To add context, India’s telecommunications regulator asked Facebook partner Reliance, a major service provider in India, to shutdown Internet.org in the country as the net neutrality issue is considered.
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Facebook said it hoped to “resolve this situation soon” so the program, which it had launched with Etisalat Egypt two months ago, could be restored.
Facebook, which launched in Egypt in October, said the program allowed 1 million people to go online for the first time.
Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the last date for receiving comments on its paper on differential data pricing, which is key to the debate on net neutrality to January 7. Mark Zuckerberg defended their Free Basics service in an article published in “The Times of India”.
“No, the TSPs (telecom service providers) should not be allowed to have differential pricing for data usage for accessing different websites, applications or platforms”, IAMAI said in its comment over Trai’s “Consultation Paper on Differential Pricing for Data Services”.
The service, aimed at bolstering Internet connectivity in developing countries, reportedly served more than three million Egyptians. However, the proposal poses danger to the net neutrality principle, which promotes equal access to all websites, and will initiate varied pricing for different websites in the country. Since this limits internet access and provides an advantage to the sites which can be accessed for free, activists in India have been opposing this service stating that it is a threat to net neutrality. The deadline for comments on the paper was ending today.
Like Facebook, these companies can argue that their programs benefit consumers by enabling them to access content without incurring data charges. Beside its mega TV and full page newspaper advertisements, Facebook is also prompting its users through notifications asking them to send a message to TRAI in support of digital equality. “What reason is there for denying people free access to vital services for communication, education, healthcare, employment, farming and women’s rights?” he wrote.
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Debunking what he calls false claims, Zuckerberg said his service (previously called Internet.org) creates a more open Web, partners with any telco and all developers, and “fully respects net neutrality”.
