Dear TRAI,

With the introduction of Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services / Internet services and Net Neutrality in it's current form, there is a very real, clear,  and eminent threat to net neutrality in India.

Neutrality means not favoring any one - being neutral. So naturally, net neutrality should means everyone - any app or service or website - has equal right on the airwaves that we the common people of India own. That telecom company do NOT no discriminated against any app or service or website. Now this is a two part problem:
1) If telecom companies start charging more for one app/service or accessing a particular website, versus another app/service/website, it is a CLEAR case of discrimination. This goes totally against the concept of neutrality. TRAI should be protecting consumer interest and not bend over to demands of telecom companies and allow telecom companies to charge differential rates for different apps/services/access to websites. If this simple concept is not followed it is failure of an esteemed institution like TRAI. 
2) Additionally, if telecom companies say at present that they will not change the current charges for Internet, like data packs costing 1GB of 3GB data for like Rs. 250 per month, but instead they will start offering some apps/servicrs/website access at a lower cost than the others,  even that is a violation of neutrality. This will be a violation if at a later stage the telecom company decides to hike the fees of regular Internet packs like the one I mentioned above but does not hike the price of accessing those specific apps/services/website  concurrently and in the same measure. What guarantees are in place that once telecom companies will be stopped from doing this? Further, this second scenario will create an anti-competition environment as big companies with huge funding can 'buy' access to consumers, effectively putting consumers out of reach for startup and upcoming competitiors, and ultimately push them out of business.

To give you a simple example - Airtel created Hike messenger. Suppose it now wants to provide free access to Hike and charge a high fee for access to Whatsapp, probably because it could not get enough consumers to use Hike, i.e. it could compete directly with Whatsapp. So Airtel decides to make access to Hike free of charge, and either continues to charge the current access fee (or current Internet pack charges) or increases the fee for accessing Whatsapp. Such a move will go against both the scenarios I explained above - Airtel by charging higher fee for access to Whatsapp will clearly discriminate against Whatsapp. Additionally, such a move by Airtel will put certain consumers out of reach for Whatsapp, and will be clearly an anti-competition move by Airtel.

Sincerely hope that TRAI will keep Indian consumers' interest in mind and act logically by not implementing the redicoulous policy - Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services / Internet services and Net Neutrality - in it's current form that completely goes against net neutrality.

Regards, 
Dharmesh

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Dharmesh Kapasi
New Delhi