In the midst of the robust debate about net neutrality in the US, Indian telecoms regulator Trai has come out in favor of the principle of net neutrality.
The regulator has made two major recommendations on the issue upholding the principle of the internet as an open platform, Moneycontrol News reported.
The recommendations are that ISPs must not engage in discriminatory treatment of content, and licensees cannot enter any agreement with a discriminatory content effect.
In addition, Trai has recommended that license agreements for ISPs be amended to enforce these principles, and that an industry body be convened comprising operators, NGOs, consumer representatives and other stakeholders for the purposes of monitoring and enforcement.
“The discriminatory treatment in the context of treatment of content would include any form of discrimination, restriction or interference in the treatment of content including practices like blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds or treatment to any content,” Trai said in its recommendations.
The principles will not apply to specialized services such as autonomous vehicles, remote services or one-to-one specialized services - as long as they are not used as an internet access substitute.
There will also be exceptions for reasonable traffic management practices as long as these practices are transparent, transient and disclosed to customers.
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