SSB Lecturette Series: Net Neutrality

What is net neutrality?

Net neutrality is an idea which came from how telephone lines have worked in past. In case of a telephone line, you can dial any number and connect to it. It does not matter if you are calling from operator A to operator B. It doesn't matter if you are calling a restaurant or a drug dealer. The operators neither block the access to a number nor deliberately delay connection to a particular number, unless forced by the law. Most of the countries have rules that ask telecom operators to provide an unfiltered and unrestricted content.

In the beginning, there were no specific rules that asked that internet service providers (ISPs) should follow the same principle. But, most of the telecom operators were also ISPs, they stick to the same principle. This principle is known as net neutrality. An ISP does not control the traffic that passes its servers. When a web user connects to a website or web service, he or she gets the same speed. Data rate for Youtube videos and Facebook photos is theoretically same. Users can access any legal website or web service without any interference from an ISP.

ISPs are already charging people for providing access to internet. But now ISP feels that companies like Google, YouTube and others - who take huge net content and are providing people with free content - should share the revenue of that with them. If Google does not share the revenue then net user will be made to pay for it.

The situation is similar to an electricity provider who is already charging for the electric current entering your house but also wants money from the fridge-maker, fan-maker, TV maker, etc. And if they don't give the money, the electricity provider will start charging the consumer additionally for using fridge, fan and TV. If the consumer doesn't pay, he will not get current for fridge, fan etc.

It will also have serious impact on internet speed where the websites that pay them money will load in flash of second, and other free websites who don’t pay Google, Wikipedia, YouTube etc. will take time.

Some countries have rules that enforce net neutrality but most don't. Instead, the principle is followed because that is how it has always been. It is more of a norm than a law.

This has led to creation Google, Facebook, Twitter and countless other services. All of these services had very humble beginnings. They started as a basic websites with modest resources. But they succeeded because net neutrality allowed web users to access these websites in an easy and unhindered way.

What will happen if there is no net neutrality?

If there is no net neutrality, ISPs will have the power to shape internet traffic so that they can get extra benefit from it. For example, several ISPs believe that they should be allowed to charge companies for services like YouTube because these services consume more bandwidth compared to a normal website. Basically, these ISPs want a share in the money that YouTube earns.

Without net neutrality, the internet as we know it will not exist. Instead of free access, there could be "package plans" for consumers. For example, if you pay Rs 500, you will only be able to access websites based in India. To access international websites, you may have to pay a more. Or maybe there can be different connection speed for different type of content, depending on how much you are paying for the service

Recently TRAI has conducted polling for net neutrality to know the views of customer and it has received more than 24000 views in favor of net neutrality within 24 hours of notification. What is your opinion on Net neutrality? Share in the comment section and let us see what our youth feels on the same as we are the major consumers of internet. 
If you like our posts do share it with your friends and follow us here . Subscribe for email notification to get updates as and when posted.

About the Author: Kanishka Bisht is MSc in Physics and a die heart defense aspirant. She is a sports person and has played almost all the sports and excelled in them. This article is a way to help defense aspirants to present his critical views on the topic, on the forum so that collective exchange of thoughts can take place.