The heated debate over Net Neutrality doesn’t seem to end up anytime soon. In response to the online protest initiated by TRAI, the independent telecommunications authority received over 1.5 lakh e-mails within two days. Now, the protest has touched one million mark.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has received more than one million emails in support of Net Neutrality from the citizens of India. The statement was made by a voluntary group managing the ‘Save the Internet’ program. The figures are of until yesterday, and the emails are continuously flooding TRAI’s Inbox.
As per a report, netizens have been bombarding the TRAI with 50 emails every minute. This resulted in the campaign hit one million mark within just 12 days. The creators of savetheinternet.in were surprised as they expected the campaign would not last more than 15,000 emails.
TRAI put up a consultation paper called “Regulatory Framework for Over-the-Top (OTT) Services” and asked users for their comments. April 24, i.e. today, is the last date of submit your vote and make your voice heard. Click here to back the movement.
Many celebrities and well-known personalities from different fields have come in support of free internet. Rahul Gandhi is the latest to join the club and ask for freedom of the internet.
Net Neutrality is currently a heated issue amongst the people of India. Recently, Bharti Airtel has received a lot of flak for its contentious “Airtel Zero” plan from social media users. Following the reports of Airtel’s preferential treatment for websites, the government has reportedly decided to intervene and has said that it plans to keep a close watch on the company’s developments.
According to a report by the Times of India, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is looking into the Airtel’s Zero plan to give special privileges to some websites and confined access to the others. A high-rank official stated about the government will take on the Zero plan, “DoT is looking into finer details and whether it goes against the spirit of net neutrality.”
Meanwhile, the Telecomm Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also started an online protest against net neutrality, which has received a tremendous response from users. Last Saturday, government uploaded a consultation paper called “Regulatory Framework for Over-the-Top (OTT) Services” where stakeholders were asked to comment. Within two days, the government received over 1.5 lakh e-mails asking to protect network neutrality in the country. A vast group of people are in support of net neutrality and want Internet to be a free space – where everyone can access anything at the same speed.
The inspection by DoT will be in conjunction with TRAI’s OTT program and will also bring to light Airtel’s previous attempts to assault net neutrality. The national telecom operator tried to induce differential charges for various online services like Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, but received an aggressive backlash resulting it to withdraw the proposed plan.
The source also stated that the government might not take any immediate action against Airtel and will scrutinize the matter initially. Meanwhile, Airtel has denied allegations and said that the Zero plan is “non-discriminatory” and doesn’t give undue preference to any company.
The net neutrality campaign has gained momentum over social media, and people of diverse streams are joining hands to make Internet a free and fair space. Various campaigns are trending on Facebook and Twitter like #SavetheInternet, #NetNeutrality in an attempt to make sure that the internet doesn’t get dragged into a class system.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a statement that mobile phone users will be paying 23% less for calls and up to 75% less for sending texts while on roaming. The reduced roaming charges will come to effect on May 1, 2015.
National roaming service lets subscribers to keep using their number while travelling outside the coverage of their home networks. Companies have offered roaming packs in the past which lets users reduce their roaming charges but a government mandated roaming charges will bring relief for all users.
As laid down by TRAI, For outgoing calls on roaming, the present charges of Rs 1 per minute has been slashed down to 80 paise per minute. As for STD calls, the rates has been slashed from Rs 1.50 to Rs 1.15 per minute.
Incoming calls on roaming will now be charged at 45 paise per minute instead of the earlier 75 paise. Local texts will now cost 25 paise while an STD text will be charged at 38 paise.
The rates for national roaming services were last revised in 2013. Telecom companies have been notified to introduce the new roaming tariff’s from May 1. The telecom companies have already been losing revenue to various messaging apps and hence have started attacking net neutrality in India. This order will further cut down their revenue stream. The companies might respond by raising data tariff’s or push for loose net neutrality laws in the country. Though the slash is a good news for the consumers, the developments in the Indian telecom space needs to be watched more vigilantly.
