Facebook
boss Mark Zuckerberg has defended the aims of his Internet.org initiative after
several Indian firms decided to pull out of the project.
In a blog
post, Mr Zuckerberg argued that Internet.org's basic free services were not
incompatible with net neutrality - the principle that all web services should
be equally accessible.
"We
fully support net neutrality," he wrote. "Universal connectivity and
net neutrality can and must co-exist."
But critics were quick to respond.
Writing in
the Hindustan Times, India's Save The Internet coalition maintained that
Internet.org is "Zuckerberg's ambitious project to confuse hundreds of
millions of emerging market users into thinking that Facebook and the internet
are one and the same."
Distorting
competition?
At the
heart of the row is Internet.org's policy of "zero-rating", whereby
telecoms providers agree not to pass on the costs of handling the data traffic
so that consumers can receive services for free.
Critics
argue this has a distorting effect on competition, making it difficult for
publishers not signed up to Internet.org to reach the hundreds of millions of
poorer people in developing economies who have no internet access at all.
But
Facebook disagrees, pointing out that joining Internet.org is free for web
publishers and app providers.
"We're
open for all mobile operators and we're not stopping anyone from joining,"
says Mr Zuckerberg. "We want as many internet providers to join so as many
people as possible can be connected."
However,
India's leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel has also been applying
zero-rating to its Airtel Zero service.
This means
that consumers can access certain apps for free because the app provider picks
up the data bill.
Smaller
developers without the resources to do the same are at a commercial
disadvantage.
Better than
nothing?
Facebook
chooses the services offered by Internet.org after consultation with "local
governments and the mobile operators" in each country, says Mr Zuckerberg.
It is this
hand-picking process that appears discriminatory to many within the industry.
But Mr
Zuckerberg believes that "if someone can't afford to pay for connectivity,
it is always better to have some access than none at all."
In India,
Internet.org has rolled out its free basic services on the Reliance network in
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Telangana.
And it has
also launched in Indonesia on the Indosat network.
Boycott
This week a
number of firms, including travel portal Cleartrip.com and media giant Times
Group, withdrew from Internet.org, claiming that the service conflicts with the
principle of net neutrality.
The issue
has certainly galvanised the Indian public - more than 800,000 people have sent
emails to India's telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,
demanding a free and fair internet.
Indian
telecoms companies have been putting pressure on the government to change the
way so-called "over-the-top" mobile apps, such as Skype, WhatsApp,
and Instagram, are licensed.
Such apps
piggyback on the operators' networks and have benefited greatly from the
proliferation of smartphones and the explosion in mobile content.
Operators
want a bigger slice of the pie.
