A program co-launched by Facebook that provided free Internet to more than three million Egyptians has been shut down, according to the social media website.
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TRAI has also asked Reliance Communication, Facebook’s partner in India for “Free Basics”, to put the service on hold till the authority considers all the details and terms and conditions of the service.
Chairman RS Sharma has said the consultation paper on differential pricing wasn’t an “opinion poll”, and that the over 14 lakh comments that have come due to Facebook’s campaign in favour of its controversial Free Basics service are of no use since they don’t answer four specific questions raised by the regulator.
“We’re disappointed that Free Basics will no longer be available in Egypt”, Facebook told the Associated Press.
As the debate over the net neutrality resurfaces, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) made a decision to extend deadline for comments on differential data pricing over net neutrality to January 7.
The official, who declined to be named, said Etisalat had only been granted a permit to offer the service for two months and that, when it expired on Wednesday, the service was suspended. Why has Facebook chosen the current model for Free Basics, which gives users a selection of around a hundred sites (including a personal blog and a real estate company homepage), while rejecting the option of giving the poor free access to the open, plural and diverse web?
Launched previous year in Zambia, Free Basics, earlier known as internet.org, has run in to trouble elsewhere on grounds that it infringes the principle of net neutrality.
Sharma said more than three-quarters of these 1.82 million comments will be disregarded as they did not follow the proper format.
“Free Basics is at risk of being banned, slowing progress towards digital equality in India”, said an advertisement published in Mumbai newspapers on Wednesday, urging Internet users to support the initiative.
“On the one hand, it appears to make overall internet access more affordable by reducing costs of certain types of content. On the other hand, several negative effects might ensue”.
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Meanwhile, TRAI has extended the last date for submission of comments for its consultation paper to January 7 from December 30. So unlike other Internet users who can surf the net globally for any content, those using the FB free version can only access a limited number of sites. It is said that the date was extended on the request of the COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) and AUSPI (Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India).