“911 how may I help you?” This sentence is perhaps the most popular reference to the American government’s one-stop emergency number for all kinds of public discomfort. By dialling this one number, the citizens can get access to emergency services like police, fire department ambulance and disaster management organizations. Now TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has recommended that Indians should get a similar service and for this purpose they want to assign the telephone number, “112.”
Currently, the various emergency services have different contacts; citizens have to dial 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance and 108 for emergency disaster management. TRAI says that this move will allow users to save critical seconds during an emergency and will be able to alert the authorities immediately.
This move will be appreciated by the citizens who had to fumble previously with various number during emergency situations. TRAI has also proposed to keep the present number as a backup or secondary contact numbers. Even when the users make a call on those numbers, they will be re-routed to 112.
To add even more convenience during an emergency and offer ease of access, TRAI has asked that the calls to 112 be allowed even if the outgoing facility on the phones have been debarred or the temporarily suspended. There is also a proposal to allow access to emergency services through SMS.
TRAI has recommended the establishment of specialised call centers called the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). It will be manned by professionals trained in handling calls of distress. This is a fantastic move by the regulator and though the service should have been instituted long back, but all we’ll say is, better late than never.
Net Neutrality has become one of the most important buzzwords in the tech world over the past years. This simple principle states that all content on the internet should get equal speeds, and internet providers cannot discriminate between the content. So users will get the same speed of access to the Facebook as they would for Youtube. The Federal Communications Commission of America, after a intense public debate, sided with Net Neutrality which was seen as a big win for an open and free internet and seen as a rare instant when the public opinion was considered over corporate interests. Now it’s India’s turn to decide the future of the internet.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) has invited views of Indian citizens on the future of the Internet in the country. The regulatory agency is currently also considering the future course of action for the OTT (over-the-top) players such as apps like Whatsapp, Viber, Skype which let users make calls and send messages at reduced rates in comparison to telecom companies. This is why the government is being pressured by the telecom lobby to create a regulatory framework for these apps which are eating into the revenues of the companies.
Net Neutrality principle states that all traffic on the Internet deserve equal speeds.
Airtel recently was on the receiving end massive of massive public outrage for breaking the internet based services and charging exorbitant rates for them. The public backlash led the company to roll back the decision. This instance exhibited an immediate need for clear net neutrality policies in India.
You can send in your comments by 24th April, 2015 and counter comments by 8th May 2015 on email id [email protected]. You can find more information on the consultation paper on TRAI’s website.
Net Neutrality has been one of the founding principles of the internet which has been around since its early days. Our lives are getting more and more dependent on the internet with each passing day, and so it’s absolutely essential that the consumer demand it to be open and fair. So right now you have been given an opportunity send in your views and if you miss now you won’t have the right to complain later. So go ahead and tell TRAI and the Indian government to bring strong net neutrality policies and preserve the open and free internet.
If you are still not convinced to take action yet, we’ll let John Oliver explain why you should send in your comments to TRAI, right now!
There is some good piece of news for those who live away from home and are connected to their loved ones only through their smartphones. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed to trim down roaming rates by minimum 35 percent to maximum 80 percent on call and SMS.
A draft amendment was filed by TRAI on Friday to the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999, seeking comments and suggestions from the stakeholders. The organization aims to slash the high prices on incoming and outgoing calls while on roaming, along with SMS charges.
Home network is comparatively cheaper than the roaming connection. Whenever a person moves out of his/her home network, the network latches on to the visited connection. For now, the outgoing local call rate on roaming is at Re. 1 per minute, and as per TRAI’s proposal, it would cut down to 65 paise per minute.
The proposed draft amendment speaks of Re. 1 per minute charge on STD calls on roaming, which is presently static at Rs. 1.5 per minute. If the draft comes into effect, the roaming rates on incoming calls will fall down to 45 paise per minute from 75 paise, which is a straight 60% drop on the current charges.
