Net Neutrality and Why does it matter?

The TRAI is all set to issue recommendations on net neutrality. The regulator’s recommendations to the telecom department will form a vital component of the government’s policy on net neutrality, a principle that guarantees consumers equal access to all Internet services, with no discrimination on the basis of tariffs or speed. Here is a look at what the developments mean for consumers and companies.

Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers treat all web traffic equally, and it’s pretty much how the internet has worked since its creation. But regulators, consumers advocates and internet companies were concerned about what broadband companies could do with their power as the pathway to the internet – blocking or slowing down apps that rival their own services.

In US, big telecom companies say they don’t want the stricter regulation that comes with the net neutrality rules. They say the regulations can undermine investment in broadband and introduced uncertainty about what were acceptable business practices. There were concerns about potential price regulation, even though the Federal Communications Commission had said it won’t set prices for consumer internet service.

Internet companies such as Google have strongly backed net neutrality but many tech firms have been more muted in their activism this year. Netflix, which had been vocal in support of the rules in 2015, said that weaker net neutrality wouldn’t hurt it because it’s now too popular with users for broadband providers to interfere.

FCC Chairman distributed his alternative plan to other FCC commissioners in preparation for a vote. Although the FCC two Democrats said they will oppose the proposal, the repeal is likely to prevail as Republicans dominate 3-2. The vote for net neutrality in 2015 was also along party lines, but Democrats dominated then. The TRAI fought a battle in 2016 against plans that promised select Internet services to poor people by offering them free of cost. The regulator issued differential pricing regulations by which it banned what’s known as zero-rating plans.

World without Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi Icon – a dot with radio waves radiating outward – glows on nearly every internet – connected device, from the iPhone to thermostats to TVs. But it’s starting to fade from the limelight. With every major US wireless carrier now offering unlimited data plans, consumers don’t need to log on to a Wi-Fi Network to avoid costly overage changes anymore.

That’s a critical change that threatens to render Wi-Fi obsolete. And with new competitive technologies crowding in, the future looks even dimmer. In an all data you can eat world, consumer’s use of Wi-Fi at public places like stadiums and airports will drop to a third of all mobile data traffic from about half. This means businesses not upgrading public access Wi-Fi as often. Smartphone users might not even turn on their Wi-Fi capability.

Customers are rational. When pricing incentives favor Wi-Fi customers use more Wi-Fi. When pricing incentives shift, so does behavior. The erosion of Wi-Fi influence is likely to be slow and uneven. While unlimited data plans make the technology less necessary for phones, many home devices, from a MacBook to Amazon Echo, still use Wi-Fi to connect to Internet. Wi-Fi also helps fill in gaps in some office buildings and homes that have spotty cellphone coverage.

Some wireless carriers also still rely on Wi-Fi Networks to handle a large portion of the growing volume of internet traffic. Putting all of that Netflix binging and Spotify listening on cellular networks could strain capacity. Unlimited plans aren’t the only threat. Wi-Fi has survived 20 years and spurred a roughly $20 Billion industry of gear, service providers and chipmakers – mainly because it’s technology is open to innovation and it operates freely in the nation’s unlicensed airwaves. Wi-Fi now faces competition from other technologies that also run in those same frequencies such as LTE and CBRS (Citizen Broadband Radio Service).