Service providers should not enter into pacts that discriminate on content, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said Tuesday in the recommendations it released on net neutrality.
The licensing terms should be amplified to provide explicit restrictions on any sort of discrimination in Internet access based on the content being accessed, the protocol being used or the user equipment being deployed, an official release by Trai said.
The licensing terms should be amplified to provide explicit restrictions on any sort of discrimination in Internet access based on the content being accessed, the protocol being used or the user equipment being deployed, an official release by Trai said.
Trai's recommendations defined content as including "all content, applications, services and any other data, including its end-point information, that can be accessed or transmitted over the Internet".
Here's the full text of Trai's summary of its recommendations on net neutrality:
Summary of Recommendations
Internet access services should be governed by a principle that restricts any form of discrimination or interference in the treatment of content, including practices like blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds or treatment to any content.
This principle would apply to any discriminatory treatment based on the sender or receiver, the network protocols, or the user equipment, but not to specialised services or other exclusions. It would also not restrict adoption of reasonable traffic management practices by the service provider. All of these exclusions and exceptions are described earlier in the document.
The Authority has recommended an amendment to the license agreements to clarify the principle of unrestricted access given under the appropriate license agreements. It has also expressed other views relating to the applicability of the principle; acceptable traffic management practices and permissible exceptions. However, the Authority notes that these recommendations are being made without prejudice to the powers and functions conferred upon it under the TRAI Act, 1997, including on issues relating to quality of services, consumer protection, transparency, and monitoring of compliance.
A. Recommendations on principle of non-discriminatory treatment, application, exclusions and exceptions:
7.1 The Authority recommends that the terms of various license agreements governing the provision of Internet services in India (UL, VNO license, UASL and CMTS) be amended in order to incorporate the principles of non-discriminatory treatment of content by Internet Access Services along with the appropriate exclusions and exceptions. This will also help in building uniformity in the terms governing the provision of Internet services by different categories of licensees. The specific amendments recommended to be made in each of the license agreements are listed in the table below. (para 4.19)
Note: In case of the UASL and the CMTS License, which do not contain a definition of Internet, the definition of Internet also need to be included along with the new definition of Internet Access Service.
B. Recommendation on applicability to Internet of Things (IoT) and Specialized services
7.2 The Authority recommends that [refer Para 3.20]
a) the provision of any specialised services, as defined in Table 1 of these recommendations (in Para 4.19 at pages 29 to 32), should be explicitly excluded from the principle of nondiscrimination. However,
§ IoT as a class of services, should not be specifically excluded from the scope of the restrictions on nondiscriminatory treatment.
§ Those critical IoT services, which may be identified by DoT as satisfying the definition of specialised services (as stated above), would be automatically excluded.
b) Further it recommends that specialised services should be provided only if:
§ such services are not usable or offered as a replacement for Internet Access Services; and
§ the provision of such services should not be detrimental to the availability and overall quality of Internet Access Services. This could be monitored using various quality of service parameters.
7.3 The Authority recommends that CDNs should not be included within the scope of any restrictions on non-discriminatory treatment, which are designed specifically to cover the providers of Internet Access Services.
C. Recommendations on Transparency and disclosures:
7.4 The Authority proposes to supplement its existing disclosure and transparency requirements by framing additional regulations in this regard.
D. Recommendations on monitoring and enforcement:
7.5 Authority recommends that for monitoring and enforcement, DoT may establish a multi-stakeholder body with framework for collaborative mechanism among the stakeholders. The multistakeholder body, not for profit, led by industry may comprise members representing different categories of TSPs and ISPs, large and small content providers, representatives from research and academia, civil society organisations and consumer representatives. The terms, conditions and governance structure etc. would be recommended by TRAI once this recommendation is accepted by the Government in principle.
Here's the full text of Trai's summary of its recommendations on net neutrality:
Summary of Recommendations
Internet access services should be governed by a principle that restricts any form of discrimination or interference in the treatment of content, including practices like blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds or treatment to any content.
This principle would apply to any discriminatory treatment based on the sender or receiver, the network protocols, or the user equipment, but not to specialised services or other exclusions. It would also not restrict adoption of reasonable traffic management practices by the service provider. All of these exclusions and exceptions are described earlier in the document.
The Authority has recommended an amendment to the license agreements to clarify the principle of unrestricted access given under the appropriate license agreements. It has also expressed other views relating to the applicability of the principle; acceptable traffic management practices and permissible exceptions. However, the Authority notes that these recommendations are being made without prejudice to the powers and functions conferred upon it under the TRAI Act, 1997, including on issues relating to quality of services, consumer protection, transparency, and monitoring of compliance.
A. Recommendations on principle of non-discriminatory treatment, application, exclusions and exceptions:
7.1 The Authority recommends that the terms of various license agreements governing the provision of Internet services in India (UL, VNO license, UASL and CMTS) be amended in order to incorporate the principles of non-discriminatory treatment of content by Internet Access Services along with the appropriate exclusions and exceptions. This will also help in building uniformity in the terms governing the provision of Internet services by different categories of licensees. The specific amendments recommended to be made in each of the license agreements are listed in the table below. (para 4.19)
Note: In case of the UASL and the CMTS License, which do not contain a definition of Internet, the definition of Internet also need to be included along with the new definition of Internet Access Service.
B. Recommendation on applicability to Internet of Things (IoT) and Specialized services
7.2 The Authority recommends that [refer Para 3.20]
a) the provision of any specialised services, as defined in Table 1 of these recommendations (in Para 4.19 at pages 29 to 32), should be explicitly excluded from the principle of nondiscrimination. However,
§ IoT as a class of services, should not be specifically excluded from the scope of the restrictions on nondiscriminatory treatment.
§ Those critical IoT services, which may be identified by DoT as satisfying the definition of specialised services (as stated above), would be automatically excluded.
b) Further it recommends that specialised services should be provided only if:
§ such services are not usable or offered as a replacement for Internet Access Services; and
§ the provision of such services should not be detrimental to the availability and overall quality of Internet Access Services. This could be monitored using various quality of service parameters.
7.3 The Authority recommends that CDNs should not be included within the scope of any restrictions on non-discriminatory treatment, which are designed specifically to cover the providers of Internet Access Services.
C. Recommendations on Transparency and disclosures:
7.4 The Authority proposes to supplement its existing disclosure and transparency requirements by framing additional regulations in this regard.
D. Recommendations on monitoring and enforcement:
7.5 Authority recommends that for monitoring and enforcement, DoT may establish a multi-stakeholder body with framework for collaborative mechanism among the stakeholders. The multistakeholder body, not for profit, led by industry may comprise members representing different categories of TSPs and ISPs, large and small content providers, representatives from research and academia, civil society organisations and consumer representatives. The terms, conditions and governance structure etc. would be recommended by TRAI once this recommendation is accepted by the Government in principle.