दूरसंचार विभाग
Tremendous growth in reach of Internet in the past has been made possible through ubiquitous telecom access made available in every nook and corner of the country on the one hand and a vibrant content and application ecosystem on the other. Impact of emerging new business models through Internet and desire to preserve and protect the open nature of the public Internet has given rise to issues concerning Net Neutrality. NT Cell deals with policy matters relating to Net Neutrality.
DoT constituted a six member committee on Net Neutrality in Jan, 2015 to recommend overall policy, regulatory and technical responses. Adopting assimilative, analytical and participative approach to address related issues, the recommendations of the Committee were placed in public domain for inputs of stakeholders. The committee report has contributed qualitatively to the different narratives on the subject.
TRAI released its regulation "Prohibition of discriminatory tariffs for data services, Regulations, 2016" on 8th Feb, 2016 which, inter alia, prohibits any service provider from offering or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content. Subsequently, TRAI provided to DoT its recommendations on 'Net Neutrality' dated 28.11.2017
Government is committed to the fundamental principles and concepts of Net Neutrality i.e. keep the Internet accessible and available to all without discrimination. Internet Access Services, therefore, need to be governed by a principle that restricts any form of discrimination, restriction or interference in the treatment of content, including practices like blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds or treatment to any content. To ensure that the regulatory framework on Net Neutrality adheres to the fundamental principles and concepts of Net Neutrality, the policy directives on Net Neutrality have been issued.