Dear TRAI,

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.

Allowing ISPs to charge additionally for services is similar to Toll on a highway charging extra to a particular brand of vehicle. With such a selective throttling, you would allow ISPs to control what the people of India should listen, hear and use. The whole of India, which is still struggling to have a decent internet infrastructure will be a slave to telephone and internet service providers. This whole idea of differential charging goes against the principle of Freedom of Speech. Essentially, ISPs and TSPs are free to charge/throttle what you are saying (as opposed to how much you are saying). This idea is beyond ridiculous. As a regulatory authority it is your duty toward your countrymen to free the them from the clutches of chrony capitalistic corporates.

Do understand that airwaves belong to the people of India. The TSPs and ISPs are merely leasing them. They can not and must not behave like the owners of the vital resource that belong to the nation. How would you feel if your tenant starts behaving like the owner of your property?

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.