BENGALURU: One of the India’s largest telecom operators, Airtel, expressed its willingness to charge people for using those services over Internet, which uses voice based communication. The company said that it might charge its customers for having communication over Skype, Viber and Google Hangouts.

Communication over applications such as Skype, Viber, and Google Hangouts are done using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). Airtel wants customers to pay for a separate VOIP pack in addition to Internet pack. As soon as the company made this statement, the response was met with equal aggression throughout social media.

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), about 83 percent of Indians use their Internet on mobile devices. Mobile devices provide ease of access as well as mobility, while using VOIP based services.

Airtel also faces serious competition for its music streaming application called Wynk from other music applications such as Gaana and Saavn. The philosophy behind putting control on how Internet is to be used has sparked a worldwide debate on Net Neutrality.

"The Internet is built on principles of openness and freedom, and at the core of this is non-discrimination at an ISP level," says Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama and a vocal advocate for Net Neutrality.

The company is waiting for a paper, soon to be released, from TRAI on Net Neutrality, which would affect the company’s decision on implementing VOIP based packs. The decision may ignite many problematic possible outcomes for developers who are building application for general audience.

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