NEW DELHI: India has joined the club of nations that guarantee non-discriminatory access to the Internet, with the Telecom Commission on Wednesday accepting Trai’s suggestions on net neutrality.
The regulator in last November recommended that internet access service providers don’t resort to discrimination, restriction or interference in the treatment of content by way of blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds.
The Department of Telecom is likely to notify the guidelines soon. “This should come into force almost immediately,” said Aruna Sundararajan, telecom secretary and chairman of Telecom Commission.
The Commission, though, has excluded some critical services like autonomous vehicles and telemedicine, which need faster speeds.
Net neutrality will be monitored by a multi-stakeholder body entity comprising government representatives, telecom operators, Internet of Things providers, civil society members, and consumer organisations.