Soon after Flipkart announced that it is backing out from joining Airtel Zero platform stating that the company is fully committed to the cause of net neutrality, Airtel has issues a statement that Airtel Zero is not a tariff proposition. The statement made by Flipkart regarding their decision not to offer toll free data service to their customers is consistent with our stand that Airtel Zero is not a tariff proposition, said the company. It says that it is merely an open platform for content providers to provide toll free data services on a completely non discriminatory basis.
It says that it is an open marketing platform that,
- Allows any application or content provider to offer their service on a toll free basis to their customers who are on our network.
- Such customers whether on a data pack or not will therefore be able to access these toll free services free of charge.
- No site whether on the toll free platform or not under any circumstances is blocked, throttled or provided any form of preferential access.
- The toll free platform is open to all content providers on a completely non discriminatory basis and operates on the same principle as 1-800 toll free voice services.
Last year Airtel decided its WhatsApp data packs soon after the announcement after heavily criticized by consumers. At that time it said that it will wait for TRAI’s consultation paper, which was issued recently. Looks like Airtel is still keen on implementing Airtel Zero. It recently said that over 150 start-ups – with majority being small start-ups contacted them to ask about Airtel Zero.