Net (non) Neutrality. Survival of the fattest.

A month or so back the AIB (All India Bakchod) boys were being roasted over the "roast" event in Mumbai. They may now be hailed as the "Angelic Internet Boys" that took on the devilish telecom companies and roasted them in their own hell. AIB's latest takes up the issue of net neutrality in India and wants everyone to send in their opposition to TRAI (the regulator) through the campaign #savetheinternet. Since it's in my interest as much as anyone else's - I sent in my response to TRAI to voice my protest.

But, the issue of compromising net neutrality is neither new nor sudden. The fact that it took so much time to wake up in India certainly is. It may have been prompted by the telecos having taken note of the insane valuations at which e-commerce, e-mobility, e-tech, e-aggregation, and any form of "e" companies have been funded; and made them (telecoms) "e" with envy. From their point of view; the telecoms have invested huge sums of capital in creating the asset backbone on which all these "e" applications ride; and; these totally "asset light" enterprises walk away with millions in value. Certainly they can share some of their valuation spoils with the telcos; if not; then the telco has every right to ask its "tennant" to take the long (low toll) and slow road rather than the high toll "(e)xpessway" created by it. What do you know? Instead of opposing this thought process of the telcos; some of the well funded (fatter) "e" sites and applications think that this is a great way - at a small cost - to ensure no competition from newer (fitter) enterprises that will rise to disrupt them and put them out of business. Certainly much cheaper than buying out potential threats. Looks like "disruption" is not a good word for the "disruptor" once it has "disrupted" the market place. 

We can scream and shout till our guts fall out; but big money will win and the big telco boys have plenty of it as do some of the well funded "netpreneurs". It has happened before in software, computers, health, telecom, TV cable, FMCG and many other industries; so no reason why it will not happen again. The tectonic shift in this space will change the rules of the game and the disruption may create new opportunities and the way business is done. 

But hey! as a patriotic Netizen do your duty as Lord Krsna said; even at the cost of TRAI making you cry - log into www.savetheinternet.in and file your opposition.