TRAI receives 1 mn emails demanding net neutrality

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has received as many as a million e-mails demanding that the internet be kept free and fair, as the deadline for submissions on its consultation paper floated last month ends today.

The last time a consultation paper got such a massive response was in 1999 when the paper on the New Telecom Policy was floated – that got 180,000 emails.

Experts say that although a lot of these emails are probably 'bots' by crusaders trying to keep the internet neutral, the interest envisaged by citizens in this campaign, nonetheless, has been exemplary.

Software Freedom Law Centre, in a statement, said, "Reflective of the truly diverse nature of the Internet's stake-holder community, responses to the Consultation Paper have been sent in by everyone from casual users of the Internet to start-up businesses and many more.

''The nation-wide campaign in favour of net-neutrality also prompted corporations such as Flipkart and Cleartrip to dissociate from non-neutral zero-rated service platforms. This unprecedented level of public engagement is evidence not only of the effectiveness of democratic process, but also of the power of the very Internet that is at risk of being fundamentally altered."