'Free basics' vs 'Net neutrality'

The last few days have seen full page ads from Facebook on the concept of 'free basics', screaming in support of the concept and hinting that people in support of the concept of 'net neutrality' have either not understood the concept of 'free basics' or are trying to thwart the attempt of people in underprivileged segments of the society / far flung areas of the country from accessing the internet.

Before we pit the two against each other, we need to delve into what the two concepts mean.

What is 'net neutrality'?

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Net neutrality is a principle that says Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic (from any website) on their networks equally. They should neither block nor slow the access to any website or content on the Web.

What is 'free basics'?

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Free basics was earlier a work in progress concept called Internet.org. After the Indian prime minister visited Facebook's headquarters this year, the same was rechristened as 'free basics'. It is apparently a platform that helps Indian developers to make their services and websites available free of cost to those who cannot afford internet access.

What is the problem?

While the concept of 'net neutrality' is that the internet should be as it is now - free and unfettered, without any preference / discriminatory approach to certain websites or applications, the concept of 'free basics' seeks to make access to those websites or apps that are not partners, only after collecting a fee. Under free basics, access, or more importantly, 'free' access, is limited only to certain partner websites / portions of websites and applications ('apps'). It is like watching TV channels of your choice - free and paid. Thus, the paying websites, in a way, would pay for the free websites to be carried on an ISP.

Earlier, there was a project called Airtel Zero launched by Airtel where websites such as Flipkart were partners. On Internet.org, websites like Cleartrip were partners. These websites then pulled out after public outcry against such grouping. The issue is that larger companies may not have qualms in joining the free basics project since they have deeper pockets, but the smaller ones would have to shell out beyond their means to stay relevant. Many companies use internet for their existence this will prove to be a burden for them.  

The issue is that an ISP will become like a Direct to home (DTH) TV services provider - you may have to access a particular site only on a particular ISP and perhaps not get to access a website on a particular ISP at all. Now, that could be unnerving, even hair-splitting for users, isn't it?

Though the intentions of the free basics appear to be noble, what is to be kept in mind is that no businessman is a philanthropist.

The ball is in the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) court. It has placed the paper for discussion on its website till December 31, 2015. At present, Reliance is offering Free basics, which TRAI has asked to shut down. Let us see how the battle unfolds. The decision on free basics vs net neutrality would be on whose side TRAI is on.