Techies and students in Hyderabad campaign for net neutrality

HYDERABAD: Ahead of the December 30 deadline set by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI) for comments on "Consultation paper on differential pricing for data services" students, techies and members of Free Software Movement India ( FSMI) hit the streets against the move.

Targeted at Facebook's campaign promoting Free Basics in partnership with Reliance Communications, the protest in Hyderabad saw participation from techies and students of B. Tech at Gachibowli, the IT hub of the city.

"Forming a cartel and providing only specific services is against the open access policy of the government," said Rajan K S, associate professor at International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad who was present at the meeting.

The Free Basics platform being rolled out by Facebook in partnership with Reliance Communications in India will provide access to a selection of online services at no data cost. However, net neutrality activists add that offering select services for free will lead to a few players controlling content distribution.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come out in support of the Free Basics platform which has a presence across 19 countries, adding that it was ready for scrutiny by a third party agency like IAMAI or NASSCOM.

As per TRAI directive, Reliance Communications has put the launch of Facebook's Free Basics platform on hold till the body grants a specific approval.