Speaking of SMS rates, TRAI has proposed that on roaming, a local SMS should be charged 20 paise rather than Re. 1. An STD SMS should cost no more than 25 paise for which Rs. 1.50 is deducted.
Meanwhile, the proposal is under consideration from the stakeholders, who will give their final take on the same by 13th March. Later, after a discussion between the two parties, the final order will be passed.
Over the past few years, it has gotten easier and easier to gain access to a mobile phone. Indians currently own over 94,40 crore mobile handsets. The government has now made it easier for Indians to travel across India, with one number across the nation.
Starting May 3, you would be able to port your number to any mobile circle of India and also change your mobile operator. The change came into effect after TRAI changed the regulations on the matter.
As of now users can use the facility of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to change telecom operators within a telecom circle, which is usually a state.
This action is a follow-up to the amendments issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT) on the 3rd of November 2014. It stated that MNP is to be implemented within six months from the date of passing of amendments.
This will come handy to folks who have to change their place of residence at regular intervals. It will also let users keep their numbers while on long trips without incurring massive roaming charges. A consumer friendly decision will be welcomed by people across the nation.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has some good news for Indians today. The people of India will soon see a dip in the figures of their telephone bill. The regulatory agency has decided to slash or cancel the interconnectivity charges between various networks.
Telecom companies have to pay the inter-connectivity charges when one of their subscribers calls a person on a different network. These charges are defined as FTC (Fixed Termination Charge) and MTC (Mobile Termination Charge) for wireline to wireless calls.
This move will bring considerable relief to the landline subscribers. TRAI has decided to drop landline to landline and landline to wireless termination charges from 20 paisa to zero. On the other hand, wireless to wireless charges have been decreased from 20 Paisa to 14 paise that will also result in a decrease in mobile tariff.
Mobile telephony has reached the masses really fast since the arrival of affordable devices and connections. While there are over 94.40 crore mobile subscribers in India, there are just 2.7 crore landline subscribers in the country. BSNL told Times of India, that this move will pass on the benefits to the consumers by bringing the tariff down “substantially”.
Uninor, which is a tiny player in the mobile market, has also said that they will be slashing prices. The big trio of Indian mobile arena; Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are currently studying the developments. But when smaller companies will start slashing rates, the bigger players will be forced to follow.
This move will be a slight relief to the country whose cost of living has gone up significantly in the past couple of years.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is perhaps tightening the noose on service providers in India, as mobile phone subscribers from now on can give instant feedback to TRAI about the quality of services provided by operators via an Android based app. Operators will be penalised if they fail to meet minimum service quality benchmarks set up by the regulatory authority.
Considering the growing penetration of Internet and smartphones, Trai has introduced a Web-based application as well as an Android-based app for assessing customer perception of cellular services.
[/quote]
Under current regulations, TRAI can levy a penalty of upto Rs.50,000 on mobile service providers in an event when they fail to comply to a service parameter, the amount is doubled if they repeat the same shortcomings again.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued draft regulations to implement full nationwide mobile number portability (MNP) which starts from 3rd May. This would allow users to change their mobile service provider in any location within the country, while retaining their existing mobile number.
Currently, mobile number portability allows users to change their service provider within a specific telecom circle, mostly limited to states, which will change with the implementation of new regulations. On November 3 2014, the Department of Telecom issued an amendment to the current MNP License Agreement and asked telecom service providers to implement full MNP within a period of six months.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”TRAI”]
In view of implementation of full MNP some changes will be required in the MNP Regulations 2009 (as amended). Accordingly, draft amendment to the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009, has been prepared.
[/quote]
With the new amendment, TRAI wants to introduce a clause to safeguard interest of post paid mobile users. As these users are deprived of services while switching to a new network even after clearing all their earlier dues. The regulator has a fixed timeline about dues cleared by the subscriber to ensure consumers get continuity of service.
