New Delhi: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Sunday reaffirmed its support to the principle of net neutrality, making a strong pitch for the government's vision of "net equality" that will enable access to the internet for a billion Indians.

"We support an open internet and believe that consumers should decide what to do online. Our job is to enable consumers to benefit from that freedom," COAI said in a statement here.

"We offer choice and do not block or provide any preferential access to any website or app," it added.

Network neutrality, or open inter-working, means that in accessing the World Wide Web one is in full control over how to go online, where to go and what to do, as long as these are lawful. So firms that provide internet services should treat all lawful internet content in a neutral manner.

It also required such companies not to charge users, content, platform, site, application or mode of communication differentially.