17 Th April, 2015 - Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has
defended the aims of his Internet.org initiative after several Indian firms
decided to pull out of the project.
In a blog post Mr Zuckerberg argued that Internet.org's
basic free services were not incompatible with net neutrality - the principle
that all web services should be equally accessible.
"We fully
support net neutrality," he wrote. "Universal connectivity and net
neutrality can and must co-exist." But critics were quick to respond.
Writing in the
Hindustan Times, India's Save The Internet coalition maintained that
Internet.org is "Zuckerberg's ambitious project to confuse hundreds of
millions of emerging market users into thinking that Facebook and the internet
are one and the same."
At the heart of the
row is Internet.org's policy of "zero-rating", whereby telecoms
providers agree not to pass on the costs of handling the data traffic so that
consumers can receive services for free.
Critics argue this
has a distorting effect on competition, making it difficult for publishers not
signed up to Internet.org to reach the hundreds of millions of poorer people in
developing economies who have no internet access at all.
But Facebook
disagrees, pointing out that joining Internet.org is free for web publishers
and app providers.
"We're open for
all mobile operators and we're not stopping anyone from joining," says Mr
Zuckerberg. "We want as many internet providers to join so as many people
as possible can be connected."
However, India's
leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel has also been applying zero-rating to its
Airtel Zero service.
This means that
consumers can access certain apps for free because the app provider picks up
the data bill.
Smaller developers
without the resources to do the same are at a commercial disadvantage.
Facebook chooses the
services offered by Internet.org after consultation with "local
governments and the mobile operators" in each country, says Mr Zuckerberg.
It is this
hand-picking process that appears discriminatory to many within the industry.
But Mr Zuckerberg
believes that "if someone can't afford to pay for connectivity, it is
always better to have some access than none at all."
In India,
Internet.org has rolled out its free basic services on the Reliance network in
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Telangana and it
has also launched in Indonesia on the Indosat network.
This week a number of
firms, including travel portal Cleartrip.com and media giant Times Group, withdrew from Internet.org, claiming that the
service conflicts with the principle of net neutrality.
The issue has
certainly galvanised the Indian public - more than 800,000 people have sent
emails to India's telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,
demanding a free and fair internet.
Indian telecoms
companies have been putting pressure on the government to change the way
so-called "over-the-top" mobile apps, such as Skype, WhatsApp, and
Instagram, are licensed.
Such apps piggyback
on the operators' networks and have benefited greatly from the proliferation of
smartphones and the explosion in mobile content. Operators want a bigger slice
of the pie. - BBC News
