Specialised services, IoT exempted
These rules are to be applicable to internet access services , which are generally available to the public, said Trai.
New Delhi: The telecom regulator Trai on Tuesday backed net neutrality in the country by recommending that telecom operators or internet service providers cannot provide preferential treatment in terms of either increasing or slowing down internet speed while giving access to any website or its application.
Last week, US federal communications commission chairman Ajit Pai, appointed by Donald Trump in January, unveiled plans to rescind so-called net neutrality rules championed by former President Barack Obama that treated internet service providers like public utilities.
Mr Pai’s proposal, which calls for reclassifying ISPs as information services instead of common carriers, is scheduled to be voted on by the full commission next month.
Trai in its recommendations said that licensing terms should be amplified to provide explicit restrictions on any sort of discrimination in internet access based on the content being accessed, the protocols being used or the user equipment being deployed.
These rules are to be applicable to “internet access services”, which are generally available to the public, said Trai.
However, Trai has allowed certain exemptions including specialised services and the time-critical IoT services (like autonomous cars).
These specialised services — the likes of telesurgery will be identified by the telecom department, which will also take a final call on Trai’s overall recommendations on net neutrality.