Information Society Club event: Discussion on Net Neutrality led by V. Sridhar

Date: 11-2-2016

Description: V. Sridhar led a discussion on Net Neutrality organized by the ISoC (Information Society Club) on 11th February 2016.

The definition of Net Neutrality was propounded by Professor Tim Wu way back in 2003. Net neutrality is based on the premise of the ‘end to end design principle’, in which traffic on the Internet should be determined by decisions at the edges of the network. The two sides that are on the edges of the network are the Over The Top firms (OTTs) (e.g. Facebook) and the end users. As per the dogma of net neutrality, the Telecom (and Internet) Service Provider (TSP) that provides connectivity should not discriminate in the form of either pricing or traffic management, with respect to the content originating from OTTs. While the concept of Net Neutrality has seen many vicissitudes in its 20 year history in many countries around the world, it is reaching its crescendo in India, with proponents and opponents arguing the same, especially in the context of Facebook’s “Free Basics. The talk will highlight issues in the debate and potential way forward.

The aim of ISoC (Information Society Club) at IIIT-B is to provide the students a forum for developing a better appreciation of social realities using multiple perspectives and methodologies. The premise is that a better understanding of social contexts will make the future IT professionals more sensitive to the needs and capacities of their fellow human beings and this can lead to design of more relevant and useful IT products and services.

CITAPP at IIIT Bangalore is an interdisciplinary think-tank set-up to focus on the policy challenges and the organizational demands made by technological innovation. Of particular interest to the Centre is how technological advances, along with institutional changes that harness the legitimacy and the powers of bureaucracies and market, address the needs of underserved communities.