The Indian government will hold the auction of mobile spectrum in the month of February. The Indian Exchequer is expected to gain Rs. 80,000 crore(Rs 64,840 crore excluding 2100 MHz spectrum) from this auction. The bidding process is expected to start on February 23. But the industry association of GSM operators in India, COAI(Cellular Operators Association of India) are warning that the high spectrum costs would lead to higher mobile tariff for the consumers.
COAI has written a letter to the Minister of Telecom, Mr. Ravi Shanker Prasad saying that the high prices would adversely impact the business viability for the telecom operators. They also added that the high spectrum costs would lead to tariff hike and will also effect government’s Digital India initiative and hinder rural penetration. The letter is also said to be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
COAI claims that the high spectrum costs will lead to increased mobile tariff’s which will hamper government’s Digital India plan.
The cabinet of ministers approved the following reserve pricing for the various spectrums:
Rs. 3,646 crores for pan-India license per MHz in the 800 MHz band
Rs. 3,980 crores for pan-India excluding Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and J&K in the 900 MHz band
Rs. 2,191 crores pan-India (excluding Maharashtra and West Bengal) in the 1800 MHz band.
COAI has also said that the government has priced the spectrum way above the pricing recommended by telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). The pricing is said to be over 107% higher than the amount paid by the companies in the spectrum auction of 2010. TARI has also recommended a reduction of the license fee from 8% of adjusted gross revenue to 6%.
The government plans to bring 5 Mhz for auction and will release an additional 15 Mhz on a later date. This low availability of spectrum will lead to even higher final prices as the companies would have to try to ferociously outbid each other to stay in business. The last auction also lead to heavy price wars which lead to the telecom companies borrowing huge amount of money from the banks. COAI claims that the combined debt of the industry now stands at a staggering Rs. 2.5 lakh crores.
The present Indian government has some audacious plans to raise the standards of connectivity across India. For this a healthy cooperation with the telecom companies is essential. The issues raised by the telecom body seem valid, and the price is ultimately going to be borne by the consumers. We will await the government’s response for more updates on the story. Keep checking back on iGyaan.in.
During the administration of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a bill was introduced called the Communication Convergence Bill. It was year 2000, way before the emergence of internet and mobile phones as influential communication systems capable of changing regimes in multiple nations. The bill’s objective was to establish a new “converged” regulatory framework to promote and develop the communications sector (including broadcasting, telecommunications and “multimedia”) in an environment of increasing convergence of technologies, services and service providers. Now the present government wants to bring back the bill from the dead.
The bill was to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933; the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995; the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. This bill would in the end replace TRAI and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The government will form a singular commission called the Communication Commission of India that would overlook all communication infrastructures.
The bill was announced by India’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Ravi Shanker Prasad
This would be the second big move for this government after scrapping the long-standing policy body called the Planning Commission. Its scrapping was announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech this year.
The Communication Commission will have seven members. Each member would be a domain expert on areas such as telecom, broadcasting, information technology, law and consumer affairs and finance. Its mandate would be to stimulate market competition in order to ensure better quality services for the consumer and prevent monopolies.
The new Commission will not just replace TRAI and TDSAT but will also take up some of the powers from the Censor Board; some clearances that the Ministry Of Environment gives out, the Competition Commission of India and the Department of Telecommunications. This will directly try to regulate the content as well as the carriers who distribute that content.
On the face of it, this law seems consumer friendly, but if not planned right it can introduce another set of red tapes. By trying to control content, the government will take upon a major headache and can cause over-centralization, especially at the speed at which content is being generated presently. According to TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar’s interaction with CNBC-TV18, a super-regulator has a potential to complicate the tough regulatory platform of the telecom industry.
Last time the bill couldn’t pass because of concerns from the other stakeholders. The bill was not persuded by the previous UPA government. This time around, with a massive majority in the parliament, the government can get the law to pass if DoT finalizes it for an introduction by the winter session this year. It will be interesting to see in the coming days, how the government plans to adopt this 14-year old law into the current times. This is an important aspect of governance that citizens need to know about as our present and future economy is getting dependent on good communication infrastructure. Even information rights activists will keep a close eye at the developments of this bill.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in a move to calm worried telecom firms reeling under huge losses, has said on Monday that the current tariffs are not objectionably high and are good for competitive environment.
