TRAI to Submit Recommendations on Free Data Architecture Soon

The Indian telecom regulator may soon come out with recommendations on free data architecture, a top official said here on Tuesday.

"Yesterday in Hyderabad we had an open house discussion on free data as to how this architecture should be done and telecom industry, startups and number of other people participated. On the basis of that discussion and suggestions received we will come out with recommendations or order," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman R.S.Sharma said.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of CII Big Picture event.

"We also had an important discussion in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad on the issue of unsolicited downloads and background usage of data. When you visit a website, there are videos in background, several advertisements also running, leading to undesired usage of data," Sharma said.

He mentioned that there were participants from Google, Facebook and other companies in the meeting who gave us their views on what could be the way forward to check this menace. "While everybody agreed that advertisement is okay, at the same time fleecing a consumer of data is unwarranted."

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"I think it is a serious problem , but let me admit that not very clear solution emerged of the discussion. It is one of those problems, of which we have to have some technological solutions," Sharma said.

"There needs a solution to find how one can stop such inadvertent usage of data. So an awareness campaign also needs to be done in this regard," he said.

He also said it is not the sectoral regulator's mandate to regulate content. "We will prefer to take a road through awareness campaign or technology to mitigate this problem rather than resorting to some kind of regulation."

"We have not found a solution to it yet and we will need more consultations with experts to figure out a solution," he added.