Appu? You mean Airtel?

No, the exact opposite. Appu is the bleeding heart, the representative of all those protesting the injustice of differential charging on the internet.

I’m not sure I really get net neutrality.

That’s because it’s a deceptively simple term for a concept that takes a while to understand. Essentially, when you buy an internet connection, you’re buying a service from telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs). They, for a fee, control how much internet you have access to, what you access, how fast your connection is. Right now, your fee gives you a certain amount of data you can access online at a certain speed. What information you access online, and which websites you visit are completely up to you. This is called net neutrality.

Yes, that’s pretty much how my connection works.

But this is going to change. Telcos like Airtel allege that in times when you can do practically everything online — including making a call — this eats into their traditional revenue sources of call and SMS charges. So they are expecting you to pay a premium for services such as WhatsApp or Viber — against the principle of net neutrality.

That’s not fair.

That’s exactly what’s up for debate right now. The internet is supposed to be a platform for free speech, and users must be allowed to speak out wherever they wish to do so. In that case, ISPs and telecom companies must only concern themselves with providing you an internet connection — not monitoring which websites you access, giving you preferential access to some in exchange for blocking others.

Okay, so who is Appu?

The story of Appu is for those who still aren’t convinced by the need for net neutrality. It’s a metaphorical story arguing in favour of net neutrality, written by Aravind Ravi Sulekha, co-founder of an open-source chat service called Scrollback.

What’s the story about?

Appu is a young tea-stall owner (like your average struggling startup) at a village bus stop. He’s a good guy, provides great service and is loved by all the bus passengers who frequent his store on their journey to and back from work. Now the bus operators (you guessed it — the telecom guys) demand a service charge from Appu, because his customers are really their bus passengers and his tea-stall wouldn’t run unless there was a bus service to begin with.

And then what happens?

The story ends with a climactic showdown between Appu, the hired extortionist from the bus lobby and the crowd of passengers (you and me, presumably). The wise old man — who’s speaking on our behalf — says to the bus lobby, “Your service is carrying passengers. It has already been paid for by us (the passengers). We are your customers, not Appu.” Hence Appu has no obligation to pay. All this, including not-so-veiled references to how terrible the bus service is in the first place — since it breaks down frequently — and the bus lobby’s folly in overbidding for government licences. (Read the full story at aravindet.svbtle.com)

There must be a counter-argument to all this?

Yes, what the telcos are lobbying with Trai (the regulator) for. Differential pricing, they say, is how every business is run, with either premium pricing for some services (like airplane seats) or the more well-to-do customers cross-subsidising the poorer ones (like electricity tariffs).

Then net neutrality is a repeat of the equal rights debate?

Yes. No differentiation between the possibility of access to websites or speeds at which you can access certain websites. And that everything happens at exactly the same price.

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