Odisha urges TRAI to protect net neutrality

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, April 16: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today wrote a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) saying that the measure to be taken on the issue of net neutrality should not turn into over-regulation.Referring to the consultation paper that has been recently opened by TRAI on the subject of Internet services and network neutrality, Patnaik said in his three-page letter addressed to TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar that the subject has become of great concern to all citizens of India.Stating that he had been following the net neutrality debate, Patnaik said it is important to stress on the stand the State Government and his party Biju Janata Dal regarding the issue and TRAI should treat this issue with the nuanced attention that it deserves.“The growth of the internet is going to affect each and every one of us especially the young and dynamic population of this country,” he observed.“It must be pointed out that this is not an issue of just the elite as it is being made out to be.It will affect the poor because so many services are delivered over the internet today.“The Government is trying to extend its services to the people through this medium because it will be effective an inexpensive.Therefore, I do not agree with the thought that this is a compartment meant for the elite only.Present usage of the net seems to encompass everyone, rich to poor, particularly the younger people,” Patnaik said in his letter to Khullar.The Chief Minister said “in the ongoing debate, it is noticed that there is wrong usage of the word `free’.The word `free’ should not be confused with the word `freedom’.“While presently the youth of this country is paying a very high cost for an efficient net connection, I do not see any justification is limiting the ability of new start-up companies to reach the net user.Nor do I feel that there should be compulsions on the users by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to use particular Apps for reasons best known to them.Let us remember that the internet is not the market-place but the market if made inside the internet,” said Patnaik.While the under-privileged deserve much more than what is available, nobody should decide what exactly are their requirements.But if you dictate what the poor should get, you take away their rights to choose what they think is best for them.You cannot force a person to use a certain mobile application because the telecom company believes that it should be doing so,” Patnaik argued.Stating that he strongly believed that the principle of net neutrality must be protected, Patnaik said “Digital India requires that we help ensure that the innovation and entrepreneurship made possible by a dynamic Internet is further encouraged and not allowed to be influenced by discriminatory practices”.“We must ensure that access to the internet for an Indian citizen anywhere in our nation means un-throttled equal access to the full spectrum of the open World Wide Web in practice,” Patnaik said.He said that this is especially important since the Internet is key to unparalleled ability to exercise the right to access knowledge and free expression which are empowering younger generations to drive India to the forefront of the 21^st Century.In order to achieve this, TRAI, in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications, needs to urgently come out with measures to protect net neutrality, the Chief Minister said.In addition, TRAI needs to ensure that it does not favour regressive measures such as licensing online services, Patnaik added.