the conversation back to ensuring access to all of our citizens. A Digital India doesn’t merely have suppliers, in this case the government going digital. It also has consumers, primarily citizens being able to access e-governance and related services.

The Internet has not only beena game changer for the global economy in the last 25 plus years, it will continue to be a dominant game-changer for our generation.

We need to ensure that none of our citizens are left behind as part of this rapid transformation. This means offering all Indians access to information, education, services, participation in government among others.

However, the real challenge for India is how do we make this story of growth with Internet, an inclusive one. The answer lies in guaranteeing access to Internet to the people of country.

Digital India

The Digital India programme does talk about initiatives such as universal access to mobile connectivity and creating common services centres that offer Internet but they do not go far enough to make Internet real for all people.

Earlier this year, the Kerala government earmarked a fund to provide 20 lakh families an Internet connection either at subsidised rates or completely free of cost. They believe, if all of government’s services are available online, they need to make sure all their citizens can access them as well. Similarly, in several developed economies, high speed Internet is a basic right.

For Digital India to become a reality, we cannot have our citizens become part of a false dichotomy where citizens can theoretically access services but have no means to attain such access. The Government of India needs to guarantee such access.

There are many ways to guarantee such access. It can be done through an infrastructure programme, connection subsidies, through partnerships such as the one with Google for railway stations or even through the legislature. I am not hung up on the means of how this can be attained, but I want the Right and Access to Internet to be real.

For humans to move forward we must adapt with the times. Whether it is convenient for us or not, we cannot leave our fellow citizens behind. There is a wise African proverb that says if you want go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

(The writer is CEO, Langoor, a digital agency)