TRAI Backs A Free And Open Internet With Its Recommendations On Net Neutrality

Introduction

The much-awaited recommendations on Net Neutrality (Recommendations) were issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India (DoT) on 28 November 2017. While the Recommendations provide key suggestions and anecdotes, TRAI appears to have left some stones unturned. These Recommendations are also released at an interesting time, where the United States of America is contemplating repealing its rules on net neutrality and the continuance of a free and open internet is under threat.

Net neutrality in the Indian context

Net neutrality postulates that providers of internet access services should ensure equal or non-discriminatory treatment to all categories of content, application and services on the internet. While management of internet traffic by such service providers may be considered reasonable in certain circumstances (for instance where quality of services need to be optimised