Hi, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am here to answer a simple question.
What is Net Neutrality ?
Here is a quick and simple guide to,
"What net neutrality is and
why is it important”.
If you would like to find out more,
I have put some links
in the video's description.
Net neutrality, is a principle that
All online traffic should be treated
Equally.
This means that if you pay for a certain
speed of internet connection,
you should be able to use
all of that speed,
all of the time,
regardless of which site, app, or service
you are using.
This idea is important to make sure that
you get all of your downloads quickly,
you are able to watch online videos
without any problem, you can play games
without being affected by lag,
and you can use your favourite apps
without having to wait.
It all sounds very sensible, right?
Who can be against making sure that
our internet service works correctly?
Well, the answer is that some
Internet Service Providers
want to be able to charge users and
online companies, and the like
for what they call, a fast lane.
What that really means though,
is that they will be able to slow user
and company’s connection,
if they don't pay up.
Make no mistake,
the internet will not get faster
with these so called, fast lanes.
Websites and apps, in the fast lane will
load at the speed as they always did
and everything else
will be dumped into, a slow lane.
It is like saying,
the speed limit for cars is 60 km/hour
but only if you pay for this fast lane,
only then you can drive at 60 km/hour.
But everybody else, has to drive in
the slow lane at 30 km/hour.
You did not make anyone faster
by doing that. You just slowed down
the people who were not willing to pay you
the extra money for the services
they should be getting anyway.
The end result of abolishing
net neutrality
is that the quality of your service
could degrade, and your internet bill
could rise. Right now, you pay one price
for your internet connection, every month.
But if huge companies,
like Air Tel or Vodafone,
had their way, they will have the power,
to charge you extra every month,
to use apps, such as YouTube or Whatsapp.
This will be like a municipal water supply
charging you extra because you decided
to use your water for tea
instead of laundry.
The municipal water supply
does not have any right to dictate
what you use your water for. They can 
only charge you for the water itself.
An electricity company does not 
charge you for premium electricity
for your television. They can only 
charge you for the electricity
that you use, not what it is used for.
Some Internet Service Providers, 
want to be able to dictate what you can
and cannot use. Worse still,
they have a vested interest in doing so.
Companies like 
AirTel and Reliance Communications, also
sell music and video streaming services,
and provide their own online messengers.
They face stiff competition from services
like YouTube and Whatsapp.
These ISP’s have a vested interest in
slowing down their competition.
If they succeed in 
abolishing net neutrality,
they will be given 
power over the internet itself, and
gain the position of kings.
They get to decide what you watch,
decide which company succeeds,
and all the while perpetrating 
a massive amount of conflict of interest
by also providing their own content.
In the worst case scenario,
an app could be slowed down so much that
it could prevent users from accessing it,
and effectively censoring the content.
This is contrary to freedom of speech, and
the ideal of free and open internet that
encourages technological innovation,
strong economy and healthy competition.
That is what net neutrality is.
And that is why it is important.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of 
India (TRAI)
has come out with a consultation paper
to get your views on Net Neutrality.
The link is present in the video’s description.
TRAI holds a great deal of power over
the rules and regulations that ISP’s
in India must abide by.
If you are in India
and would like to take action
to prevent the end of net neutrality,
I would suggest looking up their website.
Before 24th April 2015, send your views
by writing to them on 
the email address shown here.
And ask them to 
preserve the principle of net neutrality.
Thank you for watching.
