Ans 1 : If some regulation or control is required over Internet in India it should be right from the beginning. But the question here is, is it needed in our country? Yes, but it is up to the end user. Internet is not a public or private owned property, neither it is a controllable thing. It's just a network of interconnected devices, a medium of communication and data transfer and many other things which do not need any control. Internet is the property of all, even it wasn't invented by a single person, Internet is the result of collective effort of many scientists who never gave a thought to take credit from it.
If we control it like China, and let our people and future Indians access only what we feel is good, it's definitely a violation of our Fundamental Rights. Internet in India is still a dream for millions, I think the regulation should be our least concern right now.
Ans 2 : Such communication services with huge user base in India should definitely be bagging millions of dollars every year. If they are paying Indian Govt, I don't think a regulation is required. Else, how can some foreign service operating in India, making our people spend money on them and finally benefit without paying us? Is Facebook paying service tax to us like Google? Indian ISPs main concern is such service providers who're impacting their income growth. But some tie-ups of Indian telecom operators with those foreign services shows that they found a way out finally. So, again no strict control is needed.
Ans 3: This is after all a competitive world where there's no chance for the existence of monopoly. Someone tomorrow finds a better service that makes current OTT leaders outdated. It's just the nature of modern human being. Government of India is supposed to do and act in a way that benefits every individual bearing an Aadhar Card. Let the private telecom operators worry about their business models and revenue.
Ans 4: I actually didn't get the 4th question. Is the question about OTT players paying on behalf of their users when they exceeded the data usage limit? I don't know, everyone is paying for what they used - either consumers, ISPs or the OTT players. It's just as simple as 'you get what you pay for.'
Ans 5 : Yes, they do exist. Regulating the OTT players isn't a bad idea but up to what extent? We can't just peek into the content or every piece of data being transferred into India like United States' NSA or Chinese Government. But considering the national security, it is good to have access to their records and keep an eye on vulnerable sources.
Ans 6 : Security or the risks involved in the communication services will mainly be data loss or theft. Such issues should be settled between that service provider and customer because he/she agreed to the terms and conditions when he first accessed that particular service. So, Govt has nothing to do with such cases except making all such service providers make a good service agreement for Indian customers, forcing them to employ better security measures for Indian users and educate our people about the risks involved. If it's a hack or something, those service providers will have to compensate the loss.
Ans 7: The privacy and protection of consumer will be different in different nations. So, as said in the above response, Government should take measures in preparing a better privacy policy and agreement between the service providers and Indian users.
Ans 8: Let us put aside ETNO for a minute. We are capable of framing our own guidelines and rules aren't we? We have every piece of information about the foreign OTT providers and how much they are benefiting from Indian customers. So, let us work out and prepare a pricing model based on what we are losing by allowing them in our country. Whatever measures we take, they should benefit both parties.
Ans 9 : There's should be no chance for discrimination in India. The recent scheme Free Internet by Facebook - Reliance tie-up and Airtel's Zero program are a complete violation of Net Neutrality. They are giving preference to specific websites (a list of 30 I think) by letting their customers access them for free while charging for the rest. And now Airtel joined them to compete. The problem with Indians is we love something if it is cheap or free. This weakness is letting the private companies take control over us. So, India should be the first supporter of Net Neutrality and punish those who violate it.
Ans 10 : No regulation or discrimination is needed over the traffic. A internet user will have the choice what to use and what not to use and with the more number of users comes more traffic and we can't put a barrier there.
Ans 11 : May be it's a good idea to have a fair control on the management techniques employed by the Internet Service Providers. This helps to know if they are violating net neutrality.
Ans 12 : Definitely, Government cannot afford the infrastructure and up-gradation costs of ISPs, but if they are truly serious about providing better services to people, government may encourage them with subsidy or buying (investing in) their stock. It will be a good investment for sure.
Ans 13 : It's definitely a violation of Net Neutrality. If one provider is allowing users a price free service, there will be definitely a hidden benefit. Who would lose money for nothing? With these free services arises competition and this is a serious violation. Nothing should be free, there's a price for everything and we Indians can afford it.
Ans 14 : No, it's not good to charge the end user with different pricing, nor can they charge the OTT providers. ISPs has nothing to do with differential pricing and they are not eligible to charge differently for different services. But the Government can collect a service tax from them to earn by charging our people.
Ans 15 : This question is beyond my current knowledge but I'll answer it with what all I got. If the question is "if the OTT providers using Internet from Indian ISPs be considered as bulk users," then my comment would be no. Every OTT provider will be a single customer and he pays for the bandwidth and data they use. Sorry, if I didn't get your question right.
Ans 16 : It's always a better idea to encourage Indian OTT providers but there should be no sign of discrimination. Since we should support Neutrality, we can't encourage some providers and impose taxes on others because it'll be a violation. However, let's be neutral and act according to the laws.
Ans 17 : Since they are dealing with communication over Internet which is completely a communication based one i.e. text, video and audio (voice) they should be categorized into CSP.
Ans 18 : I don't think the subscription charges are too high they are just a few bucks. But we should see that they maintain a reasonable pricing model for us.
Ans 19 : Actually, Government should have more regulation over the ASPs since they constitute the maximum Internet business market and earn more than CSPs so, let us ensure that their services are not over priced. Also, Govt isn't acting strict to collect service taxes from all those ASPs who are operating in our homeland. This is one of the serious issues to be considered immediately. But how far the Govt can have access to the data those ASPs deal with. Once again we can't be USA or China to sneak into the private data. It's up to the morality of Govt how to regulate them.
Ans 20 : I sincerely believe that Indian Government acts according to the guidelines set by the great builders of our Constitution. Regulation on everything is needed in India but not like China or USA. I would like to see India as a country where every citizen is treated with utmost respect and whose privacy is valued even by the first citizen on the nation.
I believe and support Net Neutrality and so does my Country.