Trai set to reject differential pricing; Free Basics to be hit

NEW DELHI: Telecom regulator Trai is set to reject differential pricing for data services, a move that would mean the end of controversial services like Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero.
Trai will issue an order to this effect within a week, top sources told TOI. The order is also expected to bar free or subsidised data packages that offer access to only a select services, such as Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp messenger.“These are discriminatory and are against the concept of digital democracy. We will not allow them,” a source said.
The regulator’s stand will clear the confusion over net neutrality. There were apprehensions over the manner in which free Internet was being offered, after the introduction of some zero-rated platforms with preferential treatment to a few websites for a fee.
This will come as a setback for Facebook and Airtel, which have campaigned heavily for zero-rated platforms.
The government on Friday shunted out telecom secretary Rakesh Garg and replaced him with JS Deepak — the man who first raised the red flag when A Raja was circumventing rules in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation and the officer who was roped in to usher in auctions in 2010.
Garg’s transfer to the minority affairs ministry is seen to be linked to the telecom department’s failure to fix the nagging issue of call drops and the slow progress on Digital India, the PM Modi-led government’s ambitious programme.
The 1980 batch IAS officer had moved into Sanchar Bhawan in July 2014 and will chech out just months ahead of his retirement in November. The appointments were part of a top-deck reshuffle and promotion of nine secretary-rank officers.
Madhya Pradesh cadre officer Aruna Sharma will replace Deepak in the department of electronics and information technology, while Avinash K Srivastava will be the new food processing secretary.
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) chief Krishan Kumar Jalan has been appointed the secretary for micro, small and medium enterprises.
The changes in the communications and IT ministry were the hot topics for discussion in bureaucratic circles although government officials insisted that Garg’s departure from DoT was part of a larger reshuffle. Those in the knowhow said that he had to pay the price for deficient telecom services in the country.
“The issue of poor telecom services and call drops had even been raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There clearly had been a dissatisfaction over this issue, and despite recent efforts, the problems still persist,” a top source said, while giving out the possible reasons for Garg’s sudden ouster.
“Also, the government’s digital programme, which is the main outreach initiative of the Modi government to connect to the millions of countrymen, appears to be going slow. The Prime Minister is not pleased by its performance.”
However, an official in the ministry said that Garg had himself sought an “easy posting”.
In Deepak, the government found a ready replacement as he is familiar with DoT, having worked there as joint secretary. In his last assignment as IT secretary, he was dealing with several elements of Digital India. He is often described as a troubleshooter, having also dealt with the Commonwealth Games, when the event was in a crisis and running well behind deadline.
But it is experience in telecom, first as a whistleblower during Raja’s term, that got him the job. Although Deepak was posted in the commerce department, where he dealt with complex WTO negotiations, he was specially requisitioned to conduct the first round of auctions.
Besides call drops, Rakesh Garg’s transfer to the minority affairs ministry is seen to be linked to the slow progress of PM Modi’s ambitious Digital India programme. However, an official said that Garg had himself sought an ‘easy posting’.