Dear TRAI,

I will start with the saying of the inventor of world wide web, Tim Berners Lee: "Of course, [net neutrality] is not just about blocking and throttling. It is also about stopping ‘positive discrimination’,
such as when one internet operator
favours one particular service over
another. If we don’t explicitly outlaw
this, we hand immense power to
telcos and online service operators. In effect, they can become gatekeepers — able to handpick winners and the losers in the market and to favour their own sites, services and platforms over
those of others. This would crowd out competition and snuff out innovative new services before they even see the light of day."

I am writing to express my concern against the actions that telecom carriers are taking to restrict fair access to the internet (Net Neutrality). I believe the internet is a vital resource - it helps me communicate, work, and thrive as a citizen. If telecom operators can discriminate internet traffic on the basis of which services pay the most, we are allowing telcos control over a vital and necessary technological resource. By doing so we allow them to define what information we can view; what entertainment we can access; and how companies can innovate.

This is completely unfair and harms India's long term role in the global market. I strongly believe the growth of telecoms and the well-being of the internet can go hand-in-hand. I'm asking for a framework to ensure long term and fair access for all services regardless of size. I want my generation and those that come after me to have unfettered access to the Internet, with no telcos or ISPs having the ability to charge for specific services I use on top of it. Please understand that the internet is an important resource and vital to me and to every other Indian citizen. I would like to see it kept free and protected under Net Neutrality to ensure fair and equal access for all and forever.

Regards,
Raman Balyan