Opposing the telecom companies’ move to kill net-neutrality for the Over The Top (OTT) services, Shiv Sena’s youth wing president Aditya Thackeray has called for the halting of the regulatory framework of the OTT services, saying that such a move would “mess up” the entire utility angle of access to internet. In a letter written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Aditya stated, “We cannot let the commercial interests of these few telecom companies govern our citizen’s ability to access information on the internet, or let them ruin the neutral treatment of websites, legally available. This move would not only be regressive but would also drain our citizens economically and leave them without access to information”.
“I strongly object the killing of net neutrality for the OTT services. People’s choice to access internet and information cannot be governed by the commerce of the telecom sector, which should be rather focusing on bettering services people pay for. They can have other ways of increasing their revenue share, rightfully so, but I strongly believe that once we subscribe to whichever telecom operator’s internet plan, our access to any site, any information on the internet and its speed of download, should not be governed by the telecom operator,” Aditya said.
Terming as “draconian” the killing of net-neutrality mooted for the Over the Top (OTT) services by the telecom companies operating in the country, the Sena’s youth wing chief asked the regulator for telecommunication business in India to “halt” the killing net-neutrality as the move “will draw public ire and damage our nation which is on the threshold of moving forward digitally”.
“The country has come closer today with the usage of phone services such as WhatsApp, its groups being used by many families. There are people from the working sector, who communicate with their families, living far away. There are people;e who have taken phones on loans, so that they use internet and WhatsApp,” he said. “WhatsApp has been a major communication device, in all the economic classes, especially after the TRAI killed SMS with a limit on them to promote data usage. To call it OTT service is to cheat the nation,” he said.
“Furthermore, such an option to charge website for either access or speed will simply kill the dream of the NDA Government of “Make in India”, whereby many young people have start-ups or small businesses via websites. To milk them at the same access speed of a giant is not simply far,” the Sena youth leader stated.
While welcoming the TRAI’s decision to call for suggestions and objections, Aditya stated in his letter to telecom regulatory body’s chairman: “What I write to you in this letter is not just my voice, but thousands of people have objected to the same. I hope the suggestions/objections are made public, and I am sure you will take a decision that benefits the citizens”.