Internet is the engine that keeps the world running and it’s the service providers who keep the Internet running. There are several ways Internet service providers can manipulate user experience while using their service. Some of them include;
Data Discrimination:
Providers ability to filter data (can be used both for good reasons and bad
trading practices)
Bandwidth Throttling:
The ability of the provider to alter end user’s bandwidth independent of any
other factor
Net Bias:
Differentiation of price and quality of similar content for different users
Deep Packet
Inspection: Collect user data for statistical information with or without
their knowledge
To make it simple, your internet service provider can and is
completely controlling what sites you can access and how fast you can access
them.
Have you ever experienced all other sites load faster except
some of your favorite sites?
Have you ever experienced a similar site load at different
speeds during day time and night?
Even before consuming 100% of you allotted data limit, had
you been pushed to lower surfing speed?
If your answer is yes for any of these questions, there is
for sure a 50% probability that you have experienced some of the black hat
practices discussed above. You pay for the service itself and not for what
sites you browse or stream from. It’s like our Electricity Board charging for
power consumed every month under the condition that you should not use an air
conditioner more than 3 hours a day or charging you extra in case you use the
power for washing machine. You pay for the power itself not for what and how
you use it.
Out of the all three participants
- Website Owners
- Internet Service Providers
- End-Users
Whom do you think has upper hand?
If this is not taken care, it will become a very usual
concept in the future similar to DTH language packs. But why all of a sudden these terms are getting viral in india? Airtel recently announced a plan named Airtel Zero which is creating all these buzz.
Internet users (Netizens) from all over India are against this.
If you would like to be a part of this protest, visit http://www.netneutrality.in/ and click
on the button “Submit the Response to TRAI” and follow the on screen
instructions.
Use hashtags #NetNeutralityIndia and #SavetheInternet to
post your messages in Facebook and Twitter. Happy browsing the Neutral Internet!!!
