Net Neutrality: DoT Committee Report

In March 2015, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper titled “Regulatory Framework for Over-the-Top (OTT) Services” wherein the issue of Net Neutrality in the backdrop of OTT services came to the fore. TRAI has stated that the objective of the consultation paper was to elicit views arising from the implications of the growth of OTT services bringing disruptive changes to the traditional revenue models and to consider whether changes were required in the current regulatory framework. The TRAI consultation paper sharply intensified the debate on Net Neutrality across India, and campaigns to preserve free and open access to the internet came up across the country. The Department of Telecommunications constituted a committee to examine the issue of Net Neutrality, and their findings and conclusions are presented in this report.