The major issue on the mind of the TRAi being the deactivation of inactive mobile connections, TRAI said that the recommendations for the same should be finalized by March.
[quote]The mobile tariffs are competitive. We could not find that tariffs have been in any objectionable territory, In normal course, it (the recommendations) should take one-and-a-half-month more from now,”Rajeev Agarwal, secretary,TRAI [/quote]
Recently again many firms have hiked data tariffs by 25-30% to improve margins. TRAI sought views of stakeholders on the need to review the existing regime of tariff forbearance. Views were also sought on a suitable tariff framework for data services.
While deactivation of a SIM without prior intimation and on arbitrary grounds has become an issue of debate as it deprives a subscriber of his mobile number which might have been an identity for him for a long time.
According to a consultation paper floated by TRAI, consumers can also suffer from a potential loss of activity in both personal and professional set-ups causing an adverse impact on livelihood.
Last year the telecom tribunal had also rejected the telecom operators’ petition against TRAI’s guidelines on VAS which asked operators to take prior confirmation before activating and charging subscribers for such services and asked them to comply with the directive by February 2.
In 2011, TRAI’s directives said that an operator was required to obtain confirmation from their subscribers through SMS, e-mail, fax or in writing within 24 hours of activation of VAS.
Telecom regulator TRAI is planning to approach the Commerce and Industry Ministry to ban imports of mobile phones carrying inauthentic unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers, which help the authorities track users.
[quote]“TRAI will soon write to the Commerce Ministry to ban such phones. Import of only those cell phones should be allowed which are certified by GSMA-and TIA-authorised bodies for GSM [Global System for Mobile] and CDMA handsets respectively,” an official told PTI.[/quote]
The GSM Association and Telecommunications Industry Association are global bodies that provide unique numbers to mobile handset companies.
The move aims to check proliferation of mobile handsets with duplicate or cloned IMEI numbers, which are dangerous for national security.
An IMEI comprises 15-digit codes assigned to a handset and it appears on the operator’s network whenever a call is made. Concerns had been raised over their usage after terror attacks in India.
Cloning issues in the case of CDMA handsets are negligible but rampant in the case of GSM handsets, the official said.
The government has banned services on mobile handsets with fake IMEI numbers after November 30, 2009.
However, according to informed sources, during a test conducted in a telecom service area, government officials were surprised to see over 18,000 mobile handsets using the same IMEI number.
“The idea is to ask importers of handsets to provide a certificate issued by a GSMA or TIA authorised body for entry of his consignment in the country,” the official said.
Mobile phones without the unique security code are making inroads into the grey market by cloning the IMEI numbers of genuine sets. Through cloning, the IMEIs of bona fide mobile sets can be used by antisocial elements.
If Amaru Chavez, Group Chief Technology at Etisalat, is to be believed, then the future of the Indian Internet backbone seems much better.
“LTE is faster, newer and more efficient than other technologies and has a clear roadmap to enable almost unlimited capacity. Consumer demand for broadband services and capacity continues to accelerate and only technologies which are scalable will be able to support the future demand for online content such as video, social media, gaming and business services.”
“LTE is an optimum solution to provide high speed broadband connectivity in high density areas, such as cities and commercial hubs. It is a proven technology that is capable of providing highly reliable and secure connectivity which delivers a superior experience for the consumer and business alike. It is also faster to deploy than fiber and future proofed to ensure long term return for investors,” Chavez continued.
Amaru Chavez said: “Wireless broadband has been an enormous success in many of our countries, particularly in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. We are now deploying LTE in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to ensure that our services continue to meet the ever increasing demands of our customers. Etisalat is a long-term investor and we are committed to supporting the development of the telecoms sector in each country which we are present.”
