Editorial – May 2015

Trai chairman Rahul Khullar could not handle the responses to his plans of abrogating net neutrality. He, of course, grandly called it a consultation process and asked questions that were heavily loaded in favour of the operators and of repressive intent for the users. Sample this: Should OTT players offering communication services through apps be brought under licensing regime; OTT impacts on revenue for TSPs; pricing options for apps over data usage charges and so on.

And sure enough, this spread widespread anxiety among the people, particularly the young people of the country who responded in droves to the consultation paper. More than 13 lakh consumers and their organizations sent their responses. After which, Mr Khullar did what all oligarchs do: wave the special interest banner and castaway the popular opinion.

So when the time came for accounting all the responses, Trai’s website like some totalitarian order carted away all user / consumer responses to 21 inaccessible email lists. Impossible to download they are dumped in the Trai server. Whereas the TSP responses are proudly displayed, all concur with Trai’s antagonistic approach to OTT and issues of consumer interest. The TSPs have two lists dedicated to them on Trai website for the publication of their responses.

As for the responses which have been sent into the digital dungeon, never to be seen again, they crackle with wit, political philosophy, economic judgement and above all an advice for Trai not to lose its head.

The consultation process on net neutrality about which he had vaunted so much, was hated with as much intensity by the people of the country.