Government of India approves net neutrality, Internet to remain free and fair

The Telecom Commission (TC) has approved net neutrality regulations that prohibit service providers to discriminate against internet content and services by granting them high speed access or blocking and throttling.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the TC, the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecommunication, Government of India in New Delhi.

Some critical applications or services like remote surgery and autonomous cars will be kept out of the influence of the net neutrality framework, Telecom Commission Chairman Aruna Sundararajan informed.

In order to ensure open and free Internet in the country, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested restrictions on service providers from entering into agreements that could potentially lead to discriminatory treatment of content on the internet.

A multi-stakeholder body of civil society members, government representatives, telecom operators and others shall also be set up by the Department of Telecommunications for monitoring and enforcement of net neutrality.

Featured image: PC Mag