The DoT Committee has left it to the TRAI to decide whether Airtel's Zero rating plans violate the principles of net neutrality.

Airtel had launched Airtel Zero under which it offered a platform for content owners, e-commerce players, and start-ups to offer free data access to users. This was seen to be against the principles of net neutrality by some sections as it allowed free access to only those companies which had resources to partner with Airtel.

"The Committee, after consideration of all opinions expressed by Net Neutrality proponents and network operators, feels that there are a multitude of possibilities in designing tariff plans and it would not be possible to either pre-think all possibilities or determine its validity with respect to Net Neutrality principles. The Committee is of the opinion that a conclusion on whether the tariff plans specifically breach Net Neutrality would have to be seen in the context of the design of the tariff plan and the outcomes it generated, including its ability to distort consumer markets," The DoT panel said.

Therefore, the Committee proposed that tariff plans (including zero rating plans) be dealt with in the following ways: (i) Ex-ante determination — Before a licensee launches any tariff plan, the same would need to be filed before TRAI within a reasonable period prior to the launch of the plan. TRAI would examine each such tariff filing carefully to see if it conforms to the principles of Net Neutrality and that it is not anti-competitive by distorting consumer markets.

Such a filing requirement would include a deemed approval clause, if the regulator does not decide within a reasonable period. This would ensure balance of interests, protecting the liberty of service providers to design specific tariff plans attuned to specific customer demands and at the same time ensure that the principles of Net Neutrality are not breached.

(ii) Ex-post regulation — Complaints on tariff plans may be dealt with on a case by case basis through an adjudicatory process to be specified by the regulator and after giving reasonable opportunity to be heard. Imposition of penalties or financial disincentives could be considered if the principles of Net Neutrality are violated. However, the measurement principles are to be defined to gauge whether the tariff plans impinge on Net Neutrality principles.

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