Dear Sir/Madam
This is in response to the Consultation Paper
On
Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services like
Google, Yahoo,
MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Windows Live, eBay, Wikipedia.org,
msn.com and Craigslist.
The internet developed as a free service. To put it in chains is not a good idea.
Many countries like the United States of America already have regulations for a free internet policy for customers.
Is India a democracy for free willed people or is it going to be dictatorial with puppet governments in the hands of dictators/army/business interests? Any device being increasingly used does not mean that it is “Over the Top”. It only means that a successful venture has been developed which has caught the imagination of many users.
As a corollary then, the TRAI should put higher tax (in actual percentage terms) on the companies which have the higher number of phone users by the same logic. (e.g. Airtel, Reliance etc should pay more taxes as they are earning more profits by having more number of users in their network). Let them pay double-triple tax in terms of say 50-60% of their net income, as compared to say smaller and newer entrants like Virgin or even Idea network.
This underhand way of making business profits should not even be entertained by the TRAI and the government.
I vote for a free internet and and oppose the move to charge money in the garb of public use of some popular services. Instead companies should be asked to develop services to compete with already running apps and services. Innovate services and ideas, not how to charge already successful ideas.
We are a free market economy believing in competition; not trying to stifle competition by charging popular services or make money through user choice.
Let India remain free post-independence.
Regards.
Madhukar Mittal