India may, or may not, decide to create new network neutrality rules that could eventually affect the legality of paid prioritization in any number of ways, ranging from content delivery and quality of service assurance to sponsored apps, the data equivalent of “toll free calling.”
Even if the Indian regulatory authority Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommends adopting network neutrality, that would only be a recommendation. Action by the legislature still would be necessary.
In the meantime, a new Bharti Airtel “Zero” plan, which allows consumers to use some apps without consuming any of their data usage allotments. Such zero rating has proven highly effective as a means of stimulating usage of mobile Internet elsewhere, but is criticized by net neutrality supporters.
Most Indian mobile service providers (Idea Cellular, Uninor, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices) have service plans offering Facebook or Whatsapp at nominal charges or at no incremental charge.
Though clearly valuable for end users, net neutrality supporters argue zero rating “does not treat all apps equally.”
Ignoring for the moment all the ways that competitors in every market try and add value to create distinctiveness, the insistence on “treating all apps equally” ignores the non-equal use of content delivery networks by any number of app providers, already.
Nor does the net neutrality stance acknowledge that some apps, under conditions of congestion, do not work very well (voice, video conferencing, perhaps self-driving auto apps and other apps to come where lives and property depend on instant and reliable communications).
Ironically, where it is possible, innovators simply will create “managed services” that are not “Internet apps.” Innovation won’t be stopped, nor will efforts to provide end user value, halt because of network neutrality rules, even where passed and not overturned or modified.
No comments:
Post a Comment