Net Neutrality India [what is wrong with Free Basics]

So you might have heard about the recent Net Neutrality Debate in India. Recently TRAI, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, released a consultation paper on what should be the way forward for Net Neutrality and OTT(Over-the-top) regulation in India.

Net Neutrality refers to the principle that all data should be treated equally and it can not be discriminated/blocked on the basis of content. OTT services basically refers to every service on the internet ever. Every website, app, etc comes under OTT services.

TRAI then asked for shareholder's, i.e. Internet users' input on 20 questions. To get this input, TRAI published this paper on at the bottom of their website on an unannounced date and in a mind boggling 118 page pdf. This paper is completely biased, takes quotes out of context and even plagiarizes to malign OTT players and Net neutrality.

If TRAI has it's way, we will see cannibalization of the internet. You'll can be charged differently for different services. (Using google? That costs more. Using Bing? No charge.) We will see arbitrary blocking of content and data. We will have different speeds for different services( P2P,torrenting,video streaming, video calling, gaming,etc will be most likely affected.) We will see licensing and exploitation of OTT services.

Why is this relevant to Brilliant and its users?

A lot of users on Brilliant are from India. Under TRAI's classification of OTT services, Brilliant.org qualifies as an OTT service. If TRAI has its way, Brilliant.org will have to obtain a license to operate in India. Anyone even remotely familiar with the Indian system will realize that it will be next to impossible for a company based in the US to get a license. They can also charge Brilliant.org extra money for operating in India just because it is an OTT service, which is unfair.

What can I do to stop this?

First off, go to http://www.savetheinternet.in/ which has a prewritten response to all the 20 questions. You can read and edit the answers according to your liking. It also allows you to send the email to TRAI with a few clicks. For non-citizens of India, you can add a few words on the top of the email, something along the lines of " I am a citizen of XYZ who is deeply concerned with the events currently going on in India. The move which you propose will set a bad precedent and affect internet users of the whole world." Don't leave it for later. The last date is 24th April. And it only takes a few minutes.

Secondly, you can spread awareness amount this move on social media.The current trending hashtags are #NetNeutralityIndia, #SavetheInternet, #IndiawantsNetNeutrality. I'll try to post an album of stuff you can share, but in the mean time, The Logical Indian has been sharing a few stuff. You can also view/share this video [Mild swearing].

If you have any queries, ask away.

Mods/Staff. Please be lenient. This is not related to Maths/Science but I've tried to explain why it would affect Brilliant.org

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`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
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1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
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`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
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Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

@Fellow Indians, Humble request to y'all to do your bit. Thanks $\ddot\smile$

Krishna Ar - 6 years, 2 months ago

The incumbent government had canvassed for votes by using the slogan " Achche din aanewale hein( Good days will come soon)" . But I don't see anything in this decision that will bring good days for us. Hoping that the government takes note of #SaveTheInternet Campaign and take decisions which are the best and brings good days .

Manish Dash - 6 years, 2 months ago

I would have preferred being and Antarctican. I think this time, VPN is useless too.

Aryan Gaikwad - 6 years, 2 months ago

I have corrected the problem. Please solve it now

Mehul Arora - 6 years, 2 months ago

Yes I have solved it. Thanks for correcting

@Manish Dash – You're welcome! :)

@Mehul Arora – But the problem is that I could solve the question on paper and not on the computer. This was because in the process of viewing the report(that I had initially submitted but now I have deleted) in order to confirm my submission, I had lost the chance to answer the question. When the question was edited I managed to solve the question. Please don't feel bad if anything as such is present in my comment. I am honest enough to admit this.

Which problem?

Nihar Mahajan - 6 years, 2 months ago

@Nihar Mahajan – Please go to the given link to see the question https://brilliant.org/problems/150-follower-problem-2/?group=ptJQyNZEbx3T&ref_id=720539

If that happens we Indian users of brilliant are at loss! I will not be able to continue my streak if someday brilliant stops working suddenly! Man I'm already on 425 day streak!

Kunal Joshi - 6 years, 2 months ago

Nice work Siddhartha ! I have shared this note on Google Plus . Keep up the good work :D

A Former Brilliant Member - 6 years, 2 months ago

Bahut din baad? How'd the JEE Mains go?

Siddhartha Srivastava - 6 years, 2 months ago

Haan , mujhe is note ke baare mein abhi patha chala tha .

Mains ? Kuch khaas nahi :( Physics was tough for me . Maths and Chem were easy .

I won't be saying anything abt the marks until the official answer key gets released on the 18th . Sorry abt that .

@A Former Brilliant Member – Sure. No problem. Hope you get awesome marks. Chem was pretty easy, considering I solved almost all 11th ones even though my chem is horrible.

@Siddhartha Srivastava – Thanks . So how was Physics ?

EDIT : Ok , it's time . I better go to sleep . Got a long day ahead of me !

@A Former Brilliant Member – Physics was easy as of class 11 .Don't know about 12 but 11 was easy

Gautam Sharma - 6 years, 2 months ago

@Gautam Sharma – the 12th class physics syllabus of jee mains has lots of useless and non-jee advanced chapters and topics.

Karan Siwach - 6 years, 2 months ago

@A Former Brilliant Member – Coaching ke test tha and Physics seemed lengthy, so I didn't bother looking at it too closely..

Guys i also sent them mail about this issue.Hope they cease this issue as there are many more serious issues pending than this. Edit:Shared it on Fb too and many of my friends mailed them too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfY1NKrzqi0 for further clarification :D

Ramesh Goenka - 6 years, 2 months ago

I'll add it. I hadn't added it because of its name. xD I'll add a warning with it though.

@Raghav Vaidyanathan @Krishna Ar @Satvik Golechha @Agnishom Chattopadhyay @Sandeep Bhardwaj @Mehul Arora @Pranjal Jain

I see that this note is already popular. I'll send them that email. Let's all work together and force TRAI to go back on its words.

I agree with your views. I sent them that email.

Agnishom Chattopadhyay - 6 years, 2 months ago

I agree with your Views @Siddhartha Srivastava . Brilliant Can not be charged! I am literally gonna be So lonely if it happens. But, It only happens in India. Sad But true. :( :( :(

Share this note so more people see this, share stuff on FB,Twiiter and most importantly tell everyone to go on saveinternet.in and send the mail to TRAI.

Yeah

$#AiB video #Already done$

Raghav Vaidyanathan - 6 years, 2 months ago

Nice. The AIB video TBH really brought the movement to light. Otherwise, it was stuck on Reddit for so long.

You listen to the podcasts?

@Siddhartha Srivastava I've updated this note to reflect the present situation

Agnishom Chattopadhyay - 5 years, 5 months ago

Sure. No problem. Just a few things though.

You'd be better off making a different note, since the FreeBasics issue and the Net Neutrality issue are related but not the same. There are quite a few major differences. Plus, this note's very likely buried. No point in reviving an old note.
This time around Brilliant.org isn't really affected in any way. So I'm not sure Brilliant.org would be the best platform for this. But you're a mod, so your choice.
I don't really support the issue this time around. You might want to find someone more enthusiastic about the issue.

Siddhartha Srivastava - 5 years, 5 months ago

Okay. You're probably correct.

Hey guys;

$\color{#D61F06}{UPDATE:}$ This issue is back as Free Basics. It is just the same thing going on with a different name. If in doubt, read this. Save the Internet!